EFL Workshop

The first point that our English as a Second Language instructor, Lee Melomo, made in our crash course on ESL was that what we as a group were seeking to do is actually called teaching English as a Foreign Language, teaching English in an environment in which English is not the primary spoken language. Furthermore, what we will be doing at College Doctrina Vitae is not just teaching EFL generally, but trying to teach the instructors the vocabulary necessary to teach academic subjects like economics, English, and chemistry in English. After the distinction was made between EFL and ESL, and the fact that our task would be a challenging one was pointed out, Mrs. Melomo embarked on her lesson, starting with a description of the difference between BICS (Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills) and CALP (Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency) -- the two main groups within which one can place language-learning students. Ms. Melomo informed us that most of our students would probably be at the BICS level, but that there could be some overlap in students between BICS and CALP. These classifications are mainly designed to help teachers understand how their students are progressing and how to better teach them. The lesson then went on to explain the different levels of language proficiency (there are four) and the characteristics of each one. After this in depth description of what to look for at each level and what to do and not do when a student is at a particular level, Ms. Melomo then explained Stephen Krashen's Affective Filter Hypothesis -- a theory that suggests the best way to teach a student a foreign language is to teach him one lesson while incorporating the next level of lesson into the teaching, thereby pushing him or her to learn more without frustrating the student. If a teacher is not careful, this frustration can result in the student forming anxiety, a natural impediment to learning anything, particularly a new language. Ms. Melomo also instructed us on different teaching methods, such as Gardner's Multiple Intelligences, Total Physical Response, the Natural Approach, and the Audiolingual Method. The last point that Ms. Melomo talked about was how to create a lesson plan for our students.

Overall, our lesson on EFL could be described in many ways. Personally, it opened my eyes to how challenging and involved teaching any new language can be. Through a series of handouts and drills, we learned how careful one must be in not assuming students know a lot about the language they are learning, and how we must be aware of everything we are saying and giving to them. It also helped me to learn about my own studies of foreign language. The point that interested me the most was Ms. Melomo's description of the "Silent Period" -- a period in which a student learning a new language has anxiety about speaking the language, although he or she is still learning very much. This is an experience I went through in my own studies of a foreign language.

All in all, I think the other project members would agree that this was an incredibly enlightening experience. While I think we all were left with a feeling that this would not be an easy task, through the encouragement bestowed on us by Ms. Melomo, in addition to our passion for what we are doing, we are now even more ready to go to Rwanda and do anything and everything that is needed of us.

-Taylor

PTSD Workshop

Friends, I’m sorry it’s taken so long to write this brief entry! Exams and life in general have thrown my life into a different kind of chaos, but that’s no excuse — last month our Rwanda Team had the chance to listen to Dr. Joe Lowman of the Psychology Department talk to us about Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). It was a helpful topic in light of where we will be traveling too—I, at least, have never been to Rwanda or any geographic region with such an overwhelmingly traumatized history. But what Dr. Lowman had to say was pertinent: only one out of ten people who have suffered from traumatic events will actually respond with PTSD; most people will deal with trauma in a positive way, while the other ten percent will suppress it until the trauma rises to the surface later. Dr. Lowman gave the advice “When you hear hoofbeats, always think horses before you think zebras.” –in essence, don’t assume that just because someone has been through a traumatic event that they will respond with PTSD. However, he also walked our team through some of the characteristics that a person experiencing PTSD will have—e.g, re-experiencing the trauma through dreams and what he described as “intrusive memories.”. He explained that people who have PTSD have "overactive nervous systems”. Emotional memories are processed in a different part of the brain and create hyperactive emotional responses for people who have experienced trauma.

In going to a region with recent trauma such as Rwanda, Dr. Lowman advised that we not jump to conclusions or treat people differently based on what we suspect they have gone through—instead, we should share our different observations with our team and work through those observations as a group. Overall, I thought Dr. Lowman’s advice was a thoughtful and sensitive approach to our time in Rwanda.

-Sarah

Photo: The Ndera Neuropsychiatric Hospital was the first, and remains the only, psychiatric hospital in the country. During the week of remembrance in April, there is a brief but marked increase in the number of patients who seek treatment for PTSD. For many, the week of remembrance acts as a 'trigger' and leads to intrusive memories about traumatic experiences that occurred during the genocide.