English Language: News from Kathmandu #1

Today begins our programme of English Language coaching for teachers in Kathmandu which includes a mixture of observation, demonstration, workshops and a strategic workshop for head teachers. Our two intrepid volunteers out there are two friends, Martine from Cumbria, UK and Monika from Canada. They seem to be having a great time of it, here is their first report:

"Sorry I haven't written before this or replied to your text message Champa, but I thought it would cost too much to send. 

We escaped the pollution for 1 day and night in Nagarkot. We walked for about 6 hours in the countryside on our way back to Bakhtapur via Chang Narayan.

Today was our first day of observing. Babita took us to visit Bal Vinod in the morning where we observed a class 5 taught by Janak. We were welcomed in the usual friendly Nepal way and it is difficult to comment on the teaching as it is so 'different' and so much how I do not teach. It was also hard to give any feedback without being too critical.The pupils are well behaved but, as you warned us, taught in a very old fashioned way.

In the afternoon we went to Bal Bigyan and were welcomed by the head master and we also met a lot of teachers. We were offered tea and biscuits and had a chance to chat to all in the staffroom which was great. We also admired the library and I had a chance to set up a future exchange/correspondence with a secondary school in Dalton which showed interest before I left. We observed another class 5 and noticed the same method.

I will leave space for Monika to write some more and we'll be in touch (that is if we can catch a time when the electricity is on!!)

Martine

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I have had a great time in Nepal so far - my bag was delayed in Delhi and both Madan and Bashu kindly waited an extra hour for me while I waited for my bag inside.  They we both friendly and gracious and made me feel very welcome in Kathmandu.  The taxi ride to the hotel was a visual adventure.  I was in northern India 4 years ago and many of the sights and sounds were familiar.  

As Martine mentioned, we managed to escape up to Nagarkot for one night and take in the beautiful vistas of the Himalayas.  Not only did we walk all the way to Chang Narayan, we also walked 5km to the army base's viewing tower to see the sunrise - and we barely made it in time!  It was good to get some fresh air and stretch our legs before returning to Patan.

The guest house is lovely and friendly people are always on hand to answer our questions or at least mime some answers.  Today was our first visit to the schools and I thought it was very insightful.  Both Martine and I were hesitant in finalizing our thoughts and plans before seeing how things really WERE, and we definitely learned a lot today.  The teaching methods and the book seem familiar to me because I was taught French in a similar manner during my elementary and secondary education in Canada.  I am hoping that Martine and I together can give the teachers many alternative ideas and methods for language teaching.  We hope to offer less focus on copying and book-work and more interactive learning strategies.  I am a little bit apprehensive about the workshop, only because I foresee a bit of a language barrier between us and the teachers. I am confident though that by demonstrating and actually having the teachers do the activities they might do with the students, that we will give them some food for thought about their approach to English language teaching. 

 In any case, tomorrow is a new day and I'm looking forward to observing two more lessons.  The students have all been incredibly friendly and polite.  There are certainly no classroom management issues here, what a relief! 

I trust you are well.  We will be writing again tomorrow, if electricity and internet connectivity are on our side!

Monika"