The Virginian-Pilot(Norfolk, Va.)
November 25, 2004 Thursday Sun Edition

Teacher introduces Armenia to U.S. culture

SUFFOLK

SUFFOLK — Laura Pritchard Dobrin, an English teacher at
Nansemond-Suffolk Academy, recently returned from a two-and-a-half
week educational and cultural exchange program in Armenia. She was
one of 36 teachers nationwide selected by the US-Eurasia Awards for
Excellence in Teaching Program.

As an educational ambassador, Dobrin visited schools, gave lectures on
U.S. culture and teaching methods and discussed educational challenges.

She taught in two schools and talked with students and future English
teachers attending an university in Armenia. She gave presentations
on the use of technology in the English classroom, independent
school education in the United States, and strategies for successful
teaching of English at the Association of English Language Teachers
in Armenia chapter meeting, the Teacher Resource Center in Vanadzor,
and a workshop for teachers at a school in Vanadzor.

The program, which began in 1996, provides teachers from the United
States the opportunity to serve as education ambassadors in Armenia,
Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan
and Uzbekistan.