Expanding our English Club

Asali teacher Charles has been incredibly busy and productive over the past few weeks! The Simba’s Footprints English club has expanded from an after-school program to an actual English class in the local Langoni school. Teacher Charles and Asali founder, Margot, have been meeting with local school leaders to coordinate an in-school English program that is able to meet the needs of more students in the Moshi area.

The need for expansion became evident as Simba’s club members were regularly absent from the after-school program due to family chores and obligations; many spend their afternoons fetching water for their families or helping care for their younger siblings. In order to be more impactful and reach the children on a more consistent basis, Asali is bringing the English club to the school during regular school hours. Attendance rates have skyrocketed and the children are learning and growing in their English proficiency like never before!

This program is specifically designed for students that are highly motivated but are struggling to learn in the traditional dictation-style classroom. We now have about 45 children, ages 8 to 14, who are playing vocabulary games like Heads Up (thanks Ellen!), Bingo, charades, etc. to incorporate more English into their repertoire. Each week, new vocabulary is introduced and old vocabulary is reinforced. The students can take home their vocabulary sheets each week with visuals to help them practice at home. Our Asali teachers are helping the children to overcome their nerves, and encouraging the students to speak up and make mistakes- it’s all part of the learning process! It is so amazing to see the kids gain confidence and courage as they deepen their English vocabulary and have lots of fun doing it.

On top of teaching the children, our Asali crew is running teacher workshops for the educators in the Langoni school. Training the teachers to use these vocabulary games and lesson plans will enrich their teaching practice and their own English proficiency. This mentorship-style program is exactly what Asali was created to do: encourage others to do what they can to enhance their own practices and to be more impactful with the children of their communities. This ripple effect will allow us to reach many more students through different teachers and schools than we ever could as an isolated organization.

It truly takes a hive to make honey, and we are so excited to see the amazing impact these incredible Asali bees will have on their community as we grow! Check out our instagram page for regular photos and videos of our English clubs (@asaliproject)!

Love and Honey,

The Asali Bees