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RR RUEHDBU
DE RUEHNT #0221/01 0571246
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 261246Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY TASHKENT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0526
INFO RUEHAH/AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT 0062
RUEHDBU/AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE 0014
RUEHEK/AMEMBASSY BISHKEK 0074
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 0161
RUEHNT/AMEMBASSY TASHKENT
RUEHTA/AMEMBASSY ASTANA 0065

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 TASHKENT 000221 
 
SIPDIS 
DEPT. FOR SCA/PPD FOR MERRIE BLOCKER AND JOSH KAMP 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OEXC SCUL KPAO UZ
SUBJECT: UZBEKISTAN:  ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROGRAMS THAT WORK 
 
TASHKENT 00000221  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
 
REFTELS: 
¶A. Dushanbe 227 
¶B. Dushanbe 225 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  English language programming is a bright spot in 
Embassy Tashkents public diplomacy programming.  With tight GOU 
control over most PD functions, English language programs provide an 
opportunity to establish and nurture relationships with students, 
educators, and university administrators.  Posts full-time English 
Language Programs (ELP) Assistant has also been a key to success. 
With additional funding, Post could assist local trainers to 
implement small projects and replace the Soviet-era textbooks still 
in use around the country.  End summary. 
 
WHY ENGLISH LANGUAGE TRAINING? 
------------------------------ 
 
¶2.  (SBU) English language training accomplishes a number of key 
mission goals.  Once Uzbeks learn English, they access 
non-governmental or non-Russian sources of information that present a 
fuller and more balanced picture of the world.  Students of English 
also learn more about the culture of the West and its way of 
thinking.  More importantly from the students point of view is that 
English speakers are in high demand from businesses and NGOs and can 
command higher salaries.  Their increased skills and access to 
information make them key to Post goals to promote economic 
development in the region. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) No Fulbright scholars or students or Peace Corps volunteers 
currently work in Uzbekistan.  Therefore, Uzbek teachers and students 
have few opportunities to interact with Americans, much less 
experienced teachers of English.  There is overwhelming unmet demand 
for English language education, and although the GOU restricts many 
public diplomacy activities, officials are receptive to English 
language programs.  The Minister of Higher Education (MHE) himself 
has expressed his support for English teaching programs.  Not only do 
these programs contribute to education reform, but they offer 
valuable professional development opportunities to eager English 
teachers.  At the same time they pave the way for Embassy staff to 
build relationships with key contacts and open new avenues for other 
public affairs programming, including distributing materials and 
publicizing exchange programs. 
 
TECHNICAL TRAINING A SUCCESS 
---------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Embassy Tashkent successfully administered two English 
Language (EL) Specialist programs in 2008, providing training in 
Tashkent, Ferghana, Bukhara, and Samarkand.  These specialists 
trained Uzbek teachers of English in the fundamentals of academic and 
professional English writing and in student assessment.  In both 
cases, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and MHE assisted the 
Embassy to arrange workshops at local universities and with the 
national teachers association, the Uzbekistan Teachers of English 
Association (UzTEA). 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Both specialists visits provided opportunities to 
re-establish ties with provincial universities that had been broken 
when relations stumbled in 2005.  As CAO and the English Language 
Programs Assistant FSN interacted with the teachers and university 
administrators in these cities, they began to rebuild trust and get a 
sense of the institutions needs, information that is invaluable for 
planning future assistance. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) After a year-long gap, Post successfully placed an English 
Language Fellow at a university in Tashkent.  Not only has this 
placement been smooth logistically, but faculty and university 
leadership alike welcomed the American specialist.  In this 
environment, the Fellow has developed a new writing program, 
including drafting syllabi for courses at all four levels of 
instruction.  Through his daily involvement at the university, the 
Fellow and local teachers identified a need for content-based English 
instruction, a field still in its infancy in Uzbekistan.  They worked 
jointly with PAS staff to request an EL Fellow for the 2009-10 year 
who will guide the university faculty to develop new content-based 
courses in subjects such as law and history. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Empowering local Uzbek teachers to train each other is both 
effective and economical.  Exchange opportunities such as the 
Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant (FLTA) Program and the 
Teaching Excellence and Achievement (TEA) program bolster the 
capacity of local teacher trainers.  When post is able to recruit 
teachers from the regions as we have during the past two years, the 
participants return eager to apply new techniques to training 
 
TASHKENT 00000221  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
 
teachers in both rural and urban areas outside of Tashkent.  In this 
vein, Post welcomes initiatives such as the RELO-sponsored six-week 
training in Hyderabad, India, as it produces qualified trainers who 
have the knowledge and resources to conduct training independently 
throughout the country. 
 
¶8.  (SBU)  Several alumni of English language teaching exchange 
programs in the U.S. have used Democracy Outreach/Alumni Small grants 
to offer cost-effective training to their peers and colleagues. 
Examples include an English teacher in Fergana Valley, who trained 22 
teachers for merely $420, or $19 per teacher.  Another teacher in 
Bukhara organized a series of workshops targeted at 55 rural 
secondary school English teachers using a $2,000 grant.  The bang for 
the buck is huge. 
 
OTHER SUCCESSES 
--------------- 
 
¶9.  (SBU) When the Regional English Language Officer (RELO) 
responsible for Central Asia was transferred from Tashkent to Astana 
in 2007, the RELO Assistant FSN position left with her.  With English 
language programming so crucial to our efforts in Uzbekistan, PAS 
hired a full-time English Language Programs Assistant.  This decision 
has been key to maintaining high-quality USG English Language 
Programming in Uzbekistan.  Without an individual dedicated full-time 
to developing and monitoring English Language programs, it would have 
been impossible to maintain a level of service to teachers and 
educational institutions even close to that provided by the RELO. 
 
