My student Vincenzo looked at me expectantly as I entered the classroom,this was to be our first lesson since I had returned from Africa.I knew vincenzo had already been there and I had a strange feeling ‘You felt it too didn’t you?’ I said . ‘Yes,I was just waiting to see if you did’ ,he replied.We excitedly spent the next few minutes trying to describe what exactly we had felt to each other. The energy,the buzz,the warmth,the rush ,not the usual holiday excitement ,but something different, a feeling you were somewhere special and that it was connecting with you, a tangible beautiful heartbeat .That’s what we had both felt when we had arrived in Africa.
Vincenzo was studying to become a doctor and told me that if he ever found a medical term for it he would let me know ,he hasn’t yet and I have been waiting for 8 years.The sensation remains for us both .
I was fortunate to return twice more and as I sat during my final visit in Addis Ababa with my son warmly cradled in the arms of a beautiful lady distributing tea in January 2016 on Christmas Day ready to undertake our return to Italy I wondered when I would be back,well today I am ,Online, with the newenglishacademy.it and with the help of Africa.com am hoping to reach out to students and teachers with our online Career specific courses in English.
We are currently partnering with isic.org and eyca.org student cards that provide discounts across the world for teachers and students. Isic.org has a number of offices across Africa ,sadly however none have yet responded to our call.
Our Accredited courses are for Doctors (including OET & PLAB tests),Nurses, Dentists,Vets, Teachers ,Health & Safety Managers ,HR and Sales and Marketing professionals and so on ,hopefully we will be adding Agricultural courses in the near future too.
After my first visit in 2012 I wanted to launch Nvqs in Africa ,National vocational qualifications ,sadly however it wasn’t to be and I have striven ever since to find useful courses for educational training in Africa,now I have .During the process I was fortunate to find the Freedom English Academy in India where I do some online mentoring sessions for disadvantaged youth .It would be wonderful if I could find a similar type of organisation in Africa.
Our online courses can be undertaken individually and the student achieves an Accredited certificate on completion,they could also involve a local English teacher to help them if need be.The courses can also be teacher led in a classroom setting with the local provider giving a certificate of attendance . There are lots of options.
Students do you need a course in WordPress,Digital Marketing,Food hygiene ,Nutrition Construction or anything else?Teachers,do you need a course for classroom behaviour,counselling,internet safety,bullying,autism,sign language,mentoring ,or a course that will inspire and motivate your students? Moreover contain the vocabulary and exercises specific to their career goals?
As a child ,I was the one always the one looking not at my books but out of the classroom window to see what was going on in the outside world (easily distracted, my school reports always said )now I understand that to explore the world outside ,it helps to have an education,that’s why when I teach (in my book, help students to learn) I am always looking first of all to engage my students and hopefully my courses do the same.Online learning challenges you to find your own answers and if you cant we are always on the end of a phone or email.We even have a free course to get you started!