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HILLAH, Iraq (April 24, 2008) - An English Day program at the
regional embassy office in al-Hillah gave 25 students and 15 staff
and faculty members from Babil province a chance to hone their
English skills on April 19.
Five students from five different schools, two English teachers
from those schools, the director general for education and other
representatives from the department of education took advantage of
the interaction with the Babil provincial reconstruction team and
the 411th Civil Affairs Battalion.
"I think it was as positive of an interaction for us on our side
as it is for them," said Kim Sonn, public diplomacy officer with
the PRT. "I think it was an excellent public diplomacy opportunity
to be able to combine education with presenting a positive image of
America.
"The young people don't get to interact with the Soldiers very
much," she said. "It presents a different side to the U.S. military
that can only benefit us in the long run. It goes a long way to
winning hearts and minds."
The program kicked off with a morning seminar for the English
teachers, who teach secondary school, with PRT representatives.
"Teachers play one of the most important roles in society; they
are the role models for students," said Ken Hillas, PRT leader.
The instructors expressed a desire to improve their English in
order to teach their students better.
"Teaching is hard work; it needs patience and it needs love,"
said one Iraqi English teacher who has been in the profession for
38 years.
During the morning seminar, Lt. Col. Mark Yanway, PRT deputy
team leader, discussed the importance of using language in context,
ensuring the instructors are teaching what students need to know.
After his class the teachers contributed some of their own
ideas.
"Most of our contacts in the education field are constantly
telling us of the need to develop language skills, especially in
the teaching of English," Sonn said. "We have been told that
curriculum development is lagging in Iraq and they're always
looking for new ideas and new ways of teaching English ... as we're
native English speakers, that's one (where) we really have an
expertise that we can help pass on."
After the morning seminar, the students arrived and the fun
began ... playing games that demanded they speak in English.
The students took advantage of the games that gave them an
opportunity to interact with the Americans, asking questions such
as what their names were, where they were from and how old they
were.
"I think the kids had a really good time; they were very
advanced and some of them were even from gifted schools so they had
very good English skills to begin with," Sonn said. "I think for
the kids it was somewhat of a learning experience to practice their
language skills with native speakers and to interact with Americans
in a really positive way."
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