Building English Language Capacity for Armenian Students and Teachers (BELCAST) (2019-2023)

Over the course of four years, PH implemented a set of interconnected activities empowering Armenian students and Armenian teachers of English to foster excellence in learning and teaching of English as well motivate them to become professionally and personally stronger individuals and citizens. This program was funded by the US Embassy in Yerevan.

With a focus on providing English language instruction to disadvantaged young Armenians, 5 English Access Microscholarship program sites were launched during through which a total of 200 students studied intensely over the course of 20 months. This course included 360 hours of after-school English instruction accompanied with personal enhancement/development activities.

Secondly, with a focus on building the capacity and skills of Armenian teachers of English language, a cadre of 10 teachers of English participated in a blended online and offline intensive professional development trainings to equip them with proper knowledge, skills and attitudes and empowered with opportunities to create essential resources, provide quality trainings, and support a wider network of their counterpart English teachers countrywide.

An additional team of 40 teachers were engaged in the project, who along with the 10 mentor teachers above, participated in a variety of trainings introducing them to new theories and practices on teaching English as a Foreign Language.