This week, Ousmane Ahamdou, an English teacher at the École de Formation Artistique et Culturelle in Agadez, Niger, shares his experience with the Connecting Classrooms program.
“Our students were enthusiastic to introduce themselves to the students in the US,” Monsieur Ahamdou said. “They’re sharing with them facts about their daily school routine and showing them an authentic visage of the French-speaking African world.”
In particular, the students in Niger have enjoyed telling their American partners about their painting classes and the artistic creations that they’re currently working on.
Connecting Classrooms has been a great opportunity for the students in Niger to practice and improve their English language skills while also learning about their American peers.
At the École de Formation Artistique et Culturelle, the students take classes in French and English. The school specializes in offering classes in information technology, drama and visual arts, including drawing and painting.
Only five of the teachers on staff are employed by the school, while the other teachers are volunteers.
Monsieur Ahamdou’s school was matched with a public high school outside Boston, Massachusetts. For the American students, it has been a great opportunity to not only practice their French language skills, but also to discover the diversity of the francophone world.
French is spoken by more than 132 million people in Africa spread across 34 countries and territories (source: Organisation internationale de la
Francophonie).
Want to connect your students with a school abroad?
Submit a Connecting Classrooms Interest Form to be matched for the 2022-23 school year!
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