Making PIE in Zanzibar

Zanzibar is a place of the imagination like the Serengeti and the snow-capped Mount Kilimanjaro.  It evokes historical memories of the spice trade, dark passageways winding through the crowded market, slaves in chains and the caliphs and sultans of bygone days.  It is a fecund mix of Arabia, East Africa, India and Europe.

We were able to spend a week on this fabled isle as part of the PIE Project or Proficiency Initiative in English.  Acronyms rule in development.  The purpose of the project is to train selected Tanzanian secondary school teachers in English and English language teaching methodology. These selected Champion Teachers are expected to pass on their training to their colleagues in a series of sessions that will last until the end of March.

The Champion Teachers were brought to Zanzibar and in very intensive sessions practiced English and were taught methods that will allow them to move away from rote learning corporal punishment and chalk and talk.  The new methods will encourage their students to participate in their own learning.  Our job is to guide and mentor our five Kibayan Champion Teachers.  In order for the project to be successful we must not take control but allow them to take ownership to explore these methods with their colleagues at their own pace.

As it stands now English skills are very low in Tanzania.  If development is to take place and if Tanzania is to take its place on the world economic stage English proficiency is vital.  If this project is successful it will revolutionize the teaching of English in Tanzania.

I'm very enthusiastic about the project but I'm also realistic.  This is Africa and things don't always turn out as expected or planned.  All our fingers are crossed that the enthusiasm generated in Zanzibar will carry over to Kibaya.

Zanzibar is very cool.  I'm not sure I'd like to live there but for a visit it is superb.  It is possible to live an entirely western life there.  Because it is a tourist destination the restaurants and bars are up to international standards.  We sat on balconies enjoying the thirty degree temperatures while watching the sun set over the Indian Ocean.  We sat in beach bars and dug our toes into the white sand.   A wide variety of food was to be had in the outdoor cafes, everything from chicken tikka masala to falafel wraps.  Our home in Kibaya is more authentically African though.  It is so off the beaten tourist track that hustlers and touts are unknown there and an innocence prevails that is never found in tourist areas.