Mwangaza Workshop

The Mwangaza staff came down from Arusha to conduct a workshop for teachers from the Iringa Diocese schools.  Mwangaza is a Lutheran partnership for education that has developed a program for how to teach in Tanzanian Secondary Schools where students are learning English, the language of instruction, at the same time they are learning content.  24 teachers from 6 diocese schools are attending the week long workshop along with the new headmaster for Ipalamwa school which is scheduled to reopen in November.  Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church provided financial support for the workshop.  The conference is being held at Huruma Orphanage so we are supporting the orphanage as well as the teachers. 

Children on a rotating swing at the orphanage.

L2R Allen, the Mwangaza driver, John Kavishe, Thomas, a volunteer from MN, and Salome.  John and Salome are the Mwangaza instructors.

Mwangaza has adapted Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) for Tanzanian schools by creating their own 118 page manual.  SIOP is a designed to teach students who are learning the language of instruction while they are in school.  In the US this approach is needed for immigrant students who may not speak English when they start school.  In Tanzania it is needed for almost everyone since they speak Kiswahili in primary school and must learn English when they start Secondary School.  The teachers estimate that 90% of the incoming students are in the Entering Stage of Language acquisition, which means a vocabulary of 0 - 500 words.  The only exception would be the few that come from an English medium primary school.  The picture below is a page from the Mwangaza book that describes this stage and strategies for teaching students.

Stage 1 Language Acquisition and Teaching Strategies

The Mwangaza approach incorporates language objectives into lesson plans for all subjects so all teachers become English teachers.  Many strategies for communicating with English learners have been presented as well as general learning strategies such as building background and connections with students experiences and techniques to enhance learning of lesson content.  I will bring a copy of the Mwangaza manual home with me.  The workshop runs from 8 AM to 4 PM and the teachers have arrived promptly with 100% attendance.  I have been impressed by their attention and willing participation.  The Mwangaza staff have said this group of teachers is unusually cooperative and eager to participate and this is making the conference very successful.

The conference room at Huruma.

John teaching.

Group work.

We discuss what we are learning in pairs and then form a circle and pass the football around.  Each person has to say what his partner said about the topic.

Lunch, the women at Huruma have served us Chai (tea in the morning), lunch, snack, and dinner.  The food has been great with a good variety from day to day.  Big bowl of rice this day and ugali the others.