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In May 2009 Alan Davies
returned to Nigeria to see what progress was being made in the seven schools
taking part in the THRASS pilot literacy project in Oyo State and to hold a
further workshop for teachers from those schools at the University of Ibadan.
In the
video we see just how quickly the children are learning. They are really quick
at recognising the words on the Phoneme-Grapheme cards and also at spelling
them. We also see them working with their Picturecharts and SING-A-LONG books.
They are making remarkable progress and are keen to show Alan Davies just how
much they have learned by doing the Consonant Phoneme Rap.
Everybody in the school community wants to be part of the pilot project because
of the SING-A-LONG songs, which have proved so popular that there are now 70
children in some classes. We see the children enthusiastically performing
several of the songs including ‘Fly Little Bird’, ‘You Don’t Get Pandas in
Africa’ and ‘A Great Big Gorilla’. And as they are doing so, even more children
are peering in through the windows!
The
pilot project is being co-ordinated by Dr Nkechi Christopher of the University
of Ibadan and in the video she explains how important the pilot is, as the
effort put in and the results obtained will enable the Government to evaluate
THRASS.
Several
teachers tell us how easy it is to teach THRASS and how confident they feel: “I
love this THRASS and want the Government to take it up because it is giving the
children the opportunity to learn fast and understand things around them and to
be fluent in expressing themselves and to be able to pronounce and read English.
And the children love it because they love the singing which is enabling them to
learn faster.” “Listening to Alan has triggered the flow of ideas in the
teachers.” “If this is implemented in our schools, I am sure the spoken English
of our pupils will be improved.” They feel that THRASS is a real eye-opener and
are confident that their own pronunciation is also improving.
And the
evaluations received after the workshop reflect the same enthusiasm and
confidence in THRASS:
“Educative. It will enhance the knowledge of the pupils. It will arouse the
interest of the pupils with the materials used that make the learning practical
and easier. Pupils will love to attend school instead of absenting themselves.
Government should support this programme because the standard of pupils will be
improved in oral and written English.”
“A big
high five to the THRASS programme. Very encouraging and the school enrolment
keeps increasing because of the songs.”
“Very
interesting. It is very informative, pupils will find it easy to cope with
reading, writing and spelling skills. It is a very stimulating and worthwhile
programme. It paves the way for the teaching and learning of English in an easy
way. I am very happy to have been one of the delegates chosen.”
 Watch the videostream
by just clicking on the link.
THRASS in Nigeria
Part 2
or Download the WMV
Right
Click and Save Target As.
THRASS in Nigeria Part
2
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