Guest speaker Dr. Steven Ekovich advises English Teachers on teaching about US elections
American Embassy guest speaker and US elections expert, Dr. Steven Ekovich, shared his techniques for teaching about US elections with Ouagadougou English teachers. On September 4, 2008, the American Cultural Center hosted Dr. Ekovich, Associate Professor at the American University of Paris and Research Fellow at the Center for Advanced Defense Studies at George Washington University, for a discussion with 25 English teaching professionals. Dr. Ekovich shared with the group comprised of ALC teachers, inspectors and advisors from the Ministry of Education and other local English teachers, his techniques for helping students understand US elections and the electoral process through student projects and other approaches. Dr. Ekovich also answered questions from the group and participants shared ideas on potential sources that teachers could tap into to get information on the US presidential elections. Participants were animated and engaged in the discussion with Dr. Ekovich. They appreciated his insights and his willingness to share methods and approaches for helping his students obtain active knowledge of the US electoral system. This event fostered increased understanding of the issues involved in the US presidential elections of 2008 and how English teachers in Burkina Faso could bring this event into sharper focus for their students. It was also an opportunity to engage English teachers in discussing how the US presidential elections can be used as a springboard for discussing larger issues of democratization.
