Up until now Paige and I have only been teaching English to the faculty of the College of Engineering. Our task was to, “get the teachers comfortable speaking in English and build their confidence.” There was no book to follow and no set lesson plans. For the past month we have been creating lessons completely on the fly. Utilizing a variety of activities including impromptu speeches, debates, lessons in grammar, and writing prompts, we have been able to sufficiently fill 2 hours a day for 5 days a week. However, without any set structure moving forward, our class has essentially peaked.
To our chagrin, a common theme permeating the university is that lessons in grammar and vocabulary are not really necessary. Their idea is that if you practice speaking enough you will correct your own mistakes. I understand this argument to a point. Confidence in speaking is highly important and countless lessons in grammar will not help you to think in English. A lot of our students have a decent vocabulary but are not used to actually utilizing it in real life situations. Practicing speaking and not just repeating is highly important. Regardless, it is impossible to correct your mistakes if you do not know what they are. Given the unstructured nature of the class and the resistance to real lessons, this class is nearing its limitations. Progress can certainly still be made, but not nearly as much as if we divided up the class into separate levels and taught them accordingly. A “one size fits all” approach can only take you so far.
As our classes with the faculty come to an end, we are now starting the ESL program. In terms of structure, this program is a complete change in direction. For the first time since my arrival here in Iraq I received a written schedule. It was shocking to say the least. The 10 hours we were teaching for the Engineering Department have been replaced with 12 hours of ESL, 3 days a week, 4 hours a day. To put the level of the students into perspective, all of them had to take a diagnostic test which was scored from 1-100. The students in my “Starting Skills” course scored from 6 to the high 20s; my “Level 1” course scored up to 40. Needless to say, I have to repeat myself a lot.
Although the first day was stressful and slightly nerve wracking, I am excited about this new challenge. When you can recognize the fruits of your labor just by talking to someone you do not need any affirmation as to what kind of job you are doing. I have often heard parents say that it can be tough with small children because you, “always need to be on you’re A game.” I do not have any children, but I find myself with a similar feeling in basic ESL. Working with the lower level students requires a great deal of patience, clarity, understanding, and the ability to instill confidence. I do not know what having a child is like, but I can surmise that these qualities come at a premium, especially when you have to exhibit them all the time. Oh well, I guess that 10 hour work weeks would not last forever!
Social Constructs
I have written about some of the differences between Kurdistan and the United States, and I would be remiss if I did not further elaborate on the different social constructs we have created. Over the course of my month in the KRG I have made a series of small, and seemingly independent, observations: how men always dress up, no one is jogging or riding bikes, there is strong pressure to marry before 30, women do not frequent certain establishments, etc. For all of these everyday occurrences, there is no written law. Women are free to do as they please; men can wear what they want, etc. However, the social constructs which have firmly taken hold do not permit certain activities.
Men almost always wear dress shoes, slacks, and a button down shirt. The reason? They do not want people to think poorly of them. You will never see a woman near a liquor store, bar, or smoking narghile (hookah). The reason? They do not want anyone to see them and think that they are women of low moral standing. Men want to marry early because they fear that no one will take them later on in life and it reflects poorly on them to be single for too long. You can see this line of thought clearly developing, and it even extends to otherwise trivial things like riding bikes. The reason men don’t ride bikes? They do not want people to think, “What is he doing? Why doesn’t he have a car?” This social pressure that they have created, at first glance, is ridiculously constraining. While I tend to agree, it does serve a clearly recognizable purpose.
Crime rates are lower here despite an overall lower standard of living, at least by Western measurements. There is little to no evidence of social unrest, and problems with drugs or alcohol seem to be nonexistent. Everyone is incredibly friendly, hospitable, and family oriented. I think most people could agree that these are net positives. These latent, constraining forces, while impinging on their sense of freedom, do seem to hold people to a higher standard, at least publicly. As I mentioned before, everyone seems to act like a diplomat for the Kurdish people. Perhaps there is a reason for this; they view themselves as more than representing themselves, they are representing not only their family, which is of the utmost importance, but also other Kurds.
Development
Not counting food, there has not been one “modern” convenience which I have found myself unable to attain. Just like any Western household or community, Duhok has grocery stores, local businesses selling everything from tires to carpets, electricity, plumbing, large organizations, etc. Considering that I have heard statements or questions on more than one occasion which would leave one to believe I was living with a camel in the desert, this is quite important.
Despite having most things at my fingertips, just like at home, when you live here the glaring differences between the 2nd world and the modern, industrialized world begin to expose themselves. The water will periodically sputter and go out for maybe 30 minutes; there will be sporadic power outages; public bathrooms smell putrid; entire unwrapped chickens will be tossed into freezers at the corner store; rules of the road are merely suggestions; and the level of workplace productivity is excruciatingly low, despite constant claims of, “being so very busy.” Most of this only amounts to minor frustrations and a few good laughs, especially at the frozen chickens. However, time and time again I find myself thinking that they aren’t necessarily doing the “wrong” things; they could just be doing the same things more efficiently and effectively. Regardless of whether it is clamping down on workplace inactivity or installing air fresheners in the bathrooms, sometimes it feels like doing anything could take weeks. This mindset of constantly trying to improve your lot and overall situation is perhaps the first step to bridging that gap from 2nd world to 1st.
This picture of the frozen chickens is too comical to not share.
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