At Participate Learning, we recently celebrated our Ambassador Teacher graduates, who are now returning home after teaching in the U.S.A. as international teachers for five years. These international educators have impacted the lives of countless students, faculty, and staff by sharing their culture and experiences over the course of their cultural exchange experience.
As a BridgeUSA partner, teachers in our program can teach in the U.S. for five years before returning to their home countries. However, our connection with Ambassador Teachers doesn’t end there! Participate Learning has created opportunities for Ambassador Teacher alumni to stay connected with educators returning home after teaching in the U.S.A. as international teachers and to remain committed to our mission to unite our world through global learning.
Online language lessons: facilitating global education
The idea for our online summer Spanish lessons was borne out of necessity and innovation. In 2020, schools faced countless unprecedented challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the need for remote learning solutions became more critical than ever. To deal with these challenges, we began offering online summer Spanish lessons, allowing students and teachers to stay connected virtually.
Participate Learning’s summer Spanish program is taught by Ambassador Teacher alumni who have returned to their home countries. These educators, having experienced teaching in the U.S. with Participate Learning, are uniquely positioned to understand the needs of the students and parents. With our teachers’ help, we have been able to provide students with continued learning and cultural opportunities during the summer months.
Our summer dual language program includes one-on-one and group sessions designed to engage students in fun and interactive ways. The lessons are one way of addressing summer learning loss by reinforcing knowledge gained during the school year. During these lessons, teachers focus on creating immersive experiences with students by creating personalized content, helping students improve their language acquisition.
Impact of international teachers after returning home
Although our virtual Spanish lessons were developed out of a need for online learning during the pandemic, the positive response from teachers, students, and parents was overwhelming. Since the summer of 2020, we have continued to offer this program free of charge to any student who attends a school implementing dual language with Participate Learning. Our alumni have been providing online dual language education from their home country to hundreds of American students each summer.
Parents have expressed overwhelming satisfaction with the program, with a 98% effectiveness rating in avoiding language loss and enhancing cultural learning, via parent survey.
“My son was a little behind with his Spanish, so we booked lessons for him, and he loved it—it really helped him stay up on his Spanish when he couldn’t really be immersed in it in the classroom,” one parent shared.
By the end of this summer, our program will have provided a total of over 18,000 free Spanish lessons to K-5 students across the United States since its inception in 2020. This remarkable achievement is a testament to the dedication and passion of our Ambassador Teacher alumni.
Opportunities for current and future Ambassador Teachers
At Participate Learning, our summer online Spanish lessons program is an excellent example of opportunities available to alumni returning home after teaching in the U.S.A. as an international teacher. It highlights how they can continue contributing to education and cultural exchange, regardless of their location and the lifelong impact of the BridgeUSA program.
This initiative serves as an inspiration for current and future Ambassador Teachers. The summer online Spanish program is tangible proof that their journey does not end when they return home; rather, it opens new avenues and opportunities for making a difference globally.
If you are a teacher from outside of the United States interested in teaching opportunities in the U.S.A. with Participate Learning, take a look at our application process and requirements.
