Hola chicos,
I hope all is going well at school. I bet you didn't know this but I have actually been doing tons of homework during my time in Senegal! In fact, I started my homework for this experience way back in September. All through the first half of the year, I was going to school, taking a course for my program called Teachers for Global Classrooms. During this course I had to come up with one major question that I wanted to focus on during my international placement. I had so many ideas: differentiation of students in large classrooms, women's access to education, differences between public and private schools, etc.
But I finally narrowed it down to one major question that means a lot to me in my own personal teaching: How do Senegalese teachers and schools promote foreign language learning outside of the classroom? I wanted to focus on this question because I notice that for me it is difficult to get students to practice Spanish outside of class time. I have tried "Monthly Challenges" in my CMS class that have worked pretty well but I wanted to do more. In addition, I had to phrase my question as the practice of "foreign languages" and not "second languages" because all of the students in Senegal speak more than one language, sometimes even three or four before they start taking a "foreign language" in school. This is because most students speak their native language (or a few native languages) in the home and then use French as the language of instruction at school. From there, all students are required to learn English in school and then after that they are allowed to learn another foreign language! Every student does this regardless of learning level, special education, etc. EVERY student speaks at least French and their native tongue. It is AMAZING!
As I started observing and teaching in English classrooms in both Louga and Dakar, I realized that students excelled in reading and writing in English. 10th grade students were given newspaper articles in English and asked to answer comprehension questions and write essays. 5th grade English classes were taught ENTIRELY in English and students were writing detailed and grammatically correct paragraphs in English even though they only had English once a week in the younger grades (but for an hour... not 20 minutes like CIS). It was really quite amazing what the students could do.
The same thing goes for the Spanish classes. The high school Spanish students were creating their own stories in Spanish using picture clues. They were also experts on imperfect subjunctive (a super tricky grammar topic) and their writing was flawless! And, like the English class, the classes were taught entirely in Spanish. Not one word of French or Wolof was spoken! From this, I realized that I need to do better at staying in Spanish while giving directions in ALL of my classes. One thing I really liked that I observed was after every single English/Spanish direction or phrase the teacher gave, the students repeated. This allowed the students to constantly practice their language pronunciation while subconsciously reviewing the directions again. It also allowed the language teacher to make sure that everyone was listening and on task. You will definitely be seeing me do this when I return! GET READY!!!
Although the language students are excellent at reading and writing in English and Spanish, throughout my observations I realized that they really did not have any opportunities to practice orally communicating with each other in the language. The students never turned and talked in English/Spanish or practiced asking each other questions. There was no dialogue between students. I asked the teachers if the students ever practiced conversing in the language and I learned that was really what they did in "English Club" after school. I learned that most schools have an English Club that runs after school hours or during class breaks where students get to practice their language learning.
They practice speaking in the language, learn English songs, dance, do skits, etc. These students choose to be in the club and are very passionate about the language. I was able to attend a few English clubs and one Portuguese club. In all of the clubs the students were so excited to practice their English with native speakers. I even got to attend a contest called "Whose the Best?" hosted by all of the English clubs in the area. The students got to compete in categories such as spelling, reciting a poem, debating, and acting out a skit. They did awesome!
The Portuguese club was also super excited to show us the dances they had learned. I asked them why they were so excited to learn Portuguese and they said that their teacher was dynamic, enthusiastic, and just brought just passion to the classroom that they couldn't help but love the language with her! In that moment, I decided that I wanted to be that kind of teacher for my students. I hope I can inspire my own Spanish students to this same extent.
I asked the Spanish teachers I worked with if they ever thought about starting a Spanish club so that their students would have this same opportunity to practice and expand their learning. They seemed interested but said that it required so much extra work and since they were already on strike and trying to be paid enough just to pay the bills they couldn't really put in the effort at this time. I understand this viewpoint but I hope that the strike and negotiations get figured out soon so that teachers are treated fairly and so that the students can be given these awesome opportunities.
From my observations, it looks like the English club is really the only option for students to practice their oral conversation skills. I am glad the English club exists but I wish the students were also able to practice their conversation skills in the classroom as well. Because of this, during the times I taught English or Spanish class I tried to model to the teacher how to include conversational activities in the classroom. We practiced short dialogues, did asking/answering questions with a partner, etc. At first the students were very confused on what to do... speak English in an English class with a partner? Practice the same conversation over and over?! They struggled to get the hang of it. But don't you worry, before the end of the week the students were getting used to conversing in the language of instruction! I hope this is something that they continue to do in class even when I am gone. I also was able to give the teachers a list of different resources they can have their students use outside of the classroom to help them practice language such as Conjuguemos and Duolingo! Lastly, I was able to make personal connections with the language teachers and students with our post cards and bookmarks and the Senegalese students were able to write back to us practicing their English or Spanish. It was a great exchange and I can't wait to bring back what they made for you!
I am done with my teaching in Senegal now and it was hard to say goodbye. :( But I will definitely be taking what they taught me back to my own classroom when I return. Get ready for a Spanish Club and many other language teaching tweaks to my own teaching.
I can't wait to see you in a few days,
Senora Traub
will the Spanish club be open to all grades or only specific grades, I am really exited
It really must have been hard to say goodbye. I hope that when we all get together from different places and different countries, that we can really make a strong impact and leave a powerful influence on the people we teach and learn from! So excited for Spanish club! Can't wait to see you!