Teaching & Research
Esperanto, Pasporto al la Tuta Mondo
Project Coordinator: Lusi Harmon
ESF Investment To Date: approx. $123,000
This project entailed the production of a comprehensive 15-lesson video course in Esperanto. Entitled Esperanto, Pasporto al la Tuta Mondo, the course involves an international team of actors, an original script, a professional documentary film director, and consultation with several outstanding Esperanto teachers. An ESF educational grant enabled the completion and marketing of the first 12 episodes, together with a comprehensive set of workbooks. ESF Board member Grant Goodall has also developed a workshop for teachers interested in using the series.
Click here for a more detailed description of the program.
ACTFL Esperanto Proficiency Standards For K-16 Classrooms
Project Coordinator: Dr. Timothy Reagan
ESF has been actively involved in the development of proficiency guidelines for Esperanto as part of ACTFL’s national foreign language proficiency guidelines project. The guidelines have been translated into Esperanto and will be the subject of a scholarly article by Timothy Reagan and Bonnie Fonseca-Greber.
Interlinguistics Certificate Program
Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan, Poland
Project Coordinator: Dr. Ilona Koutny
ESF provides scholarships for a number of students in the Interlinguistic Studies certificate program at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poland. The program, located in the Department of Linguistics and directed by professor Ilona Koutny, covers a wide range of topics in Interlinguistics and requires students to carry out original graduate-level research. Recent awardees have come from Russia, Germany, Lithuania, France and Iran.
Esperanto Self-Study Course
Project Coordinator: Dr. Grant Goodall
Under Director Grant Goodall’s leadership, a university-level Esperanto course has been developed and approved at the University of California, San Diego. The course, which has received modest funding from ESF, was designed so that it could also be used at other higher education institutions. In 2008, the Esperanto Self-Study Course was offered at a local college in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
University Of Leipzig Interlinguistics Program (Pilot)
Project Coordinator: Dr. Sabine Fiedler
ESF Investment To Date: 9,000 euros
Early in 2007, the ESF Board approved 9000 euros to support a teaching effort at the University of Leipzig aimed at the ultimate establishment of a program in interlinguistics and Esperanto studies, under the direction of Dr. Sabine Fiedler and the sponsorship of GIL (Gesellschaft für Interlinguistik).
ELTE Esperanto Project
ESF has funded, on a one-year basis, a faculty position at ELTE, the leading university in Hungary, which has had a formal Esperanto program for many years. There are a number of unresolved challenges and issues related to ELTE and the teaching, studying and researching of Esperanto both at ELTE and in Hungary in general. ESF may be able to play an active role in encouraging the teaching and learning of Esperanto at the university level in Europe.
Springboard To Languages
Project Coordinator: Angela Tellier; Dr. Timothy Reagan (for ESF)
ESF Investment To Date: approx. $30,900
The Springboard to Languages Project is an effort to introduce Esperanto in selected primary schools in the UK as part of the country’s new language policy. An important component of the project is the evaluation of students’ language learning, with an emphasis on the propedeutic effects of Esperanto language study preceding French language study. ESF provided $10,000 to help fund the first year of the program (for the 2006-2007 school year). It was approved for additional funding in 2008. The Springboard Project is slated to operate for at least four years.
Esperanto Teacher Training Program in Africa
ESF has provided some limited funding to support an Esperanto teacher training program in Africa. At the end of the funding term, the program administrators will produce a final report and evaluation which may be submitted for publication.