story by Claire Miller
Nafisa Turaeva moved from Uzbekistan’s capital city to Chirakchi, in the Kashkadarya region, to teach English to middle and high school students through the Teach for Uzbekistan program.
Turaeva, who has been teaching for 10 years, said she chose to move so that she could teach students who have limited access to quality educational opportunities. The experience has had a profound impact on her.
“Working with these students has been especially meaningful for me, as I focus not only on language learning but also on creating a supportive and safe classroom environment where students feel confident to express themselves,” she said.
She was one of 22 teachers from 19 countries who participated in this semester’s Fulbright Teaching Excellence and Achievement (TEA) Program, a highly selective, U.S. Department of State-sponsored initiative that brings teachers from other countries to a host university for professional development. Georgia State’s College of Education & Human Development, the Intensive English Program and the Office of International Initiatives coordinate the program on campus.
Turaeva and her international colleagues attended classes with university faculty, visited local cultural sites and taught in Atlanta-area classrooms.
Each experience in the program has given her new ideas to take back to Uzbekistan and apply in her classroom. For example, after volunteering at the Atlanta Community Food Bank, Turaeva began thinking about how volunteer work can be a powerful learning tool and source of support for local communities.
“I realized that even small actions like packing food boxes and sorting out food can make a real difference in someone’s life. It reminded me that service is not something extraordinary, but something we can all be part of,” she explained. “This experience inspired me to become more involved in service-learning projects and, more importantly, to encourage my students to do service learning and see themselves as active contributors to their communities.”
While visiting local schools, Turaeva noticed that students were “given space to actively participate in their own learning process” through group projects, collaborative assignments and class discussions.
She was also happy to see how schools displayed students’ assignments on classroom and hallway walls – a tangible way of celebrating students’ efforts and achievements.
“This experience made me reflect on my own teaching and reminded me that learning happens best in an environment where students feel safe, supported and valued,” she said, “It inspired me to think more intentionally about how I can create that same kind of space in my own classroom.”
In her classes on Georgia State’s campus, Turaeva learned about action research, which transformed her mindset. Instead of waiting for perfect solutions, she learned to act, reflect and continuously improve – adapting her teaching to meet her students’ real needs.
She also appreciated the opportunity to learn from the other Fulbright participants and how people from different backgrounds can work together to improve educational outcomes.
“The journey to the U.S. would not have been the same without all of these people and without this Fulbright program,” Turaeva said. “I will carry the lessons, friendships and inspiration from this program with me throughout my life and teaching career.”