Shoua Yang, second from left, participates in an internship where student teachers are sent to teach in remote villages.
St. Cloud State professor Shoua Yang has spent spring semester helping to improve the teaching quality of English overseas at a Laos university.
Yang, an associate professor of political science, served as a Fulbright specialist at Khang Khay Teacher Training College (KKTTC) in Laos.
“It is great to be selected to be a Fulbright Scholar, since I have been interested in helping the Hmong and Lao students in English,” Yang said. “The students are in need of help to improve their English proficiency.”
Yang completed a series of classroom observations and provided feedback to teachers and conducted a series of teacher-training seminars in grant writing, business writing, methods and procedures of conducting professional research papers and search for scholarships.
Yang participates in an internship, sending student teachers to remote villages to teach and perfect their craft.
Yang also participated in an internship where student teachers were sent to teach in remote villages in both Xieng Khouang and Houaphanh provinces.
Yang was born in Xieng Khouang province, Laos. The Secret War in Laos during the Vietnam War allowed him to migrate to the United States. Every year, Yang accompanies a St. Cloud State student delegation to Laos, Malaysia and Thailand on a short term education abroad trip in the winter.
“For me, going back to Laos every year is not fascinating, but I just want to escort our students to learn about other cultures, forms of poverty and lack of opportunity,” Yang said. “I hope that our students will use what they learn from Southeast Asia as the basis to improve study habits and to become better citizens.”
The Fulbright United States Scholar Program awards grants to United States faculty and professionals approved to join the specialist roster in select disciplines to engage in short-term collaborative projects at eligible institutions in more than 140 countries worldwide.
About 800 U.S. faculty and experienced professionals receive teaching or research grants in a wide variety of academic and professional fields each year.
