Alessandra Sztrimbely: "AUCA focuses on developing critical thinking in its students"

April 27, 2017

Alessandra Sztrimbely, an Assistant Professor of the New Generation Academy (NGA) at American University of Central Asia (AUCA) shares her impressions about the NGA and Kyrgyzstan.

“ I joined the NGA faculty in September 2015 as an Assistant Professor of English, teaching English for Academic Purposes and TOEFL Test Preparation.

I’ve had a somewhat unconventional career path, but I’ve always believed that the paths less travelled are the ones with the most interesting potential. I grew up in a suburb of Toronto, Canada and moved to Oxford, England at 18 to study for my BA in Archaeology and Anthropology at Oxford University. While I grew up with a strong love of books, I had primarily focused on maths and sciences in high school, and it was at Oxford, where I was required to write 90+ full length essays over three years in addition to an undergraduate thesis, that I really developed a deep love and appreciation for the power of a well written turn of phrase.

After completing my undergraduate degree, I moved back to Toronto to complete an MSc in Biological Anthropology with a collaborative Masters in International Relations at the University of Toronto and Munk School of Global Affairs. Although I had done some editing at Oxford and had taught dance while in high school, it was during my first Masters that I really began to focus on teaching English – and academic writing in particular. The first year Introduction to Anthropology course that I was TAing was turned into a special academic writing course in my first year there and, as I got the opportunity to instruct both ESL and native-English speaking students on how to navigate the intricacies of academic English, I realized that I truly enjoyed it. After graduating, I continued to tutor writing before moving to Korea to teach English there for a spell. Following some time spent travelling, I returned home to complete (another) Masters at York University, this one in Disaster and Emergency Management, teaching English and editing on the side all the while. Now I’m here at NGA, still doing what I love!

One of the things that really attracted me to AUCA was its focus on developing critical thinking in its students as I believe that that is the single most important skill a person can develop. The ability to think critically about things, to evaluate your situation, understand all of the possible courses of action and determine which of these makes the most sense, is invaluable no matter what situation you find yourself in. It enables you to easily learn other new skills or facts and to navigate your way through new and unfamiliar situations. The ability has certainly helped me a great deal throughout my life, and I have always striven to develop or strengthen the capacity for critical thinking in my students. I was fascinated by the idea of NGA in particular, as experience has shown me that many students – even many native English speakers in their own countries – would benefit greatly from a preparatory year that helped them to prepare for the new, and sometimes very different, world of academic life. I was also fascinated by the opportunity to teach and learn from students from such a variety of backgrounds and Central Asian cultures. So far, I have been extremely impressed with my students. They are all so dedicated and eager to learn! It’s a true pleasure to teach them.

One of the things that I have been trying to work on more with my students is the development of truly international-standard university-level academic reading, writing, note-taking and (hopefully soon) presentation skills. The academic world can be a confusing one. It has its own peculiar culture, practices, standards and version of the English language – something which can be confusing enough for a native speaker to navigate.  I have been running an academic writing club with my upper level students in which we are currently collectively working on a research essay on the best ways to learn a language. I am also working with other members of the NGA Faculty to develop a more targeted academic research, writing and presentation course for next semester that will better prepare our students for life in the English-speaking academic world. 

Working at AUCA has been an amazing experience overall thus far. While the new campus might not be located right downtown, I love the architecture and communal feel of the building. I actually also really like living in this neighbourhood as well. I find it more relaxed than living downtown would be, and the weekend market gives me great opportunities to interact with locals who don’t speak much English, providing me with the chance to practice the Russian and Kyrgyz that I am learning in my spare time.

One of the questions I am asked most often by locals is if this is my first time in Kyrgyzstan and what I think of the country so far. I’ve been here for one year now, but I’ve loved every second of it! Experiencing new cultures and ways of life has always been one of my greatest loves, so I’ve spent the past ten years since graduating from high school working, researching and travelling all over the world, from South America to Eastern Asia, but I’ve never met a culture or group of people as uniformly friendly and welcoming as the people in Kyrgyzstan. I’ve also always loved mountains, so to me, the landscapes here are absolutely breathtaking. I’ve managed to visit Issyk-Kul, Song-Kol, Osh, Uzgen, Arslanbob and Ala-Archa so far, and I can’t wait to see and experience the rest of the country during my time here!”

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