Ou pale kreyol?

I teach Creole class to the members of our "tribe" in Gonaives two evenings a week. On Mondays, everyone comes to our living room and I cover the wall with simple blue chalk Creole phrases: "I ate three tomatoes", "She studies the book", "We love soccer". My more advanced students, Josh and Ben, help coach the fresher ones and captain the teams when we break up for competitive exercises.




On Wednesdays, I teach an advanced class to Ben, Josh, Isaac, Kathy and Rebecca, the Brooks' 13 year old daughter. We are working on more complicated concepts, playing with the placement of articles lan, nan, an, and a, and contractions such as sak, kap, and pa'm nan. They challenge me to really know my stuff and we frequently agree on multiple ways to say something.



Creole is very rewarding to teach. My students are motivated to learn so they focus and ask good questions. They often request specific topics and sub-topics to help them do their jobs in Jubilee better. I love to see Isaac's or Tia's faces scrunched in concentration as they try to connect what I've shown them to what they're hearing every day. And the best part is when my students come to me during the week with huge smiles: "Kez, I used the phrase you taught us yesterday and people understood me!"