Abstract:

The purpose of this article is to explore the role of the cultural exchange in improving English speaking skills and maintaining cultural identity. The basis for the research was the study of the ATTA (American Turko-Tatar Association) exchange program. The peculiarity of this program is that participants can not only improve their English-speaking skills, but also contribute to the preservation of the Tatar language and culture among Tatars living in the United States. First of all, programs of this kind help to accelerate the learning of the foreign language by immersing students and teachers in a cultural and linguistic environment. On the other hand, it also develops the participants’ teaching abilities, as they also take part in the lesson plans preparation and teaching the Tatar language for children. Therefore, such programs will be especially useful not only for teachers but for future English teachers too. Hopefully the research findings will be useful for language teachers and students, and probably, will provide an idea of those who want to found another international project.

Keywords:

Language teaching, teacher training, exchange programs, international practice, the English language, the Tatar language.