May 3, 2008

Second Annual Armenian National English Spelling Bee

On May 3, 2008, US Peace Corps Armenia Volunteers organized the 2nd Annual Armenian National English Spelling Bee. The competition, which has become an annual event, was opened by US Charge d´Affaires to Armenia Joseph Pennington.

Over 90 students from nine different marzes competed in that competition which required the students to correctly spell many chosen English words. Students were given three weeks to study over 450 words and the contest was very competitive, with many parents and teachers in the audience cheering on their school´s participants. The competition included students from the 7th-11th forms.

Students who participated in the national contest were declared winners from their regional sites. Over 800 students participated at the local and regional sites, quadrupling the number of participants from the previous year.

The Spelling Bee is an interactive learning approach which focuses on pronunciation and audio learning skills and is sponsored by United States Peace Corps Volunteers and local school communities.

The Spelling Bee is being supported by the Deno Mining Company, Kapan; Armenian English Language Teachers Association (AELTA), Hradzan branch; United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) Armenia; family and friends of Peace Corps volunteers.

Peace Corps Armenia was established in 1992 at the invitation of the Government of Armenia. Since that time, 574 Peace Corps volunteers have served in Armenia. Currently 81 volunteers are working in schools, universities, NGOs, and health facilities throughout Armenia. The U. S. Peace Corps was founded in 1961 by United States President John F. Kennedy. The organization has three goals: to provide trained assistance to people of other countries as requested, to promote a better understanding of Americans by the people of the countries in which they serve, and to promote a better understanding of other cultures by Americans.

For more information, please contact the United States Peace Corps/ Armenia
at 37410 55 96 10 ext 102

USAID Director Robin Phillips addresses workshop participants

On June 24-25, the U.S. Government-supported international conference entitled "Best practices in tourism, Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and business services delivery" was held in Yerevan.