The Arabic Language Placement Exam

will be on August 26th from 10-12pm in Ballantine Hall 004. Please RSVP with
Dr. Zaineb Istrabadi if you need to take this exam.

Have You Tried Myhappyplanet.com?

MyHappyPlanet.com is an online community for people who are passionate about learning languages.
Their vision is to bridge cultures around the world through language learning. Their aim is to make language learning more fun, more dynamic, and more effective — without having to pay for it.

With MyHappyPlanet, you can practice speaking with a native speaker, learn more about other cultures, and make friends with people anywhere in the world. They’ve built in great features so you can teach and learn from each other through live chat, messaging, videos, and fun lessons.

• Have fun while learning
• Watch videos in multiple languages and view fun language lessons
• Make friends anywhere in the world
• Meet people from across the globe and learn about their cultures
• They will protect your privacy and never disclose your personal info to anyone without your consent

How do I use MyHappyPlanet?
Joining is easy and it’s completely free!
Sign up now and create a profile. Your profile is where you can describe yourself, hobbies, interests, and languages you’re learning. Then search the site for language partners, a friend can be either a language partner (a native speaker) or a study buddy (someone who’s also learning the same language). Chat, with your newfound friends – either real-time (text, voice, video chat) or offline (messaging).

Short-Term Jobs, Internships, and Volunteer Positions

Are you interested in working in the Middle East? Check out this list from transitionsabroad.com of perspective employeers.

Volunteer with Unipal!

Unipal (A Universities’ Trust for Educational Exchange with Palestinians) seeks to facilitate a two-way process of education; providing English-language teaching in Palestinian refugee camps in the West Bank, Gaza and Lebanon and introducing British students to a knowledge and understanding of the situation and daily lives of refugees.

Unipal...

sends volunteers to the Middle East to work with Palestinians on a short-term basis in the summer, to teach English or to take part in other activities as needed
brings Palestinian teachers of English to Britain in order to study language courses and refresh their language by living with British families
in the past has had long term volunteers teaching students and adults in need of better English.

Volunteer!

Volunteers should be native English speakers, living in the UK and must be 20+ on January 1st in the year in which they volunteer. There is no upper age limit but it is very demanding work in a hot climate, so you need to be fit.

If you would like to speak with a previous volunteer before applying, please email your contact details to: volunteers@unipal.org.uk.

For more information click here.

Two Scholarship/Fellowship Opportunities from IIE

The Fulbright Scholar Program announces the Israel Post-Doctoral Research Fellowships, available to those interested in conducting postdoctoral research in all areas of the sciences, arts, humanities, or social sciences. There are ten fellowships available. The main criteria in the selection of USIEF Fellows are academic excellence, leadership capabilities, and the potential of the proposed visit program to achieve professional objectives while enhancing mutual understanding between the people of the United States and Israel. The application deadline is August 2, 2010. Fulbright Scholar Post-Doctoral Fellowships are also available for Fulbright programs in Egypt and Hong Kong. For more information, please visit http://catalog.cies.org/.

Thank you,

Melanie Thomas
Creative Services Officer
Institute of International Education
Department of Scholar and Professional Programs
3007 Tilden St. NW, Suite #5L
Washington, DC 20008
202-686-7868
202-362-3442
MThomas@iie.org
http://www.iie.org/cies

The Fulbright Scholar Program and Humphrey Fellowship Program are administered by the Institute of International Education’s Department of Scholar and Professional Programs, which includes the Council for International Exchange of Scholars and Humphrey divisions.

For more information, contact us at scholars@iie.org or 202-686-4000 or visit www.iie.org/cies.

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On July 21st, 2010 from 3:00-5:00 p.m. in Ballantine 304 a representative from the Institute of International Education will be speaking with interested students about the David L. Boren Scholarships and Fellowships.

Boren Awards provide a unique funding opportunity for U.S. students to study world regions critical to U.S. interests (including Africa, Asia, Central & Eastern Europe, Eurasia, Latin America, and the Middle East). The countries of Western Europe, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand are excluded. The Boren Fellowship allows graduate students to add an important international and language component to their graduate studies. Boren Fellows can be awarded up to $30,000.

Additional information on preferred geographic regions, languages, fields of study and application procedures can be found at http://www.borenawards.org/.

For more information please contact Paul Fogleman, IU Boren Graduate Fellowship Representative (pfoglema@indiana.edu), or contact Boren Awards at 1 800 618 NSEP or boren@iie.org.

Sharek Youth Forum is Looking for Volunteers!

