Teaching English in Yemen

 

 

 Teaching English in Yemen was more rewarding than I could have ever imagined. I knew teaching would give me a chance to better understand Yemeni culture but I underestimated to the extent that the students would contribute to my overall experience in Yemen or the impact that we could have on each other. 

A teacher can open doors in a student's minds that perhaps they never knew existed. I taught the language within a context and the content of the context, well that's where teaching got interesting.  

On many occasions we had healthy debates regarding the dividing and controversial topic of Qat.  Qat is a leafy narcotic that when chewed produces feelings of euphoria. Some students were strongly against it and voiced their opinions regarding the adverse health effects, the impact on Yemen's agricultural resources and the time and money, which they felt was wasted on such a habit.  Other students in the class strongly disagreed. They valued Qat chewing sessions as part of their culture and as a means of socializing and bringing people together.  For them chewing Qat was productive as it is during these Qat chewing sessions that most business deals are arranged.  Some students in the class disagreed with its daily use but valued the tradition of chewing Qat on occasions such as weddings and funerals.

We discussed the role of the government and the students' expectations from their leaders.  Almost unanimously they all felt that the government could do more to improve waste management, enforce laws, reduce traffic congestion, improve and increase the number of education facilities and provide assistance to the handicapped and underprivileged.   

We discussed euthanasia and animal rights and the religious guidance on such topics. We watched the movie  "The Inconvenient Truth” by Al gore and had in-depth discussions about global warming and the effects it is having on the world's climate.  I shared with them pictures of art by Van Gogh, Salvador Dali and Andy Warhol and we discussed famous quotes by Maya Angelou, Albert Einstein, Margaret Thatcher, Martin Luther King and Gandhi.

But most of all I challenged them.  I challenged them to see the world from a different perspective, not as a place where they had to accept the conditions they were given but as a place they could change for the better.

I taught a class of 13 students (Level 6B) at Mali Institute, Sana'a, Yemen.  This was my first teaching gig after obtaining the Cambridge University Certificate in English Teaching to Adults.  Coincidently, I also discovered a greater appreciation for teachers! The amount of time and effort that goes into planning lessons, grading exams, reading student essays, nursing paper cuts (:)) and actually delivering the lesson exceeds the monetary reward by far. However making a difference in someone's life was priceless. 

 JAM Language Ltd. English Flash Cards: Fruit & Vegetables available @ AMAZON

jam CREATION

Congratulations to Jaime (the 'J' in jam) for delivering a jam baby girl today!!  In the spirit of 'creation' this is how jam was created....

Jaime and I met February 2009 in London, UK while obtaining our Cambridge University Certificate in English Teaching to Adults (CELTA).  We shared  a passion for learning new languages.  Jaime was en-route to Brazil to teach English and was learning Portuguese while I had plans to continue to study Arabic in Yemen and teach English as  a means to integrate and give back to the community.  During the course we recognized the lack of  'quality' and 'relevant' teaching tools and resources available to teachers and students.  We realized we truly enjoyed creating our own stuff not just for teaching purposes but for our own learning enjoyment...thus jam was born :)

jam (n) /dʒæm/: quality authentic learning tools that complement the learning process for both children and adults who are learning a foreign language.

JAM Language Ltd. English Flash Cards :  Fruit & Vegetables  available at Amazon!

Communicating to the unborn through music

Pregnant women debate whether it’s safe for your unborn child to go to a rock concert. I’m a believer in communicating with your unborn child by speaking to him/her constantly and listening to your favourite music. For me, going to concerts are not a stressful experience (unlike sporting events when you are on the knife-edge of your seat!) but the complete opposite. It has this amazing feel-good affect and I figure what’s good for jam.mummy can only be good for jam.baby!

We tested jam.baby’s taste in music last week. On Thursday night we went to the BBC Proms at the stunning Royal Albert Hall where the Scottish Symphony Orchestra were playing. La Valse by Ravel was the favourite by far – a beautiful Austrian waltz which had jam.baby swaying in time with the hypnotic violin bows. This was then followed by the ‘world-premiere’ by Unsuk Chin which was a contemporary piece. I thought the loud, sudden bangs and clashes from the drums would’ve resulted in a kick or two but I’m guessing from the non-reaction it wasn’t our cup of tea for the both of us.

