Two professors of Applied Linguistics in the English department, Dr. Emily A. Thrush and Dr. Teresa S. Dalle, have received a grant from the U. S. Department of Education to be awarded over five years. The grant will be used to fund the “Teachers GET IT” program (Teachers Gaining Expertise Together in Training). This program prepares teachers in the Memphis and Shelby County School Systems to work with non-native English speakers. The grant also provides for the development of materials to be used in the College of Education at The University of Memphis for teacher preparation.

Each year, twenty teachers will be able to complete the coursework needed for ESL licensure. Workshops will also be conducted as a part of the program in the Memphis and Shelby County area for those working with non-native speaking students. Dr. Thrush and Dr. Dalle will be teaching a series of five in-service courses plus a practicum. In addition, thirty teachers each semester will participate in a series of three workshops that Dr. Thrush says “may be taught by a doctoral student in the (University of Memphis) program with assistance from an experienced classroom teacher who has completed the ESL endorsement.”