Registration open for the 2nd Annual Teacher Certification Program

The Office of Greek Education in cooperation with The Center for Lifelong Learning at Democritus University of Thrace will once again offer the program entitled: Education and certification in the teaching of Greek as a heritage language for educators in the diaspora, from March 1 to December 30, 2022.

The Program is for: Educators of Greek in diasporic communities who wish to enhance their teaching knowledge in the teaching of Greek as a heritage language.

The aim of the program: The program aims at offering in-depth training to educators who teach Greek as a heritage language in the diaspora.

The program’s necessity and novelty:For the second time, educators teaching Greek in the diaspora as well as Greek language teachers in secondary, primary and preschool education are given an opportunity to participate in a full training program aimed at teaching Greek not as a first, second or foreign language but as a heritage language. It will offer the teachers not only a modern, alternative and adequate pedagogical approach suited to the particular learners’ needs but also teaching methodology specially designed for better learning outcomes.

The program consists of six (6) modules:

1.     Levels of language analysis: comparative study of Greek and English

2.     Greek language and Greek Civilization

3.     Bilingualism and heritage languages

4.     Planning, methodology and evaluation of teaching Greek as a heritage language

5.     Lesson planning and classroom management

6.     Design and application of a monthly plan (practical training)

Instructors

The program is taught by teachers with experience in curriculum design, expert committee members at Greek Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs and Cyprus Ministry of Education and Culture, responsible for the Language syllabi design for primary and secondary education in Greece and Cyprus, internationally acclaimed educators in the field of the classics, linguistics and those experienced in teaching adults. All the instructors have been highly evaluated for their teaching practices by their students.

Thank you to the Stavros Niarchos Foundation for their financial support which has made this program available and affordable to the teachers of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. The program began March 1, 2022 and will end December 30, 2022.