An evaluation of English language teaching aid: Albania case study.

摘要

Since the collapse of communism, the implementation of aid for English language teaching (ELT) in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, funded by foreign aid agencies, has promoted the introduction of new methodologies and the renovation of ELT programs. Beside these new ELT developments, research has recognized several issues related to the appropriateness and sustainability of ELT aid projects, such as the need for a context-sensitive approach by aid donors and the importance of fostering synergy among ELT aid projects in these countries. This research study is an evaluation of the English language aid programs/projects at the university level in Tirana, Albania administered by the British Council, USIA, and SOROS Open Society Foundation during the last decade. Through a descriptive analysis of these aid programs' and projects' outcomes, it provides a comprehensive overview of the scope and directions of their implementation in the Albanian context. The main focus of this research is the evaluation of their ELT aid methodology, with particular emphasis on issues of relevance of ELT aid management to a high-uncertainty local aid context. Documenting the latest developments of ELT aid in Albania, it provides evidence on the recent cooperation among the language aid agencies to promote the National Language Curriculum Reform in Albania. Overall, it calls attention to the need for the aid-providing countries to set aside old assumptions about developing countries and undertake on-going research, evaluative of the local culture in order to increase aid relevance and effectiveness. Also, it argues for the appropriateness of a baseline and integrative approach in ELT aid development in unstable contexts such as Albania. In particular, it suggests that, under such conditions, aid programs and projects can not be designed and operated as stand-alone technologies. It reveals the need for ELT aid developers to explore the dynamics of aid and identify potential areas of synergetic collaboration which can be an alternative paradigm of ELT aid development in developing countries like Albania.