It’s been two weeks since I left Scotland, and I’m starting to get used to it here already. This may be because I’ve aclimatised to the heat, or because I’ve started teaching English classes at Collège Telemaque Sow, or because I’ve got hold of a guitar (personally I think it’s that). Anyway, the culture shock is pretty much over.
After a false start or two, I’ve started work. The teachers were on strike when I arrived, but that's mostly stopped now, and I’ve started teaching with a very nice woman called Mrs Cissé. I prepared my first lesson today, for a 4ième (mostly 14 year olds) class and it went quite well. I was asked to prepare something about politics, because we’ve just had the local elections here. So I had to try and keep a class of 58 4ième pupils interested in talking about politics, in English, for an hour. It did seem a bit of a tall order, but it worked out in the end. Now at least everyone knows what ‘censorship’ means! Next lesson I’m going to teach them how to sing some Rihanna, so that should be a bit more fun.
Last week Joe (one of the other volunteers) and I taught ‘One Love’ and ‘No Woman No Cry’ by Bob Marley to about four different classes with great success. Thank goodness for the guitar. It seems that learning English becomes a lot more appealing if it comes with a reggae rhythm. It was even suggested that Joe and I try to start an extra-curricular English club. We’ll see…
In comparison with what is available in UK schools, there are very few resources here. A classroom consists of a room, a blackboard and some desks, with two or three pupils to each desk. All of the classes I’ve encountered so far consist of between 45 and 60 pupils. I haven’t even started trying to learn the pupils’ names yet, it’s a bit daunting. I’ll go into more depth about my work when I’ve done more of it.
There’s going to be a short break for the Easter holidays (even though they mostly don’t celebrate Easter here), during which there are plans to take a trek in Bassari country to the South, and then take part in a construction-renovation project which is going to happen here in St. Louis.
Au revoir for now, and I shall try to write some more before heading off to Bassari!
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