The Women’s English Club!

When you are an English teacher living in a country where virtually nobody speaks English, but everyone wants to learn, the odds of personal success are excellent. Also, when you are a native English speaker, you may find yourself suddenly in charge of nearly everything that even remotely relates to the English language and/or teaching. Here is an example of how it goes: They invite me to the weekly English Club at the university, but only after I arrive do I realize that it is not an invitation to observe or merely participate in the English Club. As the club leader thrusts the microphone in my face, I understand that attending the club was, in fact, an invitation to be in charge of the club. Luckily, I love a microphone and am fairly quick on my feet.

After about the third invitation to attend an event, I started showing up at every event with a PowerPoint, some activities, and a real plan (and some candy because if things go off the rails, candy can save the day).

So, I am in charge of an ever-growing list of clubs, classes, and organizations that keep me busy and bring enthusiastic students into my life. As a special add-on, the curriculum for travel and tourism, which I knew I would be writing, turned out to be the national curriculum for travel and tourism in the country. I did not know in advance that there are no academic standards for education here. Quickly, I learned how hard it is to write a curriculum when there are no clear learning outcomes, so I’m writing the academic standards, too.

One of the clubs I am in charge of is the monthly book club at the Embassy. Since the Embassy is involved, it is not a feel-good fiction novel but a business book. The book of the month for October was How Great Leaders Think, and when I knew that I would be leading the discussion, I quickly bought the book, read it, and made a plan for the book discussion.

People packed the room on the day of the book club meeting, and I was well-prepared for the conversation. What I was not prepared for was the first 5 minutes of the class when I asked everyone how they liked the book and got blank stares in return. Then I asked for a raise of hands, how many people had read the book. In a class of 50 people, not one person raised a hand. I then asked how many had a copy of the book and didn’t have the time to read it before class (as was my norm in my book club days). I waited a long time, and there were still no hands. Ooof.

I learned that at the book club, it is not enough to come prepared to lead a discussion about a book; I also need to start with a structured and visual synopsis. Luckily, I had some candy in my bag.