Alison Koushki Receives Scholarship Award

Intensive English Professor Alison Koushki received a scholarship award from the US Embassy and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Kuwait. The announcement was made during TESOL Kuwait's first open meeting of 2017, where fellow members of the organization gather to discuss the advancement of teaching English to foreign students.

Professor Alison is one of five winners to receive the grant for her Special Interest Group (SIG) called Read English Actively for Language and Life skills (REALL), an innovative way to celebrate novels and stories.

The group's objective is to empower students to enhance all 4 English language skills as well as real life project and teamwork skills. In REALL, students form teams -- whether on stage or backstage, script, costumes, make-up, or "Writer's Corner" -- and portray their readings through the arts. This SIG was developed from Professor Alison’s “Bring Reading to Life” work in AUK’s Intensive English Program over the past five years.

Professor Alison attended the 4-day TESOL International Convention in Seattle, Washington, USA from March 21 to 24.

Participating in sessions on the use of literature, music, and drama in language teaching, she was able to further establish REALL and conduct relevant research to develop the SIG. Networking with experts in her field has led to opportunities for collaboration and knowledge exchange. TESOL Press has invited Professor Alison to submit a proposal for a project based learning textbook on student engagement in novels through the arts.