I originally wrote this for my counterpart's conference, discussing my experience teaching English in Uzbekistan for thirteen months. I worked and lived in Andijan and Bukhara as a Fulbright ETA. I had plan to be in Bukhara until October 2020 but coronavirus had other plans. I wanted to publish it here for everyone to read my observations and discuss.
Introduction
In July 2018, I was granted a fellowship with the Fulbright Program to teach English in Uzbekistan. The Fulbright Program is an exchange program that sends Americans to foreign countries to exchange culture. I embarked on this journey, which took me to Andijan and Bukhara. I spent my first year with Fulbright in Andijan and then, my second year in Bukhara. Coronavirus cut my time in Bukhara short. Each experience had its unique accomplishments and challenges. For example, in Andijan, technology rarely worked, but my students could communicate with me because they were English majors. In Bukhara, technology was never an issue, but my students struggled to communicate with me because they studied engineering and technology. In this piece, I wanted to reflect on my experiences in both places and share what I learned .
Teaching in Andijan
From September 2018 to June 2019, I taught English at Andijan State University. As a first-time teacher who had rarely interacted with non-native English speakers, my first couple of months were more challenging.I loved learning about Uzbek language and culture. My successes included the beginning of my music festival initiative and the improvement of my colleagues' and students' level of language. I had three challenges regarding technology, student motivation, and first language interference.
Accomplishments
My two main accomplishments in Andijan were the foundation of my music festival initiative and the improvement of my colleagues' and students' level of language. Music is my passion; I spend hours every day, listening to music and learning about its history. While I was teaching in Andijan, I bonded with students and teachers over a shared love of music. My counterpart and I decided to hold a music festival. It was a success. Seventeen acts performed; fifty people attended; I performed a traditional Andijan dance: the Andijan Polka. Through daily interactions, classes, and my English-speaking club, my colleagues and students increased their English level. For example, a student went from four on IELTS to a seven because the student came to my speaking club and stayed after class to practice more with me.
Challenges
My main challenges revolved around student motivation, technology, and first language interference. Students often missed class or did not come to my speaking club. It was hard to motive students to learn English because they had more pressing concerns. Since technology often did not work, I created low-tech classes. I printed out handouts and put the most crucial information on my whiteboard. When correcting my students, I began to realize that many of their mistakes came from directly translating Russian and Uzbek. Students frequently said, "I feel myself well" (Я чувствую себя хорошо) and "aren't you tired" (чарчамадигизми?) which we would not say in English or use in the same context that it is used in Uzbek. I frequently corrected them.
Teaching in Bukhara
I taught at the Bukhara Institute of Technology from December 2019 to March 2020. I expected to stay in Bukhara until October 2020, but the Coronavirus epidemic forced me to evacuate. I learned a lot about teaching during my brief tenure in Bukhara. For example, I learn how to use different activities to capture students' attention. My two success were the continuation of my music festival initiative and encouraging students to participate more in class. My main challenge was the students' low level of English.
Accomplishments
My two accomplishments in Bukhara were the continuation of my music festival initiative and motivating students who initially did not participate in class. In February, there was a music festival in Namangan, Uzbekistan, which I helped by suggesting the format and providing a rubric. My second success in Bukhara happened because of my response to my main challenge. For example, a student was quiet on my first couple of classes. At the end of my time there, this student volunteered for every activity.
Challenge
My biggest challenge was working with lower-level English students. After teaching in Andijan, I was used to students being able to communicate with me. When I started teaching at the Bukhara Institute of Technology, I quickly learned that my students had lower abilities because they only had one English class a week. To solve this problem, I encouraged all my students to participate in class and provided reassuring feedback. I did this by picking students at random to participate in fun classroom activities.
Conclusions
Thirteen months of teaching in Uzbekistan have taught me a lot. My most significant accomplishments in Andijan were my music-related initiatives and improving students' and colleagues'' listening and vocabulary. My most significant challenges in Andijan were technology, student motivation, and first language interference. My biggest successes in Bukhara were the continuation of my music festival initiative and encouraging students with lower English levels to interact with me. My biggest challenge was working with lower-level students. These challenges and accomplishments have taught five valuable lessons: look for mentors, balance feedback from students and mentors with your teaching philosophy, simple activities help students, be flexible, and do not correct everything. In the next five paragraphs, I will discuss these lessons in more detail.
Look for Mentors
It is important to find mentors to guide you as you gain more teaching experience. The Embassy places English teachers with local counterparts and places us along with more experienced colleagues, allowing me the opportunity to find incredible mentors. Both my counterparts were experienced English teachers who could teach me methodology and how to engage with students. Along with my local counterparts, I befriended my American colleagues who have master's degrees in teaching English as a foreign language. I took their observations and incorporated them into my teaching style. For example, an American colleague taught me that a teacher should not interrupt students while they are speaking because they will lose their train of thought. It was unproductive. While you can look up to mentors, remember to balance your mentors' and your students' feedback with your teaching philosophy.
Balance Feedback from Students with Your Teaching Philosophy
Students and mentors will provide their feedback, but it is essential to stick to your principles. My teaching philosophy is that classrooms should be engaging and incorporate authentic materials. Students can develop spontaneous speaking skills through unstructured interactions with me and speak freely about what they want. I attempt to organize my classes through this philosophy. Sometimes, students and mentors will suggest I do something else. For example, my students wanted to learn how to write in Bukhara and came up to me after my English club one class, asking if we could focus on writing for a couple of classes. I listened to his advice and balanced our writing time by practicing listening and reading skills with authentic materials. I incorporated my students' suggestions along with using authentic materials
Simple Activities Help Students
Simple activities might seem unnecessary for more advanced students, but they can reinforce language skills. Advanced students might think that they do not need to participate, but they should. For example, there is a basic English song, "Hokey Pokey," which is about body parts. During one of my speaking clubs in Andijan, I introduced this song and realized that my students did not know English body parts well though these students were advanced English learners. This basic English song was able to improve their English by reinforcing and expanding their vocabulary.
Be Flexible
As you teach, you must adapt your lesson plan to your students' reactions and have backup lessons if a lesson ends early or students finish an activity early. Also, schedules often change. For example, colleagues often ask me to visit their classes with little notice beforehand. To assist, I had prepared several activities such as hot seat, twenty questions, and charades. I often used these activities when my club or lessons end quicker than I planned.
Do not correct everything
Correcting every mistake will discourage students; it is more important to give them feedback at the end of their speech. No one has perfect English. My pronunciation is sometimes incorrect (I pronounce pin and pen the same way); my grammar is sometimes wrong (I cannot tell you the past tense and the past participle of drink and upset). If I correct every mistake I heard in Uzbekistan; nothing would get accomplished. If a teacher interrupts a student while he/she is speaking, the student will lose their train of thought and become timider. Instead, I allow a student to speak uninterrupted and focus on the main mistakes he/she made. Mostly, I correct pronunciation and word choice.
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