A leading Palestinian youth organization with the primary goal of creating the space and capacity for youth to engage as active participants in all sectors of civil society and to participate in the development of local communities. Originally launched as a program of the UNDP in 1996, Sharek became an independent NGO in 2004. As a youth organization for youth, run by youth, Sharek tackles development issues from a unique perspective which directly reflects youth needs and visions.

Sharek’s work includes economic empowerment initiatives, providing services to connect youth mentors with underserved children to ensure the realization of children’s right to play and provide complimentary education services; building capacities of other youth organizations, especially small community based youth organizations; and arming youth with knowledge of their human rights and the capacity to articulate, effectively communicate, and persuasively advocate for change on the issues that most affect them, as active individuals and engaged citizens in the process of building a culture of reciprocal respect and democracy in Palestine. Sharek designs and carries out its youth development programs with hundreds of motivated youth volunteers involved in project design and implementation.

Step Forward: the Center for Youth Economic Empowerment
http://www.stepforward.ps/

With 4 years of experience implementing careers and business services for youth, Sharek Youth Forum decided in 2009 to target its efforts into a new center focusing on economic empowerment: Step Forward. The center is now leading the way in addressing key challenges set out by Sharek Youth Forum in its August 2009 white paper: a Youth Employment Action Plan (see http://www.stepforward.ps/en/knowledge/yeap/). Step Forward’s strategy is to develop knowledge and advocacy as fundamental building blocks upon which high quality services can be provided. It aims to get all Palestinian youth actively participating in the economy.

Based on this strategy, Step Forward works on three programmes: School-to-Work, Youth Enterprise and Welcomed to Work. Each works on research, advocacy and services to address the challenges faced by youth trying to become economically active. School-to-Work addresses the gap between education and employment. Youth Enterprise addresses the barriers to youth establishing micro and small businesses. Welcomed to Work addresses particular issues facing marginalized groups.
 
Programme Information
Target Group Young people (21-25) with an interest in working with Palestinian youth in the field of economic empowerment and with a skill or experience to contribute.

Programme Structure

Length of Internship 3-6 months
Start Dates 01/07/2010; 15/09/2010; 01/01/2011; 01/04/2011
Costs No fee is currently applied; you will require approximately $400 per month to cover rent and living costs
Benefits Work-related West Bank travel expenses are paid

Fields of Work (2010-11)
Office-based:

• A1 Research & reporting
• A2 Resource development
• A3 Training (including English teaching)
• A4 Website Development
• A5 Fundraising & PR

Field-based:*

• B1 Field research
• B2 Business coaching
• B3 Training

* requires excellent spoken Palestinian Arabic Notes

You can select up to three fields of work and work on up to two during your internship. If you complete your work early, you can select a new fields of work You must commit to the work and normally you would be expected to work full-time. Part-time arrangements are possible. If you have an idea for a placement, please let us know by submitting your proposal using the same approach as below.

Applications Applicants should complete the associated application form and return it to maha.smoom@sharek.ps at least 1 month before their proposed start-date. Following the application, a skype interview will be arranged.

 
Please visit the Sharek website to download an information packet with detailed information and an application.
Thanks Kasia for bringing this to our attention!

The Monterey Institute of International Studies

 is an academic community committed to preparing innovative professionals to provide leadership in cross-cultural, multilingual environments.

Mission & History

Established in 1955 as the Monterey Institute of Foreign Studies, founders Gaspard Weiss, Remsen Bird, and Dwight Morrow Jr. envisioned a learning institution that promoted international understanding through the study of language and culture. While the institute’s name has evolved into the Monterey Institute of International Studies its core identity as an innovative leader in international education continues to define professional, global learning.
Over the decades the Institute has grown, adding new programs, faculty, and students to expand its global reach and educational mission. In 1961, the school moved to its current downtown Monterey location, where it presently occupies 14 buildings that house two graduate schools, multiple research centers, and numerous special programs.

The Institute Today 

The Monterey Institute offers graduate programs that prepare innovative professionals to provide leadership in cross-cultural, multilingual environments. Practical skills, collaborative processes, and innovative approaches are defining features of a Monterey Institute education. The Institute’s unique "Monterey Way" learning model ensures that students are learning through firsthand experiences in more than one language. Monterey Institute learners are problem solvers and process masters, building sustainable, equitable solutions for a global community through our interdisciplinary blend of business, policy, and language.

The Institute's Graduate School of International Policy and Management and the Graduate School of Translation, Interpretation, and Language Education offer degrees in international policy studies, translation and interpretation, language education, and international business that have propelled our alumni into international careers that address the critical challenges of this century.

Tour IU in Arabic?

Did you know that you can download podcasts of the Wells Library Tour in different languages? Learning Arabic? Kazakh? Urdu? Hebrew? Or Farsi? Test out your language skills with these interactive tours!