By Adama Kone, Teacher Project Manager

Because most people in rural Mali villages do not speak French at home, many students in Mali struggle with French language. This causes big challenges for students, because French is the language used in the classroom. So, if students don’t know French they will have a very hard time learning algebra, history, or physics! This school year, Mali Rising piloted a new project to help students brush up on their French skills.

Partnering with teachers at four or our partner schools, Mali Rising Foundation provided extra French interventions classes for 40 7th grade students. We developed the curriculum with the teachers’ input, and the great and dedicated French teachers carried out these extra classes.

The teachers tell us that they really liked this new way to help their students. For example, Ms. Kadidia Diawara is one of the dedicated teachers taught the special classes at Jade and Gabe Mellor Middle School. I asked Ms. Diawara to tell me in her own words how the French intervention classes went over with her students:

“My name is Kadidia Diawara and I am a female French teacher, I would like to share with you how my students enjoyed my French intervention classes.   My students showed their great interest in participating in the French intervention classes because they always came on time and participated well in different exercises.

First, one of the most fun ways for my students to improve their vocabulary was using flashcards!  I remember when I first used the flashcards with my students, they did not have any idea of what the flashcards were. However, when I explained how to use the cards, all the students became very excited! They always wanted to use flash cards to improve their vocabulary, even when we had to do other exercises. One of the exercises they liked so much about the cards was reading the words and then telling the meanings. Whenever I used the cards, students would laugh and be funny while learning new words.

Another thing my students really liked was reading exercises because they tell stories they liked. Students were very careful about reading the texts and understanding them because they all wanted to tell something about the texts after we read them especially when it came to answering questions.

I am incredibly thankful to Mali Rising for providing these classes with my students because they will surely improve some of students’ skills. I encourage Mali Rising to extend the project to other students in the future so all my students could benefit from it. I am grateful to Mali Rising Foundation.”

And we are very grateful to Ms. Diawara for taking on the pilot classes for the French Intervention. Like her, we hope to see this work expand to more students next school year…stay tuned.