computers

This is an ambitious project, but none the less an important one.

We have already said that learning is best when it is fun, it is best when it is both audio and visual, it is best when it is participatory.

Most UK schools now use language labs to help their students learn languages at their own pace.

We want to provide the same for Waangwaray Primary School.

WHY?

English is the medium of education in secondary Schools, if by the time you have not got to grips with English by then, then you will struggle and may find it too hard and drop out. There is no progress without learning English. So we must focus all our attention at this early stage in improving the English of these students if they are to have any hope of completing secondary education and escaping from poverty. We have started to train the teachers in English so that they are better. With our volunteers we hold English conversation classes to teach new words and give the students a chance to practice their language and improve their accents. But this is not enough....

By installing English language software onto the computers and training the teacher and the students on how to use them, we hope that the extra exposure to English combined with the new way of learning will stimulate greater retention of words and make learning English fun.

So in summer '09 we plan to take some computer to Waangwaray and install them there and provide the training.

We are grateful to Initiative, of Clerkenwell Green, London, for the computer that they have kindly donated to us, each with brand new hard drives and we are grateful to Education for All for providing the screens and assisting us with the transportation of them, along with chairs desks and other school equipment.