Most of you have heard me say (probably on several occasions) that I never wanted to be a teacher. Accordingly, I didn't go into this whole English teaching thing expecting to enjoy it much. So here I am at the end of my first year. The finals are graded, the reportcards are filled out, and I'm at least semi-free for the summer. The verdict? Actually, I think I like teaching quite a bit. I feel fairly at home in front of a classroom of kids whose language I can't even speak very well. Most of them are lazy and slow to pick up everything, but those who actually want to learn are great, and I have a good time working with them.
The two things that frustrate me are the language barrier (I can tell them what to do and explain basic concepts, but lecturing them on their lack of work ethic is a bit beyond my powers) and the lack of logic or critical thinking skills that's endemic in the Mauritanian school system. The focus here is entirely on memorization, and kids - with a few exceptions - seem entirely unable to infer anything, understand complex concepts, or produce original work. A related problem is that there's no diversity of experience here. Even if I ask open-ended questions, their responses are likely to be identical. After all, most of them were born and raised in Maal, and all of them eat bread for breakfast, rice for lunch, and couscous for dinner, pray five times a day, live in a rectangular house made of sand bricks, drink tea at every opportunity, know at least 20 people named Mohamed, and wear either a mulafa (female) or a boubou (male). With their limited vocabulary it's difficult to get beyond the basics, and accordingly I know every answer before it's given. Exercises are pretty boring, too, since they reuse approximately 15 words:
school
go
rice
sleep
tea
fish
study
pen
drink
copybook
house
eat
play
meat
water
wake up
name
The advanced kids know a few more, like:
pray
goat
mosque
shirt
vegetables
walk
car
football
father
mother
etc.
Anyway... I can only conclude that if I'm enjoying teaching under those conditions, I'd like it a whole lot if I were teaching kids who spoke English and had at least a smidgeon of creativity.
Despite the annoyances, I'm fairly satisfied with this year. At least some of the kids learned a little English - and now that I know their levels and a few good tricks, I'm sure next year will be better. I'm really looking forward to starting fresh and concentrating on developing their vocabulary and speech. Most of them will never really know any English, but a few have the potential to actually learn something, which would improve their chances of getting a good job in Nouakchott or even in Europe or America. That would be pretty cool.
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3 comments:
Yaay! I knew that you'd like it if given a chance. I will *try* to mail you a letter soon with stamps in it, especially if it would buy me some correspondence :)
I know what you mean about the whole logic/creativity bit - Zambians were the same way when it came to formal learning. It would be really cool if you could get them to debate with you somehow - ask them "Why?" until you frustrate them enough that they respond hehe
sorry i know you have wrote this long time ago but i have just seen it while googling some stuff
I am a Mauritanian living abroad haven't been 2 my country for long time
actually i'd love to enjoy the same experience as you are
one point is why teaching when you don't like it?!
second of all why r you targeting Mauritania was that optional or you were asked to fulfill that job
oh plz tell me all about your life in Mauritania, how long have you been there? were have you been to.. and so on
i would love to hear from you soooon
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