‘‘I learned everything in English at the University
of Comoros: grammar, vocabulary, translation, etc., but I was not able to
effectively communicate in English’’ said Halima Miradji, the secretary general
of the Comoros English Teachers Association (CETA). Halima attended English
conversation clubs coordinated by Mr. and Mrs. Bransford respectively papa and
mama Liva from Groupe Service Volontaire (GSV) which joyfully serves the
Comoros Islands since 2000. She has become an English teacher after hard work
and suggested the participants at the annual English teachers’ conference to
never give up. ‘‘I teach American citizens the Comorian language (Shingazidja
dialect) and interact with them. I got a job at the American Peace Corps and
travelled to the US’’ Halima proudly said.
Miradji Bacar is the CETA coordinator. He had the
opportunity to give a presentation about his association at the conference. According
to Miradji, CETA’s goal is to improve English language and communication skills
for teachers in order to enhance students’ English competence. His organization
works in partnership with ‘‘Yes We Can’’ association located at the American
Corner in Moroni. The English teachers’ conference was set up in 2010 and aimed
to help teachers sharing and exchanging ideas to become effective teachers in Comoros.
The 7th annual teachers’ conference was held on 11th and
12th March, 2017 in the city of M’de. It was divided in eight
sessions. As its slogan suggests ‘‘bringing your creativity to the table’’,
some teachers and trainers were invited to show, demonstrate and share their
creative ideas.
Mahamoud Ahmed Mze is the founder of the American
English Training Center (AETC) located in Moroni. He had to conduct a session
on Day two. His job was to share ideas on how to integrate the four language
skills in terms of teaching. Mahamoud thinks that teaching is a two ways
process. ‘‘You give and the student gets, the student gives and the teacher
gets’’ he said. He technically explained that the four skills of learning can
be divided in input and output. What the learner hears and reads is called an
input and what s/he says and writes is an output. ‘‘When it comes to teach
vocabulary, one can use many ways except translation which is a bad way because
the learner will retain the translated word rather than the English word ’’
Mahamoud believes. He concluded that teaching can be divided in listening,
speaking, writing and reading distinct activities for a class and a feedback
from learners is necessary to make an interactive class interesting.
Giraud Tatako is a Peace Corps member. She teaches English
at the English Department of the University of Comoros. She thinks a teacher
should believe in himself and try to do what s/he wants to succeed. ‘‘You need
to have a good rapport with your students, show your passion for teaching and
your students will learn the best’’ Mrs. Giraud stated. She strongly believes
that a teacher is not a good teacher if s/he does not learn something
especially from the students. Ahamada M’madi, an English teacher wanted to know
what to do if the class does not understand a lesson. Chamsia Ibrahim, a
participant, suggested revising the last lesson the students have learned if
the present lesson does not work. Mr. Bransford urged Ahamada not to repeat the
same activity every time. He advised him to think and create activities such as
song, game, etc. in order to make the class less boring.
Another creative idea session was conducted by Janette
Hughes, a GSV member in Grande Comore. It was about how to improve English
pronunciation. She shared the idea that a better understanding of pronunciation
leads to less confusion, especially during conversation. As there are different
accents in English language, Mrs. Hughes suggested the learner to know what s/he
wants to sound like or what accent s/he wants to have. She also warned the
learners to be careful not to make mistakes on some trouble words such as refuse and desert which may have different meanings depending on the syllable
one focuses on. She also gave another example with ‘‘ough’’ says in the words
through, though and enough which
are quite different in terms of pronunciation. The GSV presenter concluded her
session by suggesting the audience to subscribe to some good interactive
English websites for adults to learn English and practice pronunciation such as
Babbel, BBC Learning English, Duolingo, English Central, to name but a few.
In her GSV address on Day one, Rebekah Bransford gave
some tips on how to improve the teaching methods by using some Shingazidja
proverbs. First, ‘‘Hutsaha sha mvuvuni hunyama’’ i.e. if you want something
under the bed, you have to get in. Thus, she advised to plan lessons well, to keep
learning as a teacher and research new materials as well. Second, ‘‘Eyadaza
ngenazo hamba’’ which literally means ‘‘who is quite, has something to say.’’
Mrs. Bransford urged teachers to help all students to participate and talk. ‘‘When
you ask them a question, give them more time to think before answering the
question’’ she said. Third, ‘‘mwenda
hampbapvi tsirewe’’ i.e. who walks slowly is not necessarily a handicapped
person. Therefore, she recommended instructors to repeat a lot and show things
slowly. Mama Liva concluded her speech by another Shingazidja say ‘‘hayina
ndrongowo ngizona mwiso’’ that means everything has an end.
Zakaria Maoulida is a University of Comoros alumnus.
He had studied Tourism and Foreign Language at LEA (Langues Étrangères Appliquées)
department. He is the co-founder of AETC with his friend Mahamoud. He works for
Peace Corps in Comoros. ‘‘You can learn English in Comoros and make your dream
come true’’ he said. His main job at Peace Corps is to train American
volunteers how to teach English in Comoros. ‘What you are as a teacher is more
important than what you teach’’ Zakaria said in his keynote address.
Chami Mouzawar
Contributing writer
