The workers at Finca Soley give English lessons to 6 or 7 students (one boy and the rest are girls) between ages 7-12 who attend the local school that is within walking distance from Finca Soley. This is a one-room school with one teacher.
I watched the class last week and interacted with a few of the students. I was extremely impressed with the woman from Finca Soley, Dora, who conducted the class. Without any background in teaching, she designed a one-hour class that had the children up and moving, listening, repeating, and copying some English words. Since children are usually very kinesthetic, this is a perfect way to teach.
They took turns throwing a ball around the circle and saying their name (complete sentences) or saying what they liked to do using verbs they had studied. Later they talked about the different feelings like happy, sad, etc. and copied the words from the board, and colored the faces on their papers. The hour ended with a refresher on body parts and that favorite song, “Head, Shoulder, Knees, and Toes” going faster and faster each time. They loved it!
Great job Dora!
Here is a short video of Dan and Caro working with the kids. They walk around until she stops the music and then they have to find what she says. (Note, Caro is German and she taught them “table” for “desk” but she was going to correct that at the next class.)
On a side note, students in public schools in Costa Rica wear uniforms and the ones in private schools don’t! Just the opposite of many schools in the USA.