Forgive the format, I copy and paste from a txt document to save time on the internet, and I have not got the paragraphs to come out yet.
Work
My work at the Central Library is in the Internet Access and Training Program. The IATP
was funded by the United States Agency for International Development. There are 10
computers with 1 being the server for the internet. 6 of the 9 are connected to the
internet and one of those is used by the director, Alma. Students come in and sign up for
independent study of Word, Excel, and the Internet. Alma uses structured lesson plans for
basic use of the programs.The IATP also then provides free internet access for the community when the computers are open, first come first served basis. The center is open 7 days a week from 9 - 1 and 2 - 6. In actuality take a half hour off of each of those times for actual use. The students are very slow with the keyboard. Computers and basic office programs are not going to be productive until there is a keyboard skills class begun at the earliest possible age as in
the United States. I am looking for keyboard teaching programs. If anyone can help me,
please email or comment. If I was at Wal-Mart I could purchase a basic keyboard tutoring
for children for about $20 I think. There is probably even shareware available if I have a
chance to find and download.When the students do work in the Office Suite of programs, there are no case studies or assignments. They learn about the functions, but when I ask how they would use such programs, there is the deer in the headlights look. Alma says to me "teach" and I say "how will they use the programs, what should I teach". This is the area I will work on in the next year. My language skills must vastly improve for me to be effective. The students
and Alma have limited English skills.A most interesting person who uses the IATP almost every day is Lily. I would estimate her age at 55. Her English is the best I've heard here. She comes in and uses the computer and internet almost every day. Linda and I hope to get to know her better when we have an apartment of our own to which we can invite her. In this culture she is certainly worth getting to know.
My work at the Central Library is in the Internet Access and Training Program. The IATP
was funded by the United States Agency for International Development. There are 10
computers with 1 being the server for the internet. 6 of the 9 are connected to the
internet and one of those is used by the director, Alma. Students come in and sign up for
independent study of Word, Excel, and the Internet. Alma uses structured lesson plans for
basic use of the programs.The IATP also then provides free internet access for the community when the computers are open, first come first served basis. The center is open 7 days a week from 9 - 1 and 2 - 6. In actuality take a half hour off of each of those times for actual use. The students are very slow with the keyboard. Computers and basic office programs are not going to be productive until there is a keyboard skills class begun at the earliest possible age as in
the United States. I am looking for keyboard teaching programs. If anyone can help me,
please email or comment. If I was at Wal-Mart I could purchase a basic keyboard tutoring
for children for about $20 I think. There is probably even shareware available if I have a
chance to find and download.When the students do work in the Office Suite of programs, there are no case studies or assignments. They learn about the functions, but when I ask how they would use such programs, there is the deer in the headlights look. Alma says to me "teach" and I say "how will they use the programs, what should I teach". This is the area I will work on in the next year. My language skills must vastly improve for me to be effective. The students
and Alma have limited English skills.A most interesting person who uses the IATP almost every day is Lily. I would estimate her age at 55. Her English is the best I've heard here. She comes in and uses the computer and internet almost every day. Linda and I hope to get to know her better when we have an apartment of our own to which we can invite her. In this culture she is certainly worth getting to know.
The other aspect of my work, and more successful so far, is conducting conversation clubs. I began with 2 clubs for an hour five days a week. That was too much. I now have the 2 clubs meet on Mon., Wed., Fri. One meets at 10:00 and the other at 4:00. The morning is primarily students from the college, and the afternoon is a complete mix. The conversation clubs are a way to integrate us into the community and give us credibility.The conversation clubs are to have the students practice their English speaking. I tell everyone that I am not an English teacher, I am an English speaker. I have activities that help with vocabulary such as body parts bingo. The students fold a piece of paper into 16 squares, then write down 16 of the 30 or so words I have on the board randomly. Then I call out the word in Azeri, then English until someone gets 4 in a row, then they get a piece of candy. The words are called until everyone has blacked out their cards and everyone has candy. Then we play again using only English and play for a blackout card.The clubs choose topics to discuss in English. They love the subjects of holidays,
cultural differences, and music. I had a great experience when the morning club wanted to
change the meeting time from 11:00 to 10:00. We voted, and the vote was 6 to 6. The club
wanted me to decide, and I refused. In a democracy you must negotiate, and they did. I
offered compromise to 10:30, but they turned that down. They discussed and finally decided
on 10:00 with a vote of 10 - 2. It was great!There is a white board I use every session, and the markers were pretty dim. I had not
figured out where I could purchase the markers. One of the students came in late to
conversation club, and I commented on her being late. She replied she was late because she
stopped to buy a new marker for the board, saying so with the saddest big brown eyes. It
both broke my heart and gave me such a boost.We sing songs such as "Head and Shoulders Knees and Toes", "If You're Happy and You Know
It" for breaks during the discussions. So far the biggest hits are the songs and the
bingo. I will share more in the future about attempting to use the conversation clubs for learning life skills and healthy choices.Below Linda writes about the schools.
