TWI FOR THE CHILDREN:
ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROGRAM- SARAJEVO, BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA
2008
FINAL REPORT
From Tuesday, November 4th until Friday, November 28, 2008, Emily Hill worked alongside Aldin Coralic, Ravail Naveed, and Jamie Craig, in TWI for the Children's most recent English Language Program located in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina. We worked with three different classes: third graders on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, fourth graders on Thursdays, and fifth graders on Fridays. Our goal was very simple- to improve the students’ language skills, with emphasis on increasing their comfort in speaking the English language.
Our third graders had only begun taking English in September 2008, so the main focus of this class was to enhance the students’ vocabulary. In the first two weeks, the students worked individually, while the team walked around the room and divided time among the children. This worked rather well, as there were four team leaders and 15 students in the class. In the first weeks, we concentrated on body parts, seasons, weather, colors and clothes. Our primary teaching tool was drawing, followed by games.
In the last weeks of the class, we divided the class into three groups, so that each of our native English speakers could spend the session with a group. Aldin, our Bosnian instructor, floated between the groups and answered interpretative questions. We used this technique to learn about our daily routines. In one class, for example, each group was assigned breakfast, lunch, or dinner. They then had to draw what they ate and drank at those meals and present them to the class. This was useful as it moved the class into the realm of stringing sentences together. On our last class, we had a graduation party for the students, where each was awarded a certificate of achievement. Before handing out the certificates, I gave the students an informal “pop quiz” and asked them questions on all of the terms we learned throughout the course of the month. I must say I was very pleased and impressed with the amount of information the children retained, as well as how proud they were of themselves.
Our fourth grade class ran almost parallel to our fifth grade class. Both classes were divided into groups and given the assignment to draw or write on poster board about their country, with Sarajevo in particular. The idea was to start the classes with a subject familiar to the children, and it also served as a way for the students to act as “tour guides” for Ravail, Jamie, and myself. Each group presented their posters to the class, with the stipulation that every team member speaks. The assignment was repeated in the following week, with the exception that this time, the groups had to tell us about our countries (the US or Great Britain). Some groups drew the entire landscape of the countries, some listed cities, and some drew flags. I must admit that my favorite came from our fourth grade group who chose England, and their poster included a picture of the Beatles. Again, each group presented to the class.
We focused on adding details to what the fourth grade already knew, when we prepared to teach about clothes, only to discover they already had learned about this. Our team adapted quickly and instead taught words such as, button, zipper, collar, hoodie, turtleneck, corduroys, etc. Out of our three classes, this class impressed me the most. I did not expect the students to remember the word “collar” after a week away from class, but they did. They even remembered it two weeks later in their version of the “pop quiz.”
In our final classes with the fourth and fifth grades, we again, had a graduation celebration and awarded certificates to the students. We played games so that the students could use their new vocabulary (as in “I’m going on a trip…”) and we also simply engaged the students in conversation, so that they could practice their skills without the pressure of the formal classroom setting. I always found this type of teaching the most beneficial: when the students are comfortable and speaking casually. The theme of our last classes was Thanksgiving, the history of which, I explained to the class. We then went around the room and said what we were thankful for. The answers ranged from chocolate to family to friends, but the majority of the students said they were thankful for us.
Our team worked wonderfully together, and everyone had a chance to work closely with the students. I feel that I can speak for all of us when I say this program was 100% successful. I recommend that if we had the opportunity to have classes with the fourth and fifth graders twice a week as well it would have been more productive. I realize the school wrote the schedule, and such a request may be out of our hands, but it is something worth considering, especially because the students mentioned it themselves.
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2/6/2009