Secretary Antony J. Blinken After Meeting with English Access Microscholarship Program Alumni

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Everyone, we just had a wonderful conversation with teachers and participants, some students in our English Access programs.  And I heard their stories, and it is incredibly inspiring.  Our young friends have been studying English for just a couple of years, two or three years – remarkable fluency, but also shared their stories about how in learning English they also learned so many other things to make connections that will last for a lifetime.  And I am so grateful as well to be with all the teachers who are helping share and helping young people learn.

For the United States, we’re very proud to partner with Mongolia in bringing English Access here to Mongolia, in helping support and train teachers, in helping teach language directly ourselves.  And on this visit, one of the things that I brought with me was a significant expansion of our program here.  Talking to our colleagues in government, one of the things that struck me was the intense desire to do more.  And so we’re starting new programs, new initiatives that will both support those who are teaching and support those who are learning.

And we know that in this moment in history, English is the international connector.  It’s so tremendously beneficial to people who want to engage in the world.  And in that sense, for us, it’s a great export for the United States.  But it’s incredibly inspiring to hear from our friends here, hear from our teachers here, to hear everything that you’ve experienced in these programs, and for them to share their stories with me.  So thank you to each and every one of you.  Incredibly inspiring.  Thank you.