Today was my first workshop for English teachers. I was very excited because Halima organized for me to go to a school that serves poor children and the teachers there rarely get any opportunities for professional development. The school orginally was a boarding school as many of the students did not have parents or families to take care of them. After 1992, the school stopped taking boarders because they had to use the living quarters for refugees from Azerbaijan's war with Armenia. When I arrived, it was nice to see that they were renovating the facilities. It seems as though most of the schools in Ganja were built in
the 1960s, but look they look much older than that. Halima's school which does not serve a poor population is not getting renovated but this one is. The teachers are waiting for me in a small classroom, there are only 4. I am actually happy there is a small number of teachers, it makes me feel more relaxed and confident. In preperation for this trip I spent countless hours speaking with Halima over skype, figuring out the general needs of English teachers in her town. In total I put together about 8 hours worth of trainings on various topics related to English language learning. Upon arriving here it was clear that I needed to modify some of my trainings, like the one I gave today. With this group I focused on previewing text and vocab building strategies which I presented in a very simple format. No bells or whistles, just one piece of chart paper, a couple handouts and their own English text books. It was great, well focused and direct and from the feedback I recieved extremely applicable to their classroom settings. Mission accomplished. My next training will be on Sunday with a larger group of teachers and a little more formal, powerpoint and all.
After my workshop today I met with a class of extremely friendly students. I spoke to them about Washington, DC and they had a ton of questions for me. Like many of my classroom visits the students here gave Halima a confused look when she told them I am from the U.S. Their next question to Halima always includes the word, "Hindustani". I am very used to this when I travel abroad. I always had my explaniation ready in Chile, Brazil, Turkey, Tunisia....where ever. I may not be the most "Indian" person, but when I am abroad I always try to have my "go-to" list of history/geography, Bollywood info and food to share with curious people. This list has not always been sufficient in places like Tunisia and Turkey since people there are well versed in Bollywood movies and therefore certian commonalities of Indian culture, Azerbaijan is the same, I am dealing with some expert India-philes.
Today was my first workshop for English teachers. I was very excited because Halima organized for me to go to a school that serves poor children and the teachers there rarely get any opportunities for professional development. The school orginally was a boarding school as many of the students did not have parents or families to take care of them. After 1992, the school stopped taking boarders because they had to use the living quarters for refugees from Azerbaijan's war with Armenia. When I arrived, it was nice to see that they were renovating the facilities. It seems as though most of the schools in Ganja were built in
the 1960s, but look they look much older than that. Halima's school which does not serve a poor population is not getting renovated but this one is. The teachers are waiting for me in a small classroom, there are only 4. I am actually happy there is a small number of teachers, it makes me feel more relaxed and confident. In preperation for this trip I spent countless hours speaking with Halima over skype, figuring out the general needs of English teachers in her town. In total I put together about 8 hours worth of trainings on various topics related to English language learning. Upon arriving here it was clear that I needed to modify some of my trainings, like the one I gave today. With this group I focused on previewing text and vocab building strategies which I presented in a very simple format. No bells or whistles, just one piece of chart paper, a couple handouts and their own English text books. It was great, well focused and direct and from the feedback I recieved extremely applicable to their classroom settings. Mission accomplished. My next training will be on Sunday with a larger group of teachers and a little more formal, powerpoint and all. 
After my workshop today I met with a class of extremely friendly students. I spoke to them about Washington, DC and they had a ton of questions for me. Like many of my classroom visits the students here gave Halima a confused look when she told them I am from the U.S. Their next question to Halima always includes the word, "Hindustani". I am very used to this when I travel abroad. I always had my explaniation ready in Chile, Brazil, Turkey, Tunisia....where ever. I may not be the most "Indian" person, but when I am abroad I always try to have my "go-to" list of history/geography, Bollywood info and food to share with curious people. This list has not always been sufficient in places like Tunisia and Turkey since people there are well versed in Bollywood movies and therefore certian commonalities of Indian culture, Azerbaijan is the same, I am dealing with some expert India-philes. 
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