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| VOLUNTEER
TEACHING WITH MANDORE GUEST HOUSE |
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Having
just completed two rewarding
weeks volunteering at a small
village outside of Jodphur
in the Bishnoi area, I thought
it would be helpful for future
volunteers if I recorded some
of my experiences. I taught
at a small government school
each morning about fifteen
kilometers from the Mandore
Guest House. Each day as we
arrived, the students rushed
out to welcome us. I was accompanied
each day by Surandra, who
co-ordinates the volunteer
program. He was a crucial
presence as he was able to
help me organize the large
class, translating my instructions
and providing me with the
Hindi words I needed to get
my point across. |
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| Dr.
Deborah Wood, Australia. Teaching
- ages range from 3 years to about
12 years old |
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| Dr.
Deborah Wood, Australia. Teaching
- attention to Small Aged Group
students |
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The
students level of English was
very basic so I developed some
very simple lessons around basic
phrases such as; How are you,
my name is, the time is etc.
The students normal learning
method is by rote with lots
of repetition. I decided to
enliven this by incorporating
visual expression, visual aids
and games. This seemed to be
a successful approach, especially
as the age range of the class
is so wide. (The ages range
from three years old to about
twelve). The resources at the
school are minimal so I found
taking A4 and A3 paper was useful.
We also provided colour pencils
and crayons. |
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Each
lesson began with oral and
written presentation followed
by the whole class repeating
the words over and over. After
copying down the words an
activity was devised to further
entrench the words into the
students minds. This usually
took the form of a poster
or image combined with words.
With much praise provided
the work was displayed amidst
applause and treats. I always
tried then to incorporate
the days new terms into a
game. These children are fairly
kinaesthetic in their approach
to learning so games or dances
are a fun and effective way
to help them retain new information.
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| Dr.
Deborah Wood, Australia -Teaching
English Lesson in a rural Primary
School |
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THREE
EXAMPLES OF LESSONS
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English
terms; Hello, how are you? I am well,
thankyou.
Using both English and Hindi I introduced
the terms to the class and got them
to repeat the phrases. Using selected
students I role-played the meeting
and greeting process with them in
front of the class. The students then
copied the terms into their books.
The activity used to reinforce the
lesson was simple; the students had
to line up facing each other and shake
hands with the person opposite. Then
one side was instructed to say, “Hello,
how are you”. The other side
responded with, “I am well,
thank you. How are you? Then the first
line responded with, “I am well
thank you.” All very simple
but it worked well as they were all
involved and encouraged to be loud
and lively. They practiced for 5 minutes
or so and I circulated giving individual
attention. Finally I walked down the
line and got each pair to perform
the greeting in front of the others,
with applause for each effort. |
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English
terms; What is the time?, The time
is … o’clock.
I began by drawing
a clock-face on the board. Then wrote
the terms for them to copy We went
over with the class numbers in English
and then I changed the hands of the
clock on the board and each time asked
the students to tell me what the time
was. They were instructed to draw
twelve clock faces and draw in the
hands and write the time in English.
This took some time and much attention
was given to individual students,
especially the younger ones.
The activity that followed was the
game ‘What is the time Mr Wolf
(except I changed the wolf to Tiger).
This game became a perennial favorite
amongst the children that they asked
to play each day. It is particularly
good, as it requires much repetition
of the phrases taught and is fun. |
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English
terms for body parts.
A large figure
was drawn on the board. The students
were given photocopies of a body outline.
On the sheet they wrote the word for
each part as it was taught. There
was much verbal repetition of the
words and encouragement to wave, stamp,
kick, waggle etc. the body parts mentioned.
The students were then given time
to colour in the body outline and
then copy the words into their books.
The activity chosen for this lesson
was the simple dance ‘Do the
Hokey Pokey’. (Oh put your left
foot in, put your left foot out, put
your left foot in and shake it all
about etc). Again this was good as
it gave the children a chance to be
up and about having fun while using
the new terms.
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These
are just some ideas; everybody will bring
their own expertise and instinct to the
project. I cannot recommend highly enough
how valuable this experience was for me.
To be part of these children’s world
for a few short weeks was a privilege and
a joy. Their enthusiasm and respect was
refreshing for a jaded teacher from Australia.
The support volunteers receive at the Mandore
Guest House is superb, as is the wonderful
food. Surandra has thought deeply about
a grassroots approach that is appropriate
and useful for the villagers so either teaching,
upgrading the school facilities or installing
a new fuel efficient cooking stove is done
with respect and sensitivity. I certainly
will be returning and encouraging my colleagues
to do so also. |
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| Dr. Deborah Wood
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| Melbourne |
| Australia. |
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