On June 10, the U. S. embassy in Armenia, together with Children of Armenia Fund (COAF), launched a new English learning initiative that will expand English learning resources in remote areas of Armenia, the embassy’s press office reported.

The Expanding English Access – Reaching Remote Regions with New Technologies project was initiated and is funded by the U.S. Department of State and implemented in partnership with COAF. The project will reach language-learners in Armenia’s remote regions, where resources for learning English are either limited or non-existent. The program is intended for post-high school youth in regional towns via the Internet and selected regional libraries and schools. The recruitment focused on the 17-35 year-old demographic, a group that does not generally have access to classroom resources or instruction if not attending university or private classes.

The curriculum is composed of two streams – social and business English. It includes two online classes twice a week and one face-to-face communicative English class with a local teacher once a week. The pilot phase includes approximately 150 participants from the towns of Armavir, Gavar, Yeghegnadzor and Goris.