When English stirs the creative juices - Poipet
experience (A 'towards #1500' entry from Cambodia. For
further details see #1492 on Bosconet. As you can
see the entries are varied and interesting so far)
POIPET: 20th March 2006 -- School is serious business, one
reason why the Salesians in Poipet, who run a Technical Skills Centre,
decided to open another venture which could be less serious, less
rigorous. This was the Youth Centre. But then, aside from
the need for technical skills, young Cambodians are keen on learning
English, so the Youth Centre, which only opened its doors in November
last year, decided to start out with informal classes in English.
Learning a language might be serious business too,
but the Poipet Centre has demonstrated just how popular it can be when
it is offered informally - and free! English teaching is big
business in many parts of Asia, but paid attendance (at US$ 10 per
month, the going local rate) would be just beyond the capacity of the
very people Don Bosco Poipet would like to see given the chance to
learn English: those who attend the Youth Centre in their free
time. They found they had no need to publicise the offer.
Word of mouth ensured full classes of youngsters from 7 to 20 years of
age. The teachers are volunteers.
English classes have stirred creative juices, the
creativity of the Salesians and their young leaders. The presence
of so many young people coming to learn meant an opportunity to learn
things about local reality. They discovered, for example, that
Poipet has a 'business' middle class, and this group is very much
interested in English as a way ahead for development
opportunities. Other Don Bosco Open Classes are opening.
The English classes have become a real beacon of hope in the midst of a
fairly impressive list of Poipet's evils; there's so much chaos about.
When you see a 100 children and teenagers arriving daily for their
informal English class, though, you can only believe things are getting
better in Poipet. Then there's 'Prodal', the Cambodian cultural
martial arts passion, another informal offering, but that is another
story.....
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