Department of State December 23, 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Office of English Language Programs of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA/A/L) announces an open competition for the English Language Materials Training and Development Program, including a U.S. exchange component in summer, 2012. U.S. public and private universities with a graduate TEFL program meeting the provisions described in Internal Revenue Code section 26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3) may submit proposals to implement the program that will include the following: 1. A needs assessment for English language instructional materials abroad; 2. an rigorous, online academic program in materials development for 26 international participants; 3. a three- week, U.S. exchange program for the same 26 participants including materials development training; 4. the revision of at least three products/publications presently in the ECA/A/L materials catalogue and the development of at least three new products/publications. More detailed information about each of these four components of this cooperative agreement are detailed in the Program Objectives, Goals, and Implementation (POGI). Funding is pending the availability of FY- 2011 funds. For the needs assessment for English language instructional materials, the proposal should include a detailed plan for the recipient organization to perform a needs assessment among English language learners and instructors outside the U.S., including present and past participants in ECA/A/L programs as well as the Regional English Language Officers (RELOs), the corps of State Department Specialist Foreign Service Officers based around the world. The objective of the materials needs assessment will be to identify instructional materials preferences and needs of learners and instructors of English. This information will serve to inform the development and implementation of the other components of this program. For the online program in materials development, proposals must outline and demonstrate an ability to produce an online program that blends various social media and web-based technologies to provide professional development opportunities on materials assessment, review, adaptation and development to approximately twenty-six foreign participants. The participants will be selected by ECA/A/L in consultation with the RELOs. Participants will be: citizens of the country in which they reside; university degree holders, preferably at the graduate level in the fields of TEFL or Applied Linguistics; employed in a position which includes substantive responsibilities in the area of materials assessment, adaptation, development, or closely related area; in positions of authority with regard to the adaptation, development and use of instructional materials at the institutional, regional, and/or national levels; and professionally proficient in English. The online program must commence at least ten weeks before the U.S. exchange and include at least five sessions after completion of the U.S. exchange. The program must also incorporate existing ECA/A/L materials, drafts of revised materials, and new products/publications as illustrations throughout the online program. For the U.S. university-based Exchange component, the recipient will develop and implement a workshop in the U.S. for the twenty-six English language teaching professionals who have been participating in online program. The four-week U.S. Exchange should be implemented in July of 2012 and include an orientation to the U.S.; an intensive program on materials assessment, adaptation, review and development; cultural and community service activities; and a three day briefing in Washington, DC at the conclusion of the exchange component. The Washington, DC briefing should familiarize participants with ECA and other relevant bureaus within the State Department, allow participants to meet with English language materials developers from Washington, DC, and provide an opportunity for participants to share their materials development program development plans. Participants will be encouraged to develop a materials development program to implement in their home countries following the exchange program. The proposal should include a detailed plan for the content, administration, and implementation of the U.S. exchange. For the materials revision and production component, the recipient will revise at least three current ECA/A/L products/publications and develop at least three new products/publications based on the findings of the materials needs analysis. The recipient will prepare revised drafts of existing ECA/A/L materials and new materials based on feedback from program participants garnered during the second and third components of this program and present at least three publishable revised ECA/A/L products/publications and at least three publishable new products/publications to ECA/A/L for review and future publication. Applicant organizations should demonstrate a substantial track record of conducting substantive academic programs for EFL educators with a particular emphasis on materials assessment and development, conducting needs assessments internationally, developing and implementing training programs through virtual media, developing English language materials for teachers and learners in EFL settings, and managing logistical and administrative aspects of similar programs.

Notice is hereby given of the following determinations: Pursuant to the authority vested in me by the Act of October 19, 1965 (79 Stat. 985; 22 U.S.C. 2459), Executive Order 12047 of March 27, 1978, the Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998 (112 Stat. 2681, et seq.; 22 U.S.C. 6501 note, et seq.), Delegation of Authority No. 234 of October 1, 1999, and Delegation of Authority No. 236-3 of August 28, 2000, I hereby determine that the objects to be included in the exhibition ``Rooms with a View: The Open Window in the 19th Century,'' imported from abroad for temporary exhibition within the United States, are of cultural significance. The objects are imported pursuant to loan agreements with the foreign owners or custodians. I also determine that the exhibition or display of the exhibit objects at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York, from on or about March 28, 2011, until on or about July 4, 2011, and at possible additional exhibitions or venues yet to be determined, is in the national interest. I have ordered that Public Notice of these Determinations be published in the Federal Register.