American Language Center trains English teachers in Fada N’Gourma

The American Language Center (ALC) organized a regional workshop for secondary school English teachers at the American Corner in Fada N’Gourma on February 26, 2008.  Regional English Language Officer Alice Murray and English Language Fellow Susan Strand carried out the half-day training for nine men and women.  The training focused on strategies for teaching reading and developing English speaking skills.  The participants represented eight different schools in Fada N’Gourma and from communities as far as 100 km away. 

The half-day workshop taught teachers key strategies for helping their students to learn to read in English.  They were also trained in current methods for developing their students’ speaking skills, which in most Burkina classrooms is very challenging due to large class size and the traditionally grammar-focused approach to English teaching. Holding the workshop in the American Corner in Fada N’Gourma provided the added bonus of introducing these English teachers to a whole wealth of resources on the United States housed in the Corner’s collection.  A comment shared by one participant was representative, “I am the only person in my town who speaks English besides the pupils I am trying to teach.  Sometimes I am not sure it’s English I am speaking anymore.  Thank you for coming and giving us this opportunity; we definitely want more!” 

This workshop gave English teachers in the Fada N’Gourma region a much needed professional development experience.  Each participant was given three recent editions of English Teaching Forum magazine and a book entitled, Bright Ideas: A Teacher’s Resource Manual.  These nine teachers teach 2,240 secondary school students in the Fada N’Gourma region. 

This training then, represents US commitment to improve the quality of English instruction for Burkinabe youth and promoting mutual understanding between our countries and cultures. US government support for improving English proficiency also contributes to the economic development of these 2,000 plus young people who need English for higher education opportunities and the future job market.