Written by Lahcen Lqoul
Lahcen Lqoul is the teacher of (Tashlhet) Tamazight, Darija and Standard Arabic in Dar Si Hmad's CELAR program.
I am an educator, translator and language and cross-culture facilitator.
I have a Master’s degree in Comparative Studies in Literature. I teach undergraduate
courses at the university of Arts and Languages, Ait Mloul (the larger Agadir
Region). I also worked with the Peace Corps as a language and cross-culture
facilitator, teaching Darija and introducing volunteers to Moroccan culture. I
am currently occupying the same position at Dar Si Hmad, an NGO based in Sidi
Ifni with an annex in Agadir.
My teaching experience
with Dar Si Hmad started in 2018. When I was given the opportunity to collaborate
with DSH, I considered it as a means to develop several inter/intrapersonal skills
in terms of communication, cultural exchange and professionalism. At the end, what
I achieved has, surprisingly, exceeded all my expectations.
First, I started teaching classes in darija (Moroccan Arabic). Then I
taught (Tashlhet) Tamazight. After that I taught Standard Arabic. To be able to
manage and maintain teaching these three languages, DSH developed a language program
called CELAR. This program offers courses in the mentioned languages. In order
to learn the language in a relatively short period of time, these courses are
most of the time intensive, 6 to 10 hours a week. DSH made this teaching and
learning process more convenient. They provided me with a suitable working
environment and the needed teaching materials, such as textbooks, equipment and
so much care.
During the period in which I have been working for DSH, I met and taught
many interesting students from all over the US. There were Fulbright
researchers in different fields of research, English teaching assistant,
students in internship in DSH and some of DSH staff. Due to various interests
in learning these languages, I taught these three languages for different
purposes: for general communication in everyday life like shopping,
transportation and so on; for research like writing and translating
questionnaires and interviews with or for local people in their communities. In
these courses, there are students who started knowing one word and ended up in
an intermediate level; there are others who brushed up on one of the languages
I mentioned and moved to an upper level. I also taught groups of students from
other universities and organizations who came to learn about Moroccan culture
and language. I taught students from (WGEI) Women's Global Empowerment Initiative,
students from Quinnipiac University and students from Lewis and Clark University.
These students showed great interest in learning the languages we use in
Morocco and to learn about Moroccan culture in general. And that motivated me a
lot to do my best and for me to learn more about my multiple cultures.
Working with DSH gave me the chance to develop and sharpen my teaching, social,
and personal skills. They also helped me to discover other personal and
professional teaching skills. For me, Dar Si Hmad is a cross-cultural zone
where different cultures meet and deep exchange happens. I met different people
from different countries and different backgrounds; people from Morocco, US,
Ghana, and Tunisia. Working with these people was fun. It was a fruitful and a professional
and resourceful experience.
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