Arriving a week before Carnival, the hustle and bustle of Carioca’s preparing for block parties, parades and fancy dress galore was in full swing. It was more than exciting to see this raw enthusiasm bubbling at CCI,Villa Kennedy, when I had my project induction just days before the week’s holiday began. This was my first encounter with the passionate and committed people at the centre as I met them in the middle of sewing costumes, glueing parts onto their float and rehearsing steps from their samba routines. Having taken Portuguese classes taught by Olivia, together with a week of Carnival celebrations on the streets of Rio, I couldn’t help but put theory to practice very quickly, adjusting my Spanish ear to Portuguese and I was ready to try applying it to my English classes at CCI.
After Carnival I began teaching my classes at the centre where the kids are also offered classes in ICT (yet to start), capoeira, dance, art, and homework help. I taught a range of ages and a range of levels, but in general the students are at a very basic stage - despite this it is helpful that they all learn English at school so they have resources and experience that you as their ‘extra English’ teacher can bounce off from.
At times volunteers will no doubt find that different age groups and levels will turn up to classes together which can sometimes be useful for pair work games but other times a distraction and a complete nuisance. From my experience I suggest volunteers evaluate the timetable and class streaming situation when they arrive and they may find they need to sit down with the project coordinators and other volunteers to reshuffle classes making your time and their time more productive.
Resources are basic but sufficient - chalk and blackboard, and students are generally pretty good about bringing in books and pens. For the most part I took classes on my own but a couple of days a week I was joined by another volunteer and we shared the class. From time to time when I had a small class I felt it was safe enough to bring in my laptop and complement the class with a colourful powerpoint or add music and short video clips to make the lesson more interesting and the students really enjoyed it.
Every now and then we’d get thrown into unanticipated situations such as all the lights going out, having to paint walls, and I was even asked to explain plant science, in portuguese! Cleide, the centre’s main coordinator is a fantastic and motivated lady - inviting us into her home and cooking for us as she shared her passion and lifestyle with us. She took us around a few of the local state schools as well as a local private school which was a valuable and interesting comparison to learn from. We discussed the education system with the teachers at the school and understood how important they consider English lessons to be. This was also a promotional venture for the after school programs at CCI. Furthermore Cleide invited us to attend community meetings at Villa Kennedy where we were introduced to the crowd and the equivalent of the local counsel - we were very welcomed, parents were excited to meet who would be teaching their children and it proved to be very inspiring. More young adults as well as older parents soon began to attend classes as a result of Cleide spreading the word about the relatively new centre.
Patience is naturally key, but I also suggest taking the time to plan your lessons. Having a structure means that your classes will go much more smoothly. Also, don’t be thrown by a class that doesn’t seem to go too well through communication barriers or a stroppy kid throwing tantrums. Over time seeing progress being built, no matter how slowly, is the most rewarding thing.
‘Pensando nu futuro’, is Cleide’s motto, which literally means thinking about the future. With the the World Cup and the olympics coming up in the next few years, if Brazil wants to play host and benefit its locals with jobs, English will have to be studied and offered to those who need it most. At Villa Kennedy the enthusiasm for this is undeniable, however don’t be surprised by unrealistic expectations amongst some parents who seem to think their kids will be fluent within a week, or that their rowdy 3 year olds will actually manage to stay in their seats for more than 10 minutes let alone count to 20.
All in all the students, both children and adults, are very receptive, bright and really a pleasure to teach. One of my favourite moments was when asking a student at the end of the day if they liked the class - they replied, “No, I loved it!”
