ABOUT US
Our aim is to offer local children a FREE and FUN introduction to English,
using interactive and collaborative teaching and learning styles.
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Diannah English Language School
was opened in April 2009.
Built in the garden,
from local materials,
it was a simple single classroom.
We have seen many changes since then, including the doubling of the size of the school building in 2013, and a rise in pupil numbers from 40 to around 120.
Diannah (pronounced Jannna) is a rural village in Casamance, southern Senegal.
The official language is French, and local languages include Mandinka, Diola, Wolof and Fula.
Very little English is spoken here. In the state primary school children are taught in classes of 50-90 pupils.
.
Hawa Louise Touray BA Ed, PGCE,
is a fully qualified teacher with
25 years experience across the
pre-school and primary age range.
She is a Level 5 TEFL teacher with
8 years practical experience
teaching English as a Foreign Language to children and adults at all levels.
OUR CLASSES
Early Years Club
Our liveliest class, with an average of 80 students per weekly session, aged from 6 months to 14 years.
Using DVD clips, stories and songs as starting points we learn everyday phrases and greetings, simple, topic based vocabulary and numbers and counting. We provide opportunities to learn through play, with a wide range of toys, games and art and crafts materials. The children enjoy a bread and chocolate breakfast and the class ends with singing and dancing. We employ four classroom assistants per session to supervise and interact with the children.
Primary Classes
Around 50 students from Year 5 and 6 at the local Primary school attend twice a week.
They learn elementary English grammar and conversational phrases, reinforced through games, drama and songs.
We provide exercise books and writing materials for recording their work.
Adult Education
Senegal has one of the lowest adult literacy rates in the world (39.3%) so spoken English and basic reading and writing skills are combined in our courses. Older students from the local High school attend exam preparation classes,
and university students can benefit from individual tutorials during their holiday breaks.
