What The Heck Do You Actually Do? Part II

The bulk of my time is devoted to Damu-Ulytau and the Association of Family Physicians, but the scope of my work extends a little bit beyond NGOs. Most volunteers in Kazakhstan become involved with work in English sooner rather than later. For EDU volunteers, English Club is an inevitable fate. OCAP volunteers have a little more leeway in the matter, but I was sucked in almost immediately. Today, I am involved with five clubs spread out over six days. I may soon discover that I am overcommitted, but for now I am largely enjoying it.

English Club is a funny thing. Clubs generally consist of a variety of games and activities that force kids to practice their English. While they are not meant to be lessons, our interactive style and the lack of the typical authoritarian atmosphere lends clubs a radical novelty that makes some meetings feel, at times, like a social event. In truth, this is a good thing. English Club can be fun practice for language, but it is a far cry from a real lesson. For me, that's not the point.

When we introduce new games, it can be baffling to watch how much some kids struggle with them. It has nothing to do with a language barrier and everything to do with a culture barrier. More specifically, it shines a lot of light on the the differences in our cultural attitudes. Recently at our big English Club, we played a modified game of Pictionary. After several fairly standard rounds, we started giving kids absurd things to draw like 'a dancing computer' or 'a texting horse'. At first, it was a formidable challenge to get them to simply use their imaginations, but after they got over the hump, everything went smoothly.

The culture in this country is marked by very strong social pressure to conform. A dinner party at one house is a dinner party at every house. When I am invited to come 'guesting', as they say, it is invariably very pleasant, but always extremely predictable. In an insular society, people simply are not exposed to many differing methods or viewpoints in many areas. Since the vast majority of Zhezkazgan's English students will not end up using the language, encouraging them to think outside the box seems like the most efficient use of English Club time. Like any country, Kazakhstan has many problems, but here people seem to have a high level of acceptance and apathy towards them. By instilling a creative spirit into everything, I hope that I can help a few people to truly consider things in another light. Since many English Club participants are studying to be English teachers, my most immediate hope is that they will remember the usefulness of interactive learning methods in their future careers. While I do not have any illusions about the impact that a few evening English clubs could have, you do have to start somewhere. After all, Peace Corps is no place for a pessimist.