One of the biggest obstacles students in Mali face is language. Although students in our villages grow up hearing and speaking their local language (Bambara), school is taught in French. In primary school students are « eased » into French instruction, but by 7th grade all classes are taught in French. So, if you haven’t learned French by then you are often just out of luck! That’s where Mali Rising’s FLIP campaign comes in.
A Teacher Reviews FLIP
One of the biggest challenges facing students in Mali is the fact that school is not taught in their mother tongue language. Instead, schools use French for instruction and often leave students behind if they aren’t able to pick up French quickly in primary school. This year, we piloted the French Language Intervention Project (FLIP), designed to help 7th graders brush up their French skills as they enter middle school.
Last month, I shared the story of one of our students who participated in the FLIP pilot. I also shared a student story from Sata T. Today I would like to share the feedback from a teacher, Mr. Saibou Coulibaly
One Student's Take on a New Project
One of the biggest challenges facing students in Mali is the fact that school is not taught in their mother tongue language. Instead, schools use French for instruction and often leave students behind if they aren’t able to pick up French quickly in primary school. This year, we piloted the French Language Intervention Project (FLIP), designed to help 7th graders brush up their French skills as they enter middle school. I want to share the story of one of our students who participated in the FLIP pilot: Dramane D.
Giving Kids a Little Extra Language Help
Helping Students Who Struggle with French
We are in the second year of trying out a new tactic to help our students – assessing their French language skills so their teachers can better help them learn. The assessments are critical because poor French skills make it nearly impossible for students to learn their other subjects and they get discouraged and drop out. This year, we are doing the assessments in four partner villages, and we spoke with one participating student -- Awa Doumbia, a 7th grade student at Judge Memorial Middle School after her assessment.
