Teaching English: Trials and Tribulations

I have really enjoyed all of the international volunteer work that I’ve been able to do over the past several years, but I think that my teaching of English classes here is one of the most difficult forms of service I’ve ever done. As opposed to the time I spent in Casa del Sol (Mexico) and Casa de María (Honduras), where I just played with kids, changed diapers, held babies, etc., I’m actually expected to teach my students something. This means I have to plan my lessons, and keep them on task, and troubleshoot if an activity doesn’t go as planned, and repeat myself lots and lots, and analyze all of the basic rules of why we say things in English the way we do, and make sure that the girls are actually learning.

This is all complicated by the fact that I’m teaching in a “home,” instead of a school. The girls come to my classes in their free time (and it is my free time, too—might I add), and I am not given any sort of supplies or support. It is all up to me. I suppose it could be valuable to have this sort of freedom, but I often wish that I had workbooks, or dictionaries, or worksheets, or an overhead projector (or just a projector), or even those “listening activity” audio tapes. Furthermore, the girls have been taken away from whatever home-life they previously had because it was deemed “unlivable,” so they sometimes lack the basic skills and instruction that children from “unchallenging” situations may have received. And, finally, I have no training in teaching English as a second language. Therefore, I just do the best that I can with what I’ve got!

This has meant lots of innovation and investment on my part. I purchased notebooks and pencils for each of my students, and I often find that bringing in little treats can create lots of unforeseen inspiration. :) I do have one little blackboard and chalk, which I certainly use to the max.

Here are some videos my (taken several months ago) of my English prodigies:

"Hello. My name is Luisa. I am happy. My house is in San Antonio, and I am from Colombia. Good-bye!"

"Hello. My name is Jennifer. I am from Colombia. I am fifteen-years-old. Good-bye!"

"Hello. My name is Nygeli Daniela Velasco Rodriguez. I am happy. How are you? I hope you are well. Bye-bye!"

"Good afternoon. My name is Marta. My house is in San Antonio. I am happy and intelligent. I have been here for five years. I have studied in the school Nuestra Señora de Pilar. Good-bye!"

I recently started a new class of the younger girls-- due to popular demand. The Director of Hogares María Gorretti had originally told me to only teach the older ones, but the younger girls felt very left out. They often tried to sneak into my classes, and some even cried when they were told that they were not allowed to participate. Perhaps they were solely motivated by the treats and brand-new supplies that their older counterparts were receiving, but I increased my “supply” to meet this “demand.” There are two girls (both of whom are eight-years-old) who have never learned to read or write. I still try to have them copy the letters that they can, and I teach this class almost entirely with games and songs.

Here are some of my students on day one, proudly displaying our “Hello. My name is” cards:

As draining as my classes may be, I really do enjoy them. I also feel like I have become a positive presence in these girls’ lives, which makes the time very worthwhile.

Yesterday, I was teaching them the concept of “to have,” which I was combining with the vocabulary of family members that I had recently taught and the usage of numbers (see above blackboard picture for more information). One student borrowed my dictionary before writing the following sentence on the board: “Miss Hilary has eight boyfriends.” I told her it was a very good sentence indeed. ;-)