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Montana State University is hosting an elite group of 22 English teachers from 19 different countries for the next six weeks as part of the Excellence and Achievement Program.

The U.S. Department of State program, run by the International Research and Exchanges Board, has been going on since the 1990s. This is the third time MSU has hosted teachers.

"I was nominated as a best teacher of my region," said Juliana Mbanjiba, the teacher in the program representing Ghana.

"It was like a dream for me. I wasn't expecting that I would be chosen, but I really work hard to do so," said Fatma Alawi, the teacher representing Oman.

Only three of the 22 international teachers at MSU have traveled to the United States prior to this trip. These teachers arrived in Montana this weekend and spent the whole day Monday getting acclimated to MSU with orientation and a campus tour. "I see a splendid area for studies, very conducive," said Mbanjiba.

The small class sizes and the fact all students have seats are the two things Mbanjiba noticed first. "There are few students in class unlike my place, sometimes I can teach 50 to 65 students in class."

Over the next six weeks, this group will shadow teachers from Bozeman High School and Sacajawea and Chief Joseph Middle Schools, and all the international teachers have a list of things they hope to learn to bring back to their students. "A lot of things including the methods of teaching, application of technology in the classroom, how to use it, and how efficient and effective that is to impact the knowledge on students," said Mbanjiba.

"I hope that I will enrich my education and my teaching and deliver it to my students as well as my teachers," said Alawi.