Azerbaijani SchoolsAZ schools are grades (forms) 1-11. There is no kindergarten or 12th form. School is in two shifts; usually from 8-1:00 and 1:00 to 6:00. September 15 is the start date for all schools in the country and May 30 is the end date. There is no summer school. Most
instruction is from the old Soviet period with lecture, memorizing and repeating back
information the primary means of learning. The Dept. of Edu. is trying to change
instructional methods but change appears slow. Teachers can hit, slap and yell at students
at will. I have observed only yelling, screaming and pounding on the desk. The same state
issued textbooks are used throughout the country. Teachers are encouraged to teach to the
final state test instead to teaching to mastery. AZ students are behind their American
counterparts because of the shorter daily instruction time, shorter school year and poor
instructional methods. There is no special help for slow learners or struggling students.
Only one curriculum at one pace and with one method of instruction is available to students
in AZ schools. The struggling students sit in the back the are ignored by the teachers.
They day dream or play with items. They are expected to be quite so the others can learn.
AZ teachers are poorly paid. A beginning teacher makes only 60-80 manat(dollars) a month.
These teachers usually live with thier parents if not married because they can't afford a
place of their own. Parents who want their children to pass tests for university entrance
usually have their children tutored outside of school at their own expense. Teachers can
make as much money tutoring as teaching and have better students. Most AZ schools have
poor heating so students and teachers wear their coats, hats gloves and boots during the
school day. The schools that I have been in range from clean, new buildings to dirty, run
-down buildings. Education in AZ is very top down. The Dept of Edu decides on the
textbooks to be used and curriculum to be followed for all forms. In each individual
school, the director (principal) makes decisions and there is little teacher input. There
are both men and women at the administrative level. In a typical AZ classroom there are
sutdent desks and a blackboard. No teacher's desk, bare walls, no pencil sharpener, no
equipment, no books. Each student purchases they textbook and pens - none are supplied by
the school. The teacher comes in with a textbook and her purse. Students when asked to go
to the board to write, must provide their own chalk.I am to select two counterparts to work with for the next two years. We are to co-teach with me showing new instructional methods and how to use visual aides. I will be available to all the 9 English teachers in my building to help learn new methods and will conduct teacher workshops. The director seems to want his teachers to learn more interactive instructional methods. Hopefully the teachers will want to learn also. Currently, I am observing in the classes of the 9 English teachers to see who I will co-teach with and what kind of schedule I can work out. I hope to work out a schedule of teaching in the morning session and conversation clubs in the afternoons. The conversation clubs are not graded but will be an opportunity for students to speak English. Often they read some English
sentences but can not carry on a conversation. Their English is really not useful to them.
The older students seem very interested to learning and speaking English because they know
that the best jobs in the country are with western companies and government jobs that
require English. I will keep you updated on how all this develops. The teachers at School 9 have welcomed me with open arms. They are helpful and friendly.
The director has been very nice to me too. All of them seem to be glad to have me. This
was their third application to get a Peace Corps Volunteer to help with English language
teaching. They seem excited to finally have a PCV. Most of the teachers to about early
30's to 64. Several have told me that they are glad to have an experienced teacher.
cultural differences, and music. I had a great experience when the morning club wanted to
change the meeting time from 11:00 to 10:00. We voted, and the vote was 6 to 6. The club
wanted me to decide, and I refused. In a democracy you must negotiate, and they did. I
offered compromise to 10:30, but they turned that down. They discussed and finally decided
on 10:00 with a vote of 10 - 2. It was great!There is a white board I use every session, and the markers were pretty dim. I had not
figured out where I could purchase the markers. One of the students came in late to
conversation club, and I commented on her being late. She replied she was late because she
stopped to buy a new marker for the board, saying so with the saddest big brown eyes. It
both broke my heart and gave me such a boost.We sing songs such as "Head and Shoulders Knees and Toes", "If You're Happy and You Know
It" for breaks during the discussions. So far the biggest hits are the songs and the
bingo. I will share more in the future about attempting to use the conversation clubs for learning life skills and healthy choices.Below Linda writes about the schools.
