Karen Marsh Schaeffer Selected by U.S. Department of State for Prestigious English Language Specialist Project

The U.S. Department of State announced the selection of Karen Marsh Schaeffer of University of Utah for a 6 month virtual English Language Specialist project focusing on student motivation and English for Specific Purposes (ESP) in Russia at Dostoevsky Omsk State University. Marsh Schaeffer is part of a select group, as her project is one of approximately 240 that the English Language Specialist Program supports each year.

Karen currently works at the University of Utah as the Director of Utah Global Instruction in the Office of Undergraduate Studies, as the Academic Liaison for Utah Global, and as the Student Support Specialist and Associate Instructor in the Department of Linguistics. This is her fourth English Language Specialist award and this project will run from January - June 2023 where she will engage with faculty virtually at Dostoevsky Omsk State University in roundtable discussions and workshops on the topics of student motivation, meaningful assessment, and learning materials design.

The English Language Specialist Program is the premier opportunity for leaders in the field of teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) to enact meaningful and sustainable changes in the way that English is taught abroad. Through projects developed by U.S. Embassies in more than 80 countries, English Language Specialists work directly with local teacher trainers, educational leaders, and ministry of education officials to exchange knowledge, build capacity, and establish partnerships benefiting participants, institutions, and communities in the United States and overseas.

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