The Online Professional English Network (OPEN) offers professional development courses for English language teachers and educators, as well as other professionals around the world. The goal of the program is to increase the capacity of participants to use English effectively in their professional contexts, increase access to openly licensed learning materials, increase understanding of U.S. society, culture and values, provide opportunities for mutual exchange, and build the capacity of participants to apply what they have learned within their educational and professional communities.

Who

The OPEN program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State , Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, with funding from the U.S. government, and is administered by FHI 360.

The professional development opportunities offered through the program are designed and taught by a variety of partners, including universities, non-profit companies, private sector partners, and consultants. Together, the U.S. Department of State, FHI 360, and our partners offer online professional development opportunities to English educators and learners in over 100 countries.

3 intersecting circles: 1) U.S. Department of State, 2) FHI 360, 3) Academic Partners

What

OPEN offers online courses on a variety of topics, including teacher training topics such as Critical Thinking, Educational Technology, Assessment, and Teaching English to Young Learners, among others, as well as English for Specific Purposes (ESP) courses such as English for Media Literacy, English for Journalism, and English Communications for Health Professionals, among others. The program also produces webinars and free materials that participants can adapt for personal or professional use.

A birds-eye view of a laptop sitting on a table with a cup of coffee and a notebook

"Untitled" by rawpixel.com via Unsplash is licensed under CC0

Where

OPEN professional development opportunities are offered entirely online. Courses are offered asynchronously via the Canvas learning management system (LMS), webinars are offered via Facebook Live, and other opportunities are available via the OPEN Community of Practice.

"World Map - Abstract Acrylic" by Nicolas Raymond via Flickr is licensed under CC BY 2.0.