English workshop? More like a “play”-shop!

The idea had been brewing for quite some time:  Get primary teachers together and talk about ways to teach English as a second language…  From what I have seen in Kaia and Jake’s class, and other primary schools in the area, and judging by the level of English proficiency of the children who come to our door (as well as that of the grade 8 learners at the secondary school); there is a problem.  Or shall I say; a very big challenge!

Timing was good;

• we have a new circuit inspector (superintendent) who is keen to address challenges,
• there was a fund specifically earmarked for professional development that needed to be spent by August, and
• I was at a point where I really felt I had something to offer in terms of ideas for ESL, since I had been applying them in classrooms for several months. 

So I submitted a proposal for a workshop at the end of June, and, as policy dictates, got 3 quotes from caterers to provide food for the participants.  This is a huge expense, partly because the closest registered caterers are located in Rundu, 180km away!  However, the women I spoke to were eager to get their quotes in since these government contracts are very lucrative and it would be well worth the drive.  A week goes by and I start advertising the workshop to any primary teachers I meet.  Another week goes by and I learn that yes, the submission was approved.  I start handing out flyers and post an invitation at the circuit office for all principals to see. The secretary puts an announcement on the radio inviting all grade 3, 4, and 5 teachers to this 2-day workshop.  Another week goes by and I still don’t know who was chosen as the caterer, so I start trying to track down some information, only to discover that the quotations had been sent down to Windhoek, and no selection had been made!!  Apparently, they always choose the lowest bid, so I don’t know how that can take so long (or why it needs to be done 1000km away!)  Luckily, our new inspector is into creative problem-solving, but by the time I was having this conversation with him, it was 2 days before the workshop was to begin.  Cam was in Rundu (on a marathon computer-maintenance mission), so I figured he could bring back some food and we’d figure it out from there.  The inspector said he’d look into reimbursement.  Unfortunately, the cell phone network was out of order for about 6 hours the following day, so I couldn’t contact Cam until the afternoon!  (Landline phones have been out for several weeks, now, after being knocked down by a truck!)  For the first time, I was really feeling that Mpungu was remote, isolated, and cut off from the rest of the world.  In the end, food was bought, a local woman was hired (she owns some large pots and a variety of plates and utensils), and we were definitely going ahead with the workshop!

Several participants arrived on Wednesday evening and I had arranged for them to stay at the Himarwa Iithete hostel.  An extra obstacle was that a recently-changed door handle on one of the girls’ dormitory blocks was locked and could not be opened.  Effectively, the girls were locked in, and the female teachers who had come for the workshop were locked out!  But luckily, Cam had bought a new drill and drill-bits on our last trip to Rundu, so I was able to offer that.  The door handle was removed, and the teachers could go in (one had come with her 7-month-old baby and a baby-sitter to look after him during the day).

Cam arrived home at 10:30pm with a truckload of fixed computers and many bags of food.

Twenty-one teachers came to the workshop on Thursday morning.  Some were first-year teachers from little bush schools with no electricity, and others were acting principals.  Some have 17 learners in their class; others, 48.  Day one was focused on using the “gesture approach” and stories/drama to teach a second language.  It’s a program that I have used in Canada to teach French, and have adapted and tested it intensively in 2 classrooms here.  After introductions, I started speaking to the group in French, asking questions and acting irritated when they couldn’t respond.  I wanted them to experience how their students feel when faced with English — a language they don’t understand!  I then started speaking French with gestures, and immediately the group responded, saying “Bonjour” and “Ca va bien.” 

That morning, I also introduced the idea of setting up literacy centers in the classroom, and the teachers cycled through 12 different ones (4 minutes each – they were speed centers this time!)  A highlight for me was the presentation by Kaia and Jake’s classmates who did their play of “The 3 Little Pigs”.  I was so proud of those kids!  They spoke their lines clearly and with confidence.  One girl even switched roles at the last minute from a 1^st little pig to a 3^rd little pig because someone else was absent!  If that doesn’t show comprehension of the story, I don’t know what does.

We played games – bingo, Simon says, the chair game (one of my personal favourites – an adaptation of musical chairs in which nobody gets “out”, but if you are left without a chair, you have to say the next sentence in English), and another one that I call the “ladder game” (see photo of teachers lined up London-Bridge style).  We also did some ‘crafts’ – making mini-books out of a single piece of paper.  One of the big challenges here is lack of reading materials, so my suggestion was to make some simple books that kids can illustrate and then read over and over.

I found that Namibian teachers are very similar to Namibian learners (shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, I guess):  they are quiet and well-behaved, but they don’t ask questions or offer ideas.  It was virtually impossible to get a discussion going.  Lunch and dinner were simple, but good, and after dinner, Cam invited them all up to the computer lab where he screened “Over Canada”, a film that shows highlights of Canadian geography and historical monuments shot from a helicopter.  The next morning when I asked how everyone had slept, one man said, “We dreamed of Canada all night.” 

On Friday, we reviewed the songs I had taught the previous day, played a couple more language-based games, and then headed over to the computer lab where I naïvely thought we’d make a bunch of teaching aids to be printed out and used in the classroom.  I asked if this was anyone’s very first time on the computer, and was a bit surprised when I saw 7 hands go up.  Was I ever glad to have my computer assistants: Kaia, Jake, Cam, and our friend, Fanuel!  It is quite a privilege and a thrill to be the one to show someone how to use a computer for the first time (especially someone who lives in a grass hut with no electricity or running water and who walks 20km each month to pick up his pay cheque).  We spent about 2.5 hours in the lab (don’t worry – I gave them a tea break!) and I was impressed with their progress.  Everyone managed to print something out by the end, and several wrote on their feedback forms that they need and would like more computer training.  I really wanted to get the feedback sheets in, so I had announced that as soon as I received it, they would get a ticket for a lottery in which I’d be giving away many of my books and teaching materials.  It worked!  I got all the feedback sheets and everyone walked away with something new for their classroom.  I was actually very surprised at the order in which things were chosen.  I thought for sure that the books were the best prizes and that they’d be snatched up right away.  So, I was reminded once again that my assumptions are usually wrong – the first people to have their names drawn came to the prize table and chose things like rubber stamps, stickers, and puzzle books!  The easy readers were left to the end.  There really is not a culture of reading here.  But story-telling works.  That’s why I think this gesture approach using stories and drama can be successful in Kavango classes. 

It was a rewarding 2 days for me, and my only regret is that I won’t be around to support these teachers if they choose to implement some of the new ideas.  I’ll get out to a few schools over the next 3 weeks, but that’s it – we are beginning our “race to the finish”.  Yes, I do believe we will be racing until our departure!

thumbs up means “good”

sharing ideas

using flashcards to build vocab

putting heads together to build sentences

grade 4 pupils presented play

teachers playing the “ladder game”

Kaia helping in computer lab

Here’s the key…

first winner in “literacy lottery”

and the next winner is…

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