College graduates ages 21 to 30 who are interested in teaching English to Israeli children, while embarking on a journey that will change their lives, are invited to apply to participate in the 2017-2018 class of Masa Israel Teaching Fellows.
The Masa Israel Teaching Fellows program is a partnership between Masa Israel Journey, Israel’s Ministry of Education, and The Jewish Agency for Israel.
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The fellowship provides young Jews from the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand with a 10-month experience living in Israel and volunteering through teaching English in schools.
The program aims to close the educational achievement gap in Israel’s education system through small group instruction and tutoring at schools identified as in need of additional assistance by the Israeli Ministry of Education. The Fellowship runs from late August to June.
Tamar Zilbershatz, Director of Gap and Service Programs at Masa Israel Journey said “We are now in our sixth year, and we know we are having an impact because students tell our fellows that their older siblings remember the fellows before them. We have become part of the national landscape.
“Though our students get the chance to immerse themselves in Israeli life, they are also charged with the daunting task of helping Israel’s Education Ministry meet its goal of vastly improving English language among students countrywide. Masa Israel Teaching Fellows are part of something much bigger than themselves, an agenda of national priority for Israel’s million plus students.”
The 2017-2018 fellowship class will be assigned to elementary and middle schools in Ashdod, Be’er Sheva, Beit She’an, Migdal Ha’emek, Nazareth, Netanya, Petach Tikvah, Rahat, Ramla, Rehovot, and Rishon Lezion as well as in a youth village providing a boarding school setting for immigrant and youth at risk. Applicants are asked to identify their top-choice location.
In addition Masa Israel Teaching Fellows also participate in a two-credit academic course, “Methods in Language Teaching: Theory & Practice, ” taught by the academic staff of Tel Aviv University’s TESOL Master’s program.
Throughout the program, the fellows will study under top international language instructors in Israel, focusing on understanding how individuals acquire a new language. The strategies learned through this program help fellows better connect with their students and address challenging classroom situations.
Said Masa Israel Teaching Fellows alumnus Matt Callman, who taught in Netanya 2014-15 and now serves as Israel Engagement Coordinator at the Hillel Jewish University Center of Pittsburgh, “Masa Israel Teaching Fellows was an opportunity to grow as an individual, connect with my Jewish identity, and enhance my leadership skills. MITF and Masa Israel helped me better understand my place in the Jewish world, the role Judaism plays in my life, and my passion for teaching.”
