IUGB English instructors held a meeting to discuss formation of a club for local English teachers on April 6, 2019, in IUGB’s meeting room. In all, 20 participants from local schools and IUGB attended.
Ms. Emeline Kouame, Lecturer in BSS, had proposed the idea of forming a club after attending the national English teachers’ conference last year. The purposes of the club are to:
• give an opportunity for local English teachers to use their English;
• provide opportunities for professional and personal development;
• share ideas and resources.
The next meeting will be held at IUGB on May 11 at 10:00 a.m. and will feature icebreakers and discussions.
UPP Senior Lecturer Keino Campbell presented a service-learning project that his Education for Success students have proposed. These Advanced UPP students are currently in the planning stages of a project that will be implemented in the next academic year, when students will serve as teaching assistants in English courses in local schools.
The students have identified four challenges in local schools that can be addressed through the project:
1. Large class sizes mean that little individual attention is given to middle and high school students in English courses;
2. Teachers do not have assistants;
3. Student motivation is low, because they often do not understand the importance of learning English;
4. Specific materials for teaching English in developing countries are needed.
The Project has two main goals:
• First, provide materials to teachers for their students and to help them effectively teach language.
• Second, a Volunteer Teacher Assistant Program: UPP Students will act as student teacher assistants in the classroom to help the teachers execute the lessons. This will allow our students to use their English ability in a real world setting and help address the challenges the teachers face.