|
KABUL, Afghanistan (January 14, 2008) - The Afghan National Army
Air Corps here has opened a new school to teach English to Afghan
pilots and other Afghan military professionals.
Fifty students are enrolled in classes designed for beginners
without English skills and for more advanced students to improve
their proficiency.
Students are given a test to determine where they should be
placed in the curriculum. To be a pilot, a student must test above
80. As the international aviation language, English is a
requirement for all international pilots.
"They have to score an 80, and that's very difficult," said
Penni Shanahan, English Language Training Team leader. "If we can,
we take one or two students with us (to lunch), so they can hear
Americans speaking English."
The students have assignments every night. They also use audio
tapes and are required to speak English when in the
schoolhouse.
"We're having great, great results," Shanahan said. "The
students who are pilots are in the top class, and they are scoring
60s and 70s, so we're almost there. And we're not even halfway
done, so that's encouraging."
To encourage the students, the faculty has ordered English
dictionaries that will be loaned to each new student upon
acceptance into the course. Laptops also are being ordered to help
Afghans with their English studies.
The faculty works for International Logistics Solutions, a
subcontractor for Lockheed Martin. Each teacher holds a master's
degree in teaching English as a second language and has lived
overseas. There are currently five teachers, two more are on their
way, and more are being planned for.
"I was approached and asked if I'd be willing to come to
Afghanistan and teach a group of pilots English so they could
communicate with the tower," Shanahan said. "And I've worked for
American Airlines before doing that, so I said, 'Sure.'
"It's so much fun; it's a blast," she added. "These guys are so
motivated and so excited about what's happening in Afghanistan, how
things are getting better, and they want things better. They want a
future for their children."
|
