If we were to travel to your former country . . .

Today we did a writing activity that incorporated new vocabulary words as well as geography. My co-teacher and I wrote questions on the board which the students had to copy and answer in complete sentences. After each question, we did the activity where the students walked around the room asking others the question they had just answered.

These were the questions we answered:

If we were to travel to your former country . . .
• To what continent would we go?
• How would we travel?
• What weather would we expect?
• What type of clothes should we take?
• What languages would we hear?
• What cities would we visit?
• What kinds of houses do people live in?

Continent was a new vocabulary word for many students. Those who had previous schooling quickly realized what the word translated into in their own language and had no problem with the concept. Others were learning the concept of a continent for the first time; it was tricky to explain. One moment that was particularly striking for me occurred while I was working with a learner from Ethiopia who readily participates in class. I asked her what continent she was from, and she was able to pick out Africa from list. I then asked her to show me Africa on the map of the world, and she could not do so.

Volunteering in adult basic education is never without humor – today one learner wrote “air balloon” instead of “airplane” when describing how she traveled from Vietnam to the United States.

Changes

One of the challenging things about volunteering is that it seems learners move up to the next level just as I’ve gotten to know them. Obviously this is a great problem to have and gives me a sense of accomplishment as a volunteer when a learner in my class moves to the next level, but nevertheless there are some learners I miss interacting with each week. Both Mandisa and Aziza moved up to level three!

It’s interesting how the class makeup shifts over time. All classes are multiethnic, but this winter the class I worked in was predominantly composed of Spanish speaking learners, mostly in the 20-35 age range. Today we had 14 students in class and none were Spanish speaking. The majority were African students, many from Somalia, Ethiopia and Sudan, as well as Middle Eastern students, mainly from Iraq and Palestine. The average age was much older as well – 40-50 years old, and some much older.

Working with such an experienced teacher has been helpful to observe how she deftly adapts class lessons for the learners she serves. She’s quick to curtail or tweak a lesson if she senses it is too easy or difficult for the learners, and takes into account what counties learners hail from when giving examples.