Trina Goslin, assistant professor in the Intensive English Language Center at the University of Nevada, Reno, has been selected by the U.S. Department of State for a 10-month fellowship project teaching English in Cordoba, Argentina, starting February 2017. Goslin is one of only 165 United States citizens to be selected for the 2016-17 English Language Fellow Program.

"I am honored to be chosen to represent the United States as a soft diplomat abroad, especially in an English language teaching position," Goslin said.

Goslin has been teaching at the University for 22 years as a full-time faculty member of the Intensive English Language Center. A regular work week for Goslin consists of personal and classroom hours with international students, and other teaching duties such as planning, grading, counseling and administration.

It is Goslin's experience in her field that has made her the ideal candidate to teach English in the IICANA, or the Instituto de Intercambio Cultural Argentino Norteamericano in Cordoba, Argentina early next year. According to Goslin, IICANA has been in existence for almost 90 years as a vehicle for cultural exchange between the United States and Argentina, and some of the services that IICANA offer parallel what the IELC does.

Since 1969, the English Language Fellow Program has sent thousands of TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) scholars and educators abroad to promote English language learning, enhance English teaching capacity, and foster mutual understanding between the United States and other countries through cultural exchange.

"When the opportunity came along to step out of the routine by taking this position, I felt I had to do it," Goslin said. She further explained that teaching for the IELC has been the single greatest professional accomplishment in her life, as her co-faculty members have become some of her dearest friends.

"The reason I am just not ready to retire completely is that teaching international students is the single most rewarding career choice ever."

Goslin is one of the few selected that represent the best of the United States TESOL community, who will take on the challenge of teaching English, conducting teacher training, developing resources and organizing events and conferences while on assignment.

To learn more about the English Language Fellow Program, visit the United States Department of State website.