Deadline: January 6, 2020.

The Teachers of Critical Languages Program seeks to strengthen foreign language instruction at U.S. schools, while also providing the selected exchange teachers the opportunity to learn about U.S. teaching methodologies, culture, and society. The exchange teachers teach Mandarin Chinese or Modern Standard Arabic and serve as a cultural resource in the host school and community.

ELIGIBILITY

Candidates will be considered without respect to race, color, religion, sexual orientation or gender. Competition for the TCLP is merit-based and open to anyone who:

• Is a citizen of Egypt or Morocco who currently resides in their country of citizenship (Egypt or Morocco);
• Is currently a full-time teacher of English as a Foreign Language or Arabic as a Foreign Language in a primary or secondary (K-12) school in Egypt or Morocco;
• At the time of application has at least four years of full-time classroom teaching experience;
• Is prepared to teach for the entire U.S. academic year with leave time limited to school breaks;
• Has a firm understanding of Modern Standard Arabic (fus’ha);
• Has at least a bachelor’s degree;
• Demonstrates a commitment to continue teaching after completion of the program;
• Is proficient in written and spoken English; and
• Has submitted a complete application package (Egypt: please see Application Checklist; Morocco: contact tclp@americancouncils.org).

Individuals in the following circumstances are NOT eligible for the TCLP:

• U.S. citizens and permanent residents of the United States, or their spouses;
• Individuals currently participating in academic, training, or research programs in the United States;
• Individuals who have applied for U.S. permanent residency, including Green Card lottery, in the past three years;
• Individuals currently studying, residing, or working outside of their home country (Egypt or Morocco);
• Ministry of Education officials, full-time principals or educational administrators, full-time teacher trainers, education consultants, university faculty, private English Language tutors; and
• Individuals who have participated in an exchange visitor program sponsored by the U.S. government for a period of more than six weeks in the last five years.

BENEFITS

TCLP is sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), U.S. Department of State and provides:

• J-1 visa support
• A pre-departure orientation held in the participant’s home country
• Round-trip travel from each participant’s home country to and within the U.S.
• A nine-day welcome orientation in Washington, DC
• An approximate 10.5-month teaching assignment in a U.S. host school
• Professional development workshops
• Accident and sickness insurance (does not cover pre-existing conditions)
• Assistance with finding housing, generally arranged by the U.S. host school/educational community
• Living stipend of approximately $20,000
• Housing in the form of a monthly housing allowance for the duration of the program, calculated based on average housing prices for the assigned host community

OFFICIAL LINK: http://tclprogram.org/arabic-application