By Air Force Staff Sgt. Robert Wollenberg
Combined Security Transition Command -Afghanistan Public Affairs
The Afghan national army Air Corps in Kabul, Afghanistan, recently opened a new school to teach English to Afghan pilots and other Afghan military professionals.
Fifty students are currently enrolled in classes designed for beginners without English skills to advanced students who just need to improve their proficiency.
Each student is given an American Language Course Placement Test to determine where they should be placed in the curriculum. To be a pilot, a student must test above 80. The international aviation language is English, and is a requirement of all international pilots.
"They have to score an 80, and that's very difficult, even in San Antonio," said Penni Shanahan, English Language Training team lead.
A student's day runs from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily, with an hour for lunch. Thursdays are a make-up day in case a day was missed through the week, or can be used as an extra day for additional study time.
"If we can, we take one or two students with us (to lunch), so they can hear Americans speaking English," said Shanahan.
The students have workbooks to accomplish, and get homework every night. They also use audio tapes, and are required to speak English when in the school house.
"We're having great, great results," said Shanahan. "The students who are pilots are in the top class and they are scoring 60s and 70s, so we're almost there. And we're not even half way done. We're not even half way thought the books, so that's encouraging."
To help encourage the students, the faculty has ordered English dictionaries that will be loaned to each new student upon acceptance into the course. Laptops are also being ordered to help the Afghans with their studies.
The faculty works for International Logistics Solutions, a subcontractor for Lockheed Martin. Each teacher holds a masters degree in teaching English as a second language and has lived overseas. There are currently five teachers, two more are on their way and more are being planned for.
"I was approached and asked if I'd be willing to come to Afghanistan and teach a group of pilots English so they could communicate with the tower," Shanahan said. "And I've worked for American Airlines before doing that, so I said sure.
"It's so much fun, it's a blast," she added. "These guys are so motivated and so excited about what's happening in Afghanistan, how things are getting better, and they want things better. They want a future for their children."
| Date Taken: |
01.14.2008 |
| Date Posted: |
01.14.2008 11:22 |
| Story ID: |
15413 |
| Location: |
AF |
| Web Views: |
345 |
| Downloads: |
316 |
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