Dr. Ana Lado, professor in Marymount University’s Department of Education, has been selected as an English Language Specialist (ELS) for an Interactive Radio Instruction program in Pakistan.
The English Language Specialist Program is the premiere opportunity for highly-qualified TESOL (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages) professionals to enact meaningful and sustainable changes in the way that English is taught abroad. Through projects developed by U.S. embassies in more than 80 developing countries, ELS works directly with local teachers, students and education professionals to enhance the quality of English language instruction offered at universities and other academic institutions. Dr. Lado will be working with the U.S. embassy team and the POWER99 Foundation in a project serving teachers in select religious schools in Pakistan.
Dr. Lado’s work will last for up to one year, starting in 2019 and concluding in the middle of 2020.
“My passion for this project is fueled by inspirational stories of children who are developing skills, hope and a sense of being part of a larger human community,” Dr. Lado said. “As a linguist, it is challenging to develop effective Interactive Radio Instruction programs in English for marginalized communities. As an educator, it is challenging to develop sustainable access to education in remote communities.”
She cited the project as an example of the mission of the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary (RSHM), the founding order of Marymount University. Its religious sisters are called to “place ourselves and our resources at the service of those who are most in need of justice, especially women and children,” as well as enable “the powerless, the deprived, the marginalized and the voiceless to work effectively for their own development and liberation.”
Dr. Lado graduated from Georgetown University in 1992 with a doctorate in Applied Linguistics, and has been teaching at Marymount University for more than 27 years. She has previously conducted workshops for TESOL professionals abroad in Pakistan, Costa Rica, Japan, Taiwan, Korea and most recently for the Catholic Church of Cuba’s summer schools for teachers. Dr. Lado is passionate about reaching children in poor, remote and marginalized areas, and teaching them critical skills.
