Blood test and Night chat (5th February)

I get my blood extracted today for 300 rupees (~US $ 3) and will get the result tomorrow. I hope everything will turn out fine. At night, I have a chat with two of the girls- Sanduni and Ruwani. Amongst all kids, these two are most interested and excited learning English. I am very pleased with that. We share about lots of stuff- friends, family, future, relationships, cultures, etc and each day I speak with them, our conversation flows better and they recognize quite a number of new English words. They tell me that they feel sad I am going to leave in about 10 days. Moreover, they say that if I stay longer for another 5 or 6 months or more, their English will significantly improve. Sarana Girls’ Home has 3 English teachers coming every week and still most of them do not know the most Basic English. They are not interested in learning because the language is foreign to them; hence they do not have motivation and are reluctant to revise what the teachers taught them. I think this kind of project- having an intern who can not speak their language at all to stay with them is a more effective approach in improving their conversational English skills rather than sitting in a classroom and merely listening to what the teachers taught them.

As a reflection, I think that one of the most helpful methods to teach them and memorise vocabs easily is by introducing English songs. I am delighted that most of them now are able to greet others, remember all days of the week, recognise colours, body parts and some food in English.