We managed to get last minute tickets to the first night of U2 at Wembley Stadium on Friday (Great value night Hils!). They lived up to jam.mummy and jam.baby’s expectations. The staging was incredible, and they are fabulous showmen. I was trying to keep track of which songs were jam.baby’s favourites for the birthing suite playlist but he/she was tapping his/her feet to pretty much all the songs, the ultimate favourite being With or Without you!

Both nights were worth going to. If you haven’t been to the Royal Albert Hall it’s definitely worth the trip – even if you’re not a classical music fan they have lots of other events for you to check out. We’ll have to make sure we have both classical music and U2 on our playlist for the ‘birth’ day!

p.s. I’m not saying that all pregnant women should go to music concerts. I’m an advocate for doing what you’re most comfortable doing for you and your baby!

JAM English Flashcards are coming soon!

Become a jam.fan!

My Arabic Teacher

Arabic is one of the six official languages of the United Nations.  Arabic is spoken with numerous colloquial variants across 22 countries spanning the middle East from North Africa to South-West Asia.  Over 280M people speak Arabic and it is estimated that another 250M are learning Arabic as  a 2nd language.  My main motivation for coming to  Sana'a, Yemen  was to further my Arabic studies.   I had previous lessons in the past such as an intensive introduction to Arabic at SOAS, University of London, School of Oriental and African Studies and private tutors while I lived in London and Dubai.   The best teacher I have ever had though was Jamila Hiba here in Sana'a, Yemen at Mali Institute.    She is extremely punctual and disciplined and our two daily sessions of two hours each  go by quickly.  I am impressed by her work ethic and natural teaching skills.  Jamila graduated from Sana'a University with  a Bachelors in Arabic Studies.  She ranked 8th among her class of 250 students.  What she enjoys the most about teaching is meeting people from around the world and learning about their countries and cultures.  She has taught students from Japan, France, Italy, Austria, Australia, United Kingdom, United States of America and Venezuela (I'm her 2nd student from Venezuela :)).  Jamila comes from a large family with six brothers and a younger sister.  I have had the honor of meeting some of her family as she has hosted me in her lovely home on several occasions for traditional Yemeni meals.   During her spare time, Jamila enjoys reading about Islam and Sharia Law.

Jamila has been teaching Arabic privately and at Mali Institute for 5 years and she hopes to complete a Masters in Linguistics in the near future.  She is  a JAM fan and can be contacted via facebook.  

Jam English Flash Cards Coming Soon!

Body Language

The universal language of a celebration.   After all, 93% of what you say remains unsaid.   You do not need to speak the same language to enjoy a party for the secret is in the essence of the body language.   I had the honor of being invited to a Yemeni wedding and on this occasion there were three brides!! They were sisters in fact getting married on the same day!

As the women entered the banquet hall, meters of black fabric were substituted for endless shades of vibrant and deep rich colors.  Across the extensive banquet hall hosting over 250 women the colors came alive among the sea of sequence, sparkles and  shimmering jewelry.  There were several generations of women from toddlers to great grandparents accompanied by the odd boy under the age of 10.   The banquet hall was a supersize version of a traditional Yemeni family room filled with regal plush pillows and patterned carpeting.  It was a scene straight out of Arabian Nights with clouds of strawberry shisha smoke hovering in the air, myrrh and frankincense burning to vanish the evil eye and the all too familiar sounds of the  the region ranging from Egyptian, Khaleej (Gulf) to Ethiopian beats.   The party came to a halt for Maghrib, the sunset call to prayer.    The Abayas and the scarfs were brought out to mute the party and ensure a respectful moment was observed.  After Maghrib, the celebration continued and once again the removal of the abayas revealed nothing but color.

jam English flash cards coming soon!

