Anglais rekk!

“It’s hot, de”

I just completed a week of English Access Camp, a program run by the US Embassy for students aged 15-17.  I worked with 2 other volunteers and 4 English teachers to organize the camp in Tambacounda for 57 students, both boys and girls.  It was an amazing experience.

I was very impressed by the level of these students’ English.  All schools in Senegal require English classes beginning in 6^th grade.  From what I have seen in my village and at the local high school, they are not absorbing much of this language; just learning French, the national language and language of the classroom, is difficult enough for them.  However, I was blown away by the talent of the Tambacounda students.  Each of the 4 teachers had chosen several students to attend the camp and ability certainly ranged a scale, but we were able to successfully conduct all activities and discussions in English, as well as require the kids to continually speak just English.  Anglais rekk! (English only!)

We had a wide variety of activities for the students.  Each morning, we’d begin the day with an icebreaker or game.  My favorite was watching the students participate in a 3-legged relay race; they’d never done anything of this sort before, and they loved it.  Several groups fell on the ground as they hopped down the field, and a few groups figured out how to run as a team.  Another day, we played silent birthday line-up; this activity ended with a girl asking the point of the game, and we gave an explanation of the importance of teamwork (since that activity did not require any English speaking).  Another daily activity was teaching them English songs.  I taught them “If You’re Happy and You Know It,” “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes,” “Have You Ever Seen a Penguin Come to Tea,” “I’m a Little Tea Pot,” and “Old McDonald.”  We had a contest of who could sing “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes” loudest, and it was hilarious to watch the kids hopping around to “Penguin Come to Tea.”  On the last day, during the final song session, the kids chanted for us to dance Senegalese-style.  After appeasing them briefly, we taught them Macarena and the Chicken Dance.  The three of us were standing on a bench to teach them these dances and were very visible to people walking down the street; we got quite a cheering from outside the school as a result.

The main part of each day consisted of small groups of about 10 students, which allowed the students time to practice their English.  We played games such as 20 questions, identify the person/place taped to your back through questions only, and team builders such as Human knot, as well as held discussions.  The most interesting session involved a line-spectrum debate.  I’d read a statement, and they’d have to group themselves into “agree completely,” “somewhat agree,” “somewhat disagree,” and “disagree.”  Each person then had to justify his/her response.  Some statements were simple and there was unanimity: “Boys and girls should both go to school,” “Children should go to school until graduating from high school and then continue to university,” and “Men should not beat their wives.”  It became more interesting with controversial topics such as “It is possible to overcome the corruption in Senegal” and “Senegal can become a developed country.”  For those statements, the students explained (in English) the problems in Senegal, which included officials pocketing money, development only occurring for cities, friends and family expected to be hired for official positions (and offended if not chosen), many unqualified teachers, and numerous other reasons that were very well articulated and do represent the political climate in Senegal.  I was happy to see that the majority of students were more optimistic and thought these obstacles possible to overcome through education, sensitization, laws, and law enforcement.

We also had sessions involving the entire group.  A trivia game was particularly popular among the students.  They had a larger amount of world knowledge than I had expected, though they were all convinced that the United States has 52 states.  (Apparently, this information is in their textbooks.)  Another day, we had an American culture question and answer session.  They each wrote down a question on a piece of paper, and we responded to as many as possible.  There were the normal questions of “What is education like in America,” “At what age do people get married in the United States,” and “What’s your national dish.”  Some more interesting questions were “How do people vote in elections,” “Why do you run English Access Camps,” and “Why do Americans want to become the best in the world and spread their culture everywhere?”  That last questions was particularly intriguing to me, and we asked the students to determine answers within their groups.  Every student agreed with the statement and thought Americans want to convert everyone to be like them; we then tried to explain why Americans think development is important, and I shared my (somewhat idealistic) opinion that the purpose is not to defeat cultures, but merely to help.

Our final activity consisted of a performance.  Each group had written a skit during the week, without any help from us.  The skits were amazing.  One group presented on the importance of protecting the environment by not throwing trash on the ground or cutting down trees.  Another presented on the problem of student-teacher relationships and how it could lead to child pregnancies and teachers being fired.  A third group presented on the problems of students dropping out of school early because their parents can’t pay for their school supplies.  The final group presented on talibe (children who are sent to study the Kora,n, but are often beaten by their teachers and must beg on the street for food and money) and how people should give them the opportunity to improve their lives instead of treating them poorly.  They hit on such key points and issues within Senegal and provided idealistic solutions that I hope they continue to follow when they’re adults.  These skits strengthened my faith in the education system and its ability to create leaders who understand and are determined to achieve solutions.

We had a large budget for this camp, so I determined that rather than throwing an elaborate party at the end, we should buy school supplies for the students (though we still did give them delicious fatayas – fried dough stuffed with mashed fish and onion sauce cooked by one of the teacher’s sisters).  Each student was provided with a large notebook, small notebook, red pen, blue pen, eraser, highlighter, and school supply packaged set (consisting of a protractor, ruler, pencil, colored pencils, eraser, and pencil sharpener).  The kids were overjoyed at receiving such items; now they can begin the school year with their supplies, rather than waiting until a few months in to purchase them.  (Many students spend the first few months without even a notebook until their parents find the money to buy them the supplies.)

The camp was a great opportunity for me, the students, and the teachers.  It was an amazing chance for them to practice their English every day for 4 hours.  At the end of each day, they didn’t want to go home and would often stay late to practice their skits (leaving only because they had required house chores to complete before lunch).  I was astounded at their ability to express themselves and also to help their friends to express themselves; they were very understanding of each individual’s different comprehension level and prepared to encourage each other to speak or explain a person’s intentions.  The fact that these children could defend societal issues, tell traditional Wolof stories, write engaging skits, and play complicated games in English attests to their individual drive and motivation in succeeding.  Passing school is not a guarantee here, but these students are certainly on their way to attain it.