Zambia

Project background

1. Description of the partners

This project involved the collaboration of the Language Teachers Association of Zambia (LATAZ) and Celtic English Academy Cardiff (CEA) in the UK. CEA is a private language school and has been offering English language tuition for over 16 years. CEA designed and delivered the course to members of LATAZ, which has approximately 160 members who are teachers in Zambia primary and secondary schools.

2. Key features of the context

The participants on the course were practising teachers from Zambia who taught at both primary and secondary level (approx. 50:50 split). The majority of the participants either taught English as their main subject or as one of their main subjects. Those who taught another subject used English as the language of instruction. Although 156 teachers initially signed up to take part in the course, the number of participants who took part in synchronous live lessons was 57 in total (just over one-third). Most of these attended on a regular basis; however, there were some participants who attended on a more ad-hoc basis, giving a weekly average of around 45 attendees.

There was a good balance of male and female students with approximately 55 per cent being female and 45 per cent being male. Initially, approximately 50 per cent of the participants who signed up for the course came from rural locations. However, the number of participants who actually took part from rural locations was lower at around 20 per cent. This was mainly due to poor connectivity in more rural areas.

3. Outline of the course and rationale

From the outset, the course was designed to improve the participants’ confidence in using English daily and an English-medium instruction (EMI) approach was adopted. Conversations with LATAZ also highlighted that writing was an area which the participants could benefit from, with a focus on as this was an area the pupils of the course participants struggled with. Participants were also invited to directly influence the course content with an aspect of a negotiated syllabus being woven in. A weekly breakdown can be seen in Appendix 1.

Learning points

• Through the EMI approach and writing tasks, participants were able to see a direct link between the course content and their own teaching context, making the course relevant to their context and needs • The negotiated approach motivated the participants by giving them direct influence in the course content and led to participant engagement in lessons

1. Working in partnership

Establishing a good relationship between the two partners is important when delivering this kind of project. Prior to the course commencing, CEA met with LATAZ on three occasions to establish the basic needs of the group, mode of delivery and communication, timetabling and course content.

Learning points

• Information provided by LATAZ was insightful and helped with planning many aspects of the course, including course content, mode of delivery, class groupings • LATAZ was able to promote the course effectively and take care of initial course administration and communication

Initial contact Welcome session Live lessons

Initial contact was made with the course participants by the ETA setting up a WhatsApp group A live Zoom session at the start of the course to outline the course to the participants These were the main touchpoint between CEA and the course participants. These sessions took place for one hour twice a week. Regular use was made of the WhatsApp group for general course administration, group communication At the end of a course, a onehour farewell session was held comprising a quiz and discussion as well as an opportunity for feedback

Contact with the CPs can be broken down into five main areas.

Ongoing support and course administration Farewell session

Learning points

• While email was useful as a backup,

WhatsApp was the most effective method of communication • WhatsApp provided participants with an informal means to provide feedback • WhatsApp also meant that a CEA staff member could provide technical support if needed and it was important to have someone available for this role • It facilitated discussion between participants, and participants became more autonomous • The welcome session proved vital to allow participants to understand the course aims, manage expectations and to assess spoken

English

3. Course design and delivery

3.1 Diagnostics

To assess the participants level of English, a Google Form was distributed which contained: • Multiple-choice and cloze grammar questions • Two freer writing tasks The second writing task also asked participants about their expectations for the course. Although most of the participants simply wanted the opportunity to practise their English, a few requested more of a focus on methodology despite not being an explicit course aim. It also reinforced our assumption that the participants’ level of English would be high due to Zambia once being a former British colony. Most participants were at B2 level or above.

Learning points

• Asking participants to write about their expectations meant that expectations were managed by highlighting the parameters of the course in the welcome sessions and first live session • The teachers from CEA who taught on the course also found the opportunity to review the diagnostic tests useful to help prepare them for the course • A diagnostic test helped guide course content.

