The Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics contains more than 3,000 articles from linguists around the world on subjects including language acquisition, linguistic anthropology, translation, and writing systems, among many others. The 11,000-page set has been called “the field’s standard reference work.”

“This encyclopedia is an incredible resource, and I am sure the IELTE is the only institution in Uzbekistan that has it now,” said Mukhamadavas Iriskulov, the director of IELTE.

The US Embassy in Tashkent gave the encyclopedia, which costs about US$5,600, and popular study guides for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) to IELTE as part of their ongoing partnership. The Public Affairs Section of the Embassy worked with the Uzbek State University of World Languages in 2000 to create IELTE, a four-year programme of study in English for future English teachers. IELTE, which is part of the University of World Languages, has about 330 current students studying a curriculum modeled on top language universities around the world.

The Embassy and the US Government’s Regional English Language Office based in Astana, Kazakhstan, have supported IELTE since its inception through resources and training.

On 29 December, Public Affairs Officer Molly Stephenson and Cultural Affairs Officer Carrie Lee delivered the reference materials and met with Abdulla Ismailov, the rector of the University of World Languages, and IELTE Director Iriskulov. They assessed the current collaboration and discussed future plans for cooperation.

IELTE currently hosts English Language Fellow Dennis Johnson, who teaches classes and helped IELTE develop a new curriculum for teaching English writing, which had not been taught as a distinct discipline before at any university in Uzbekistan. The university and Embassy officials discussed the possibility of hosting other English Language Fellows in the future, as well as other potential avenues of supporting the education of future English teachers.