¶10.  (SBU) Teachers enthusiastically receive all materials Post 
provides, from Scholastic Ambassador sets, Forum magazines, to 
donated copies of TOEFL test preparation books, and put them to use 
immediately.  The FSN that focuses on English language programs 
carefully tracks prior donations and additional resource needs of 
individual institutions, in order to maximize the impact of all 
donations.  There is no doubt we could place many times over the 
number of materials we have. 
 
¶11.  (SBU) Post also runs the successful English Access 
Microscholarship Program in three regions of Uzbekistan with new 
synergies developing this year.  The EL Fellow began offering English 
writing courses to Access teachers in Tashkent to develop their 
skills and show them how to teach writing to their students.  The 
Embassys Public Affairs Section has involved Access alumni in events 
on a larger scale than in the past.  Access alumni are regular 
visitors to the Embassys weekly Chai Chat Conversation Club and also 
attend special events such as the 2nd Annual International Education 
Fair and the Embassys American Film Festival last fall. 
 
¶12.  (SBU) Both Access teachers and students recognize the success of 
the program.  They frequently tell Embassy staff about the dramatic 
impact that involvement in Access has had on the students English 
skills and their confidence.  Teachers at the students regular 
schools now ask the Access students to help with English language 
activities at school.  During the Access Summer Camp in 2008, Access 
students were invited to teach English lessons to other children in 
the camp.  Several of the Access alumni who completed the program in 
2008 also gained admission to prestigious high schools in Tashkent, 
and the students are now well-placed to enter equally prestigious 
universities.  The investments of the past are starting to bear 
fruit. 
 
¶13.  (SBU) Astana-based RELO Andrea Schindler has provided helpful 
support for Embassy Tashkents Public Affairs Section whenever 
possible.  The RELOs tips on effectively using EL Fellows and 
collaborating with other organizations such as the British Council 
have been helpful to post, as she brings years of expertise to 
administering English language programs. 
 
AN ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROGRAMS WISH LIST 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶14.  (SBU) With additional funding, Post could have an even greater 
impact.  Additional funds would allow Post to offer grant 
opportunities and teaching resources to teachers, and increase the 
number of exchange program slots available each year. 
 
¶15.  (SBU) Post hopes to establish a Small Project Assistance (SPA) 
program for local English teachers with the goal of supporting 
activities that further educational reform in Uzbekistan.  Teachers 
could apply to the Embassy for small grants to organize 
extra-curricular activities that promote knowledge of American 
values, mutual understanding, cultural awareness and English language 
studies; design/organize teacher training programs and workshops for 
 
TASHKENT 00000221  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
 
English teachers; set up or enhance mini Resource Centers at local 
educational institutions or language centers; or 
develop/revise/publish curriculum, textbooks and English language 
learning materials.  This program would also help them acquire basic 
grant writing and project management experience and motivate them to 
introduce innovative ideas and techniques into their schools and 
communities. 
 
¶16.  (SBU) Post would use additional funds to expand and formalize 
its current efforts to donate books and other teaching resources to 
educational institutions.  The demand here for materials in English 
cannot be overstated.  Supplying English Language learning materials 
to resource-starved schools and universities in remote regions 
generates enormous good will to the USA. 
 
¶17.  (U) Educational exchange opportunities for teacher training, 
continue to be an effective tool to encourage English language 
training in Uzbekistan and to improve its quality.  To that end, Post 
could fill additional slots in the TEA program.  Currently, post is 
able to send 6-7 teachers a year, but with sufficient notification, 
Post feels confident that we could recruit 10-15 quality participants 
each year. 
 
¶18.  (SBU) Post requires funding for administering and monitoring 
programs.  Post learned just last week that it may not receive any 
funding from ECA to administer the TEA program for the 2010-11 
academic year (reftel A).  This will further stress PASs already 
strained budget, as the TEA program costs between $4,000 and $5,000 a 
year in-country to administer.  As a rule, PAS receives no resources 
from ECA to administer the FLTA program, which consumes approximately 
$3,000 to $4,000 a year from the PD budget to cover administrative 
costs. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶19.  (SBU) Embassy Tashkent feels strongly about the need for English 
Language Officers resident at each post of a country with a sizeable 
population.  Uzbekistan is, next to Afghanistan, by far the most 
populous country in Central Asia. When the RELO position moved to 
Astana, most of the RELOs budget became consumed with the increased 
travel costs out of Kazakhstan, having a detrimental effect on the 
RELOs ability to support programs.  Tashkent lost the RELO position 
because the GOU discontinued accrediting regional officers and not 
because there was an operational imperative to move the position.  At 
the recent PAO conference in Washington, many of the Central Asian 
posts expressed frustration with the lack of resources to support 
English language programs.  At the conference we heard that the new 
administration is aware of the enormous value of English language 
programs; one way to ensure we get the most out of those programs is 
to have an ELO resident in each country. 
 
¶20.  (SBU) English language programs work, both in Uzbekistan and 
around the world.  Some very effective forms of English language 
programming and training, such as sending a Fellow to live in 
Tashkent for a year, are expensive but have a profound impact.  There 
are also many lower cost ways to support English teachers and expand 
access to higher quality English instruction, including offering 
small grants to trainers, supplementing existing teaching materials, 
and continuing the Access program.  Post hopes to see continued 
support from Washington to offer both types of opportunities to 
English teachers and students in Uzbekistan.  End comment. 
NORLAND 
 
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