For example, participants used a lot of idioms and had a rather formal and descriptive way of expressing themselves; this helped guide the course content towards encouraging the participants to use more natural English • The diagnostic test also gave us an insight into their lifestyle and experiences, revealing that they were interested in learning more about

Wales, which again helped to guide the course content, and this was woven into the course design

Although the course outline was created before the course started, lessons were generally planned two weeks in advance, meaning that emerging needs could be catered for and adaptations made such as the lessons on World Englishes and Food. Lesson materials were created by the course coordinator at CEA and two of the teachers on the course.

Learning points

• Not planning too far in advance meant that adaptations could be made to meet shifting needs and in interests • Involving teaching in the course design fostered a sense of collaboration within CEA itself and gave the teachers on the course ownership of the lesson materials An initial training session was held to prepare the teachers from CEA for the project. Teachers were given: • An overview of the diagnostic tests • An outline of the draft course outline • A walkthrough the first lesson materials and the welcome lesson • An insight into Zambian culture delivered by one member of the teaching team who had previously undertaken voluntary work in Zambia on several occasions

Learning points

• Providing some initial training helped prepare teachers for a context which they were not used to and had some reservations about

3.4 Course delivery

Mode of delivery

The course was delivered mainly synchronously using Zoom with additional asynchronous input.

• Two x one-hour live sessions per week • Different groups were created to keep classes smaller and afford participants plenty of opportunities to engage with each other and the teacher • Initially the participants were split into 12 groups but because not as many participants joined the course as anticipated, the groups were reduced to six or eight, depending on the week An online portal was set up using Edublogs which contained: • Copies of all the lesson material • Additional activities, quizzes, videos, and content to provide extension activities. The portal served several purposes.

Learning points

• Small class sizes helped facilitate classroom interaction and participants to actively engage • Asynchronous input allowed absent students to catch up • Asynchronous input also gave participants autonomy, as they could get as much, or as little as they wanted to out of the course

Challenges of course delivery

The interactive sessions were not without challenges. However, the challenges were addressed during the course and overcome as much as possible within the constraints of the project.

i.Attendance and internet connectivity

Attendance could sometimes be erratic due to several factors including: • Poor internet connectivity • Participants being able to find time to take part in the course and to juggle this with other commitments in their lives such as marking national exams To overcome these problems, we: • Offered classes on different days at different times with greater flexibility introduced into the groupings and the opportunity to change groups from week to week • In week four, a short one-hour catch up session on a Friday afternoon was introduced for those participants who had been unable to join earlier in the week These were welcomed by participants and would usually attract between five and ten participants per week.

Making use of an online portal so that participants could work asynchronously also helped to counter some of the problems of absence, as the participants were able to log into the portal, access the lesson materials and complete tasks in their own time. Over the course of the project, approximately 50 participants made use of the portal and three participants took part in the course solely by making use of the portal and by submitting weekly written tasks as they were unable to access Zoom successfully.

Further asynchronous opportunities were provided with the weekly writing tasks. Each week around 20 pieces of work were submitted, which were then corrected and returned to the participants with feedback.

Those that were able to attend did so regularly, which helped develop a positive relationship between the teacher and the participants. At the end of the course, one of the teachers reported that:

Many of the same students came to class each week so we were able to build a good rapport and it was nice to see them get to know each other as well. It really was a great experience!

ii. Reluctance to participate or to engage in meaningful discussion.

One of our teachers reported that:

What became apparent was that despite having a high level of English, the students were reluctant to engage in open class discussions.

Another teacher reported that some discussion activities intended to take the format of a discussion became a series of extended monologues instead.

These issues were overcome by ensuring the lessons were planned with the use of breakout rooms (in which participants felt more comfortable expressing their opinions and input on turn-taking and active listening in lesson design).

During the course, the participants’ confidence grew; as the course went on it became clear that the participants were eager to participate during the lessons.

