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The Bulgarian Center for Development and Training (BCDT), the legacy of the USAID Participant Training Program, recently completed its second intensive English teacher training course with financial assistance from USAID. Following up on an earlier course that prepared 14 novice Bulgarian teachers for work with municipal personnel in various towns around the Bulgaria, this course led to internationally recognized certification for 3 Bulgarians and 3 Americans, some of whom will use their teaching skills in Bulgaria, others abroad. As with the previous course, this one required 6 hours of practice teaching, for which practice students were recruited primarily from Bulgarian government agencies and NGOs.

The teacher preparation courses (the first called Qualification in Language Teaching, or QuiLT; the second Teaching English to Speakers of other Languages, or TESOL) are licensed products of the School for International Training. BCDT is working towards full licensure to offer the courses in Bulgaria, and plans to offer the course to address local development needs in Bulgarian communities as well as to provide a source of income.