Kate Kelley

Kate Kelley is well ... full of surprises. Our paths crossed only for  a brief moment but the encounter was memorable.  As I was arriving in Yemen she was enjoying her last week in Sana'a.  Despite this, she still managed to teach me the survival essentials.  She patiently taught me how to tie my scarf, how to get travel permits from the tourist police and the necessary arabic phrases needed to direct a taxi driver home.  She introduced me to her eclectic circle of yemeni and expat friends, the hidden gem Coffee Trader Cafe serving up real cheesecake alongside 100% yemeni coffee and Yayha's bed and breakfast in Kawkaban.  

On one occasion she even brought home  a complete stranger.   By chance he happened to be Danilo Perotti Machado, a Brazilian athlete who was cycling around the world (Homen Livre Project)!  Danilo had just arrived in Sana'a and was on his way to Aden but the tourist police insisted that he stay in Sana'a for the evening and continue his travels in the morning.  Lucky for Danilo, Kate spotted him.   Kate was actually going through the checkpoint on her way back from Zafar where some of the villagers were hosting a farewell gathering in her honor.  

While Kate originally came to Yemen to teach English at MALI Institute in Sana'a, upon her arrival, she was also recruited as an archeologist in the Ibb province.  She joined a team from Heidelberg University  led by archeologist Dr. Paul Yule and about 40 participants from the village to discover the remnants of the once powerful Himyarite Empire.  

This Year's excavation revealed numerous stone reliefs of mythological creatures.  However since 1998, when the project was initiated, over 1000 inscriptions and reliefs have been discovered and are being catalogued.  The inscriptions are in the Himyarite Language which was a South Semetic tongue spoken in the South Western Arabian Peninsula.   Inscriptions judged to be Himyarite have been found dating from before 700 BC.

Kate Kelly is an American from Everett, Washington who moved to Yemen in 2007 upon graduating with honors in Near Eastern Studies from Edinburgh University.  She is currently considering an opportunity teaching English in Iraq.   Kate is pictured above second from left.   Kate's dear friend and former academic coordinator at MALI Institute, Julie Manning is pictured second from the right. 

jam English flash cards Coming Soon!

Sana'a Yemen

My arrival in Sana'a, Yemen symbolizes a major milestone for me.  It was a New Year's resolution and one that I am proud to actually be executing.  For years, I dreamt of coming to this untainted land filled with so much history and veiled with mystery.     Thus far this experience has been a true test of my ability to adapt.  Yemen has been the most challenging of countries I have encountered throughout my travels in the Middle East.  Perhaps it's that for the first time, I travel alone without the usual benefits of traveling for a corporation.  Perhaps I feel a little vulnerable because it's one of the few places where I do not know anyone.    Maybe its because I wear abaya not out of indulgence and pleasure but out of necessity.  But probably more than anything else it's because, for once I am unable to communicate freely.  I understand now more than ever the power of language.  Without it you are handicapped.  Without language you are unable to negotiate, express, command ( :)) and most importantly exchange intellect.  I am grateful to finally have the opportunity to study Arabic in Sana'a and look forward to bridging the language gap. 

NOTE:  Arabic Jam Flashcards Coming Soon!

Looking for a way to practice your English?

Earlier this year I went to Sainsburys on a very busy Saturday morning and helped a little, old lady at the checkout counter with packing her shopping as she was visibly exhausted. The supermarket was incredibly busy (why do people get so angry when they are shopping!) and all she wanted to do was sit down. I asked her if she needed help getting home but she said she had transport from Shop Mobility on the corner. As I had been looking for a charity to volunteer for I thought I would pop in and see what they were all about.

Shop Mobility provides assistance to those who can't get around very easily. They have a supply of wheelchairs and volunteers to help people do their shopping and run errands. You can volunteer one morning a week or every day if you wanted. They are really flexible which is great as I can change days to fit my schedule. It's only 2 hours of my morning and makes me get out of bed!

The elderly make up a large proportion of their clientele and I've made some great friends through my volunteer work. They all have incredible stories, funny little anecdotes and love to just have someone to talk to for an hour or two. This is a great way to practice your conversational English and to give back to the community at the same time.

Visit your nearest Shop Mobility.

JAM Language English Flashcards are coming soon! www.jamlanguage.com