By the end of course, the teacher that had reported that her participants were reluctant to speak at the start commented that:

The best thing by far was meeting this wonderful group of people and their generosity in sharing their thoughts and opinions on all and every topic. Finding out about life in Zambia and the challenges they face was also an important lesson for me. The students were interesting, interested, motivated and full of opinions, which made it a real pleasure to teach.

Confidence using English

The main aim of this course was to improve the learners’ confidence in using English. Each lesson had several segments embedded into it, which afforded learners the opportunity to practise their speaking skills and develop their confidence and, in this respect, the course achieved this. Improvements were also seen in their writing, as they started to write more naturally.

The course also helped the participants improve their range of grammar and vocabulary. At the end of the course student feedback questionnaires returned comments such as”

My vocabulary has also been enriched by the course.

The course taught me how to use cause and effect.

I was able to practise the use of present modals like should, can, might, must, etc.

I must say I have learnt a lot of new words and how to use past, present, perfect and continuous tenses.

The project also delivered some unintended outcomes, which were of benefit to both partners.

The cultural exchange perspective

The participants responded very well to the cultural aspects of the lessons and loved learning more about the UK in general and Wales/Cardiff more specifically. One teacher reported that:

Sometimes wondered what the students were getting out of the course as their English was so good and it felt inappropriate to correct them based on British English norms. In the end this felt like more of a cultural exchange than a language programme.

The motivational effect of teaching on the course

One teacher commented:

Knowing that many students lived in very rural areas with little infrastructure but were making every effort to fit in the sessions around family life and work, really made me recognise how much they appreciated the opportunity to attend the course. This spurred me on to make sure it was worth their while.

Participant networking

After consultation with LATAZ, participants had been grouped so that each group had participants from different parts of Zambia in it and the students forged new relationships with their classmates. This also came through on the WhatsApp group, which in a way developed into its own community of practice. Participants used the group at times to exchange thoughts and ideas about subjects unrelated to the PRELIM project and to sometimes ask others for advice on completely unrelated matters. Even though the project has now finished, the group has continued.

Teaching methodology

Even though the course was not a methodology course, in the final session, several participants remarked that they felt they had gained a few teaching ideas during the course which they would like to implement during their lessons, specifically activities used during the course to encourage participants to speak, the use of sentence stems and starters, elicitation and the use of images and visuals.

Overall, the participants reported that the course had been a worthwhile experience for them and returned comments in the farewell session which included:

There wasn’t a lesson we had that we didn’t end up laughing.

I enjoyed learning about Wales and really appreciated being able to apply this to Zambia – I felt Zambia was appreciated.

I must say, it has been the best time of my educational life, as learning was more interesting than ever.

• Designing a course which was relevant to the participants needs and context meant that they were engaged and motivated to take part • A good relationship between the two partners facilitated effective communication with the CPs and provided essential information related to course content and delivery • Diagnostic testing was important not only to gauge level, but also to help manage expectations • Establishing a preferred method of communication (WhatsApp) as well as a back-up (email) kept communication channels working • Small class sizes were important to encourage interaction and for participants to actively engage • Asynchronous content gave participants autonomy and provided a catch-up mechanism for absent participants • Flexibility needs to be shown in terms of course content and delivery with the need to adapt • The course went beyond simply being an

English course and promoted networking opportunities and cultural exchange

Appendix 1: Course outline

Week Number School Subject Focus

1 History

2

3 Geography and the Natural World

English Language

4 Sport

5

6

7

8 English Literature

Geography/Statistic

Science and Technology

N/A

9

10 N/A

N/A

Topic

South Wales: The Past and Present

Impact of humans on the natural world

World Englishes and Customs from around the World

Sporting figures

A traditional Welsh short story

The town and country

Renewable energy

Food and Drink

The education system

Happiness

Writing Task

A comparison composition

Creative writing: Writing with empathy

An informal article giving advice

A biography

Creative writing: A short story

Interpreting statistical information

A discursive essay

A review

A reflection on what they had learned during the course.

N/A