Azerbaijani SchoolsAZ schools are grades (forms) 1-11. There is no kindergarten or 12th form. School is in two shifts; usually from 8-1:00 and 1:00 to 6:00. September 15 is the start date for all schools in the country and May 30 is the end date. There is no summer school. Most
instruction is from the old Soviet period with lecture, memorizing and repeating back
information the primary means of learning. The Dept. of Edu. is trying to change
instructional methods but change appears slow. Teachers can hit, slap and yell at students
at will. I have observed only yelling, screaming and pounding on the desk. The same state
issued textbooks are used throughout the country. Teachers are encouraged to teach to the
final state test instead to teaching to mastery. AZ students are behind their American
counterparts because of the shorter daily instruction time, shorter school year and poor
instructional methods. There is no special help for slow learners or struggling students.
Only one curriculum at one pace and with one method of instruction is available to students
in AZ schools. The struggling students sit in the back the are ignored by the teachers.
They day dream or play with items. They are expected to be quite so the others can learn.
AZ teachers are poorly paid. A beginning teacher makes only 60-80 manat(dollars) a month.
These teachers usually live with thier parents if not married because they can't afford a
place of their own. Parents who want their children to pass tests for university entrance
usually have their children tutored outside of school at their own expense. Teachers can
make as much money tutoring as teaching and have better students. Most AZ schools have
poor heating so students and teachers wear their coats, hats gloves and boots during the
school day. The schools that I have been in range from clean, new buildings to dirty, run
-down buildings. Education in AZ is very top down. The Dept of Edu decides on the
textbooks to be used and curriculum to be followed for all forms. In each individual
school, the director (principal) makes decisions and there is little teacher input. There
are both men and women at the administrative level. In a typical AZ classroom there are
sutdent desks and a blackboard. No teacher's desk, bare walls, no pencil sharpener, no
equipment, no books. Each student purchases they textbook and pens - none are supplied by
the school. The teacher comes in with a textbook and her purse. Students when asked to go
to the board to write, must provide their own chalk.I am to select two counterparts to work with for the next two years. We are to co-teach with me showing new instructional methods and how to use visual aides. I will be available to all the 9 English teachers in my building to help learn new methods and will conduct teacher workshops. The director seems to want his teachers to learn more interactive instructional methods. Hopefully the teachers will want to learn also. Currently, I am observing in the classes of the 9 English teachers to see who I will co-teach with and what kind of schedule I can work out. I hope to work out a schedule of teaching in the morning session and conversation clubs in the afternoons. The conversation clubs are not graded but will be an opportunity for students to speak English. Often they read some English
sentences but can not carry on a conversation. Their English is really not useful to them.
The older students seem very interested to learning and speaking English because they know
that the best jobs in the country are with western companies and government jobs that
require English. I will keep you updated on how all this develops. The teachers at School 9 have welcomed me with open arms. They are helpful and friendly.
The director has been very nice to me too. All of them seem to be glad to have me. This
was their third application to get a Peace Corps Volunteer to help with English language
teaching. They seem excited to finally have a PCV. Most of the teachers to about early
30's to 64. Several have told me that they are glad to have an experienced teacher.
3 comments:
Hi linda and Denny
Thanks for the detailed information.
So interesting to hear and the pictures are great....The kabobs on
December 17th remind me of camping.
I love to rough it by camping, but you guys hang in there on your long term camping trip. ha ha
The kids and I went on a Carribean Cruise over Christmas-- Wonderful family time. Miss you Linda at Bible Study. Love Cathy Shaw
Jello! This is Rachael (Katherine's oldest Granddaughter). I read your post and thought I'd let you guys know that we used Mavis Beacon to learn typing. It is an awesome program! It teaches to type and then we would have games to practice the skills. I found this trial of it. http://www.download.com/Mavis-Beacon-Teaches-Typing-17-Deluxe/3000-2051_4-10441764.html
The site says you can try it 3 times and then you have to pay $40 to have it. Hope this helps.
Greetings, Denny and Linda--
Dallas had a small spot of ice on roads this a.m., so obviously the whole area had to shut down! So I am catching up on reading your blog. Pics and descriptions are excellent and appreciated. Two things--in my volunteer work in the local adult literacy program (Reading for Adults), I come across many language learning activities--games, etc. that the adults really enjoy. Would you be able to receive some info like this via email or snail mail...or do you have enough material already? Also, I am Pres of the local chapter of the Texas State Reading Assoc and we try to have an international project each year--something modest because we are small...but I think our group would love to contribute to your work. Would you be able to accept direct contributions or does everything need to go through PC channels. Would love to know.
Please take care. I am enjoying the vicarious experiences...still laughing about your WWII exploits!
Prayers & Love--Kay
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