American Language Center trains English teachers in Dori and Kaya
The American Language Center (ALC) organized regional workshops for secondary school English teachers in Dori and Kaya December 1-5, 2008. Thirteen teachers in Dori and twenty-five in Kaya participated in 2-day workshops. The training focused on giving teachers strategies for developing the English speaking skills of their students. A session on forming local and regional teacher associations was also presented. Participants received information about membership in TESOL, an international English teaching association based in the USA.
The Dori participants represented 9 public and private schools in the region and those in Kaya represented 16 schools. Lynn Hanson Ouédraogo, ALC Director, and Raguilli Savadogo, ALC program assistant, carried out the training sessions for these teachers, 71% of whom had received no prior formal teacher training. This training was vital in giving teachers strategies to help students move their English into active, useable language. Likewise, encouraging the teachers to form local and regional teacher associations will promote their professional development. A comment shared by one participant was representative, “This workshop has been very helpful to us because it enlightened our ways of teaching English.” Participants were given teaching materials developed by the training team as well as copies of English Teaching Forum magazine. These thirty-eight teachers teach more than 14,000 secondary school students in Dori, Kaya, and the surrounding regions.
This training then, represents US commitment to improve the quality of English instruction for Burkinabe youth, in terms of promoting mutual understanding between our countries and cultures. It also promotes economic development for these 14,000 plus young people who need English for higher education and the future job market.
