tory paez

Background: I completed three official community English courses during our Peace Corps service. I also led a course in the high school to prepare students for their English graduation exam. Furthermore, I held individual and small group English tutoring throughout my service.

 

The community English courses ranged from eight to twelve weeks and covered topics such as an introduction to basic questions, telling time/months of year, descriptions (places/transportation), directions, food and drink, goods and services, as well as nature and geography.

 

Purpose: To build English speaking capacity to expand educational and professional opportunities

 

Audience: Community members (i.e. adults, youth, children) with a desire to learn and practice English

 

Materials:

• Whiteboard

• Marker

• Attendance sheet 

• Additional materials depending on the lesson 

 

Documents: 

• Teaching English resource (link) 

• Planning document with student results (link)

 

 

Lesson Learned: There is a very high level of enthusiasm at the start of every English course, but attendance, no matter how engaging the course, will diminish as the course goes on. Reflecting back, it's important to always confirm the day/time for the next session and "tease" the participants with some type of incentive (e.g. snacks) or interesting material (e.g. learning the meaning of a popular song in English). 

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