This article was written by Salissou Issa, a Doctoral Student in the Department of Animal Sciences and Industry, at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas. Mr. Issa is an international scholar from Niger, and his article was originally submitted as an essay for a writing course at K-State's English Language Program.

I believe the English language programs should coordinate using the same books in the U.S. universities and at U.S. cultural centers abroad. This means recent versions of books and the teaching techniques both should be used in U.S. cultural centers in order to promote the English language, and to help people who come to the U.S. In this essay, I will try to explain so that my idea can be accepted one day.

Recent books or new versions of books in grammar, reading and listening should be bought and used at the U.S. cultural centers abroad in developing countries. Nowadays many people in different countries take English classes. They study in these centers to improve their English level in preparing for a TOEFL exam, coming to the U.S. for business, or working in international institutions, becoming more comfortable in international meetings, or to come to study in U.S. universities.

For example, in the U.S. Cultural Center of Niamey, in Niger, the 1981 version books are used for teaching English, and their support are cassettes. The World-English-Book 6 is almost exclusively on the history of one company called General Service Information (GIS). In addition, in these centers there are good teachers, but in limited number, so that the same person teaches many levels of English in grammar, reading and listening/speaking.

I think that providing new editions of books which are about actual life, business or school in the U.S. will help more people in learning English, preparing their exam, or improving their English levels before coming to the U.S. These old books not only have cassettes as support, but they are black-and-white, compared to those we are using in the U.S. universities, which are on CD-ROM and well illustrated.

I understand that teaching demands a lot of funds, and in developing countries people are poor and probably can't buy the newest books. That is why I ask governments to help and support cultural centers abroad by providing them with new books, more skilled teachers, and also modern audiovisual equipment for both the teachers and the libraries.

Article by Salissou Issa
International Scholar from Niger

2006 ESL MiniConference Online

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