Fulbright Reality Czech

Spending ten months in a foreign country is always a transformative experience. Spending ten months in a small Czech town, far away from the capital, Prague, in a place where you may be the only American (or even the only foreigner or English-speaking person) is a unique cultural experience that one never forgets. Every year, Fulbright Czech Republic welcomes 30 English Teaching Assistants and places them at regional high schools of various types all over the country. Most of the Assistants are recent graduates of different U.S. universities. They want to teach English in the Czech Republic to gain international work experience, to get to know the Czech culture, and to have a year that will be unlike anything that they have ever experienced before. Seven of this year’s ETAs have decided to chronicle their Fulbright adventure by getting a tattoo with a special significance to their host town, region, or their stay in the Czech Republic. Below, you can read stories of seven of our as...

by Sinia Amanonce Graphic designer, Jessica Megan Livingston, is serving as an English Teaching Assistant this year in Prostějov, Czech Republic. Placed in a fashion and design school, Jessica has been able to teach English while also sharing her passion for and expertise in design with her students. Read below to hear how her “go big or go home” attitude has affected success in her grant year. Jessica Megan Livingston Fast Facts: Hometown: Wheeling, Illinois Age: 22 College, Major/Minor: Carthage College, Graphic Design and Public Relations School in the Czech Republic: Střední škola designu a mody Prostějov Favorite Czech Word: Kava [coffee] Favorite Czech Food: Garlic soup To begin, please tell me about yourself. I’m from Chicago, so I grew up with the city life. It was very typical, there were lots of people, lots of noise, and lots of things to do. I went to a private school in Kenosha, Wisconsin which was the opposite of everything I knew. There were a f...

Deset čerstvých absolventů amerických vysokých škol bude v roli asistentů pomáhat zlepšovat angličtinu českých středoškoláků v regionech. Jejich působení v České republice umožnilo vládní stipendium česko-amerického Fulbrightova programu.     S „Fulbright English Teaching Assistants“, zkráceně ETA, se letos budou moci setkat studenti na středních školách v Benešově, Českém Těšíně, Holešově, Chotěboři, Kolíně, Ostravě, Prostějově, ve Starém Městě, Tišnově a Vsetíně. Fulbright ETA na srpnovém školení v Brně „Při výběru škol se zaměřujeme na školy mimo Prahu, protože si uvědomujeme, že je pro ně problém najít rodilého mluvčího, který by obohatil výuku a zvýšil motivaci studentů. Pro školy je tento program výhodný v tom, že za asistenta nemusí platit, protože jeho pobyt je kompletně hrazen vládním stipendiem. Bohužel zájem ze strany středních škol výrazně přesahuje možnosti program, takže nejsme schopni asistenty nabídnout všem školám, k...