REALL finds talent in Armenian School of Kuwait
When language education meets entertainment
KUWAIT CITY, Nov 10: Got talent? Learning English?
What happens when students and teachers from across Kuwait’s schools and universities – both government and private – cross paths on stage? What happens when language education meets entertainment?
REALL, one of four Special Interest Groups in TESOL Kuwait, visits schools to find out. Scouting talent in language arts and vignettes reflecting cultural diversity, REALL showcases English learners in its Language Arts Festival, an event in TESOL Kuwait’s annual conference. The festival is open to the public and free of charge. A surprise in the next festival will be teachers taking the stage to perform their language arts as well as students.
REALL visited the Armenian School of Kuwait on Nov 5. Invited to enjoy a language and cultural arts performance of poetry, song, drama, and dance, the REALL entourage was received by Principal Dr Nersess Sarkissian and Vice-Principal Garoo Arslanian. Esteemed instructors Hany El Dessouqi and Ms Koharig Apkarian were also on hand to greet the visitors. REALL founder and Chair Mrs Alison Larkin Koushki, Senior Language Instructor in American University of Kuwait’s Intensive Language Program, was accompanied by Ms Shannon Parks and Ms. Sarah Parks.
Engaged
REALL was regally welcomed during the visit to the Armenian School. Poems, a song, a play, and a traditional dance were presented to the delight of students, teachers, and REALL representatives. The following students kept the audience engaged throughout: Sarkis Ejian, Nareq Zakarian, Aniag Momjian, Alic Kechejian, Anjella Nakkashian, Karen Ashodian, Karen Tashjian, Mariella Temamian, Mirna Aintabian, Vania Berberian, Lousia Boyajian, Anthony Kazelian, Krisd, Kharmanjian, and Maria Ghedde. Turning to say goodbye, Mrs Alison told the performers gathered around her, “This was my first visit, but it won’t be the last.”
TESOL Kuwait, established in 2013, is an affiliate of the international association called TESOL – Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages. With over 300 members, its mission is to advance professional expertise in English language teaching and learning in Kuwait.
REALL– Read English Actively for Language and Life Skills, – was established in 2017 as a TESOL Kuwait Special Interest Group. Its mission is to instill language and life skills in students via active reading, drama, poetry, plays, narrations, songs, and monologues. REALL dovetails students’ need for English language skills with their innate creativity and diverse cul-
Vice-Principal Garoo Arslanian, Hany El Dessouqi, REALL Chair Alison
Koushki, Koharig Apkarian on tour.
tural backgrounds to stage language and cultural arts performances blending education with entertainment. Students discover new talents and improve their language skills while they also acquire the 7C’s 21st century life skills: collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, communication, compromise, camaraderie, and above all confidence.
REALL’s flagship event is its annual Language Arts Festival, part of TESOL Kuwait’s annual conference. The festival showcases students’ language skills in poetry, playwriting, story-telling, songs, and narrations as it celebrates talent in the performing arts. In the November 2017 Language Arts Festival at Gulf University for Science and Technology, the live song “Beauty And The Beast” launched the show which then proceeded with poetry presentations and plays, including three acts from the classic “Bye Bye London.” Over a dozen eight-yearolds in their pink school uniforms entertained the audience with “Story Time,” and their English language song, “Apples and Bananas.” The talented troupe “Stage Rage” enacted their original play “Fit for the Job.”
TESOL Kuwait’s next annual conference is slated to take place Feb 14-16, 2019. The conference will host keynote speeches by leaders in the field and over 30 presenters from around the Gulf and the globe. The 2019 Language Arts Festival plans to showcase language and cultural vignettes from a host of schools, universities, and organizations across Kuwait including Algonquin College, American University of Kuwait, Box Hill College Kuwait, Canadian Bilingual School,Homod Al Sobah Intermediate School in Jahra, Ibraq Khaitan Secondary School for Girls, and Al Resala Bilingual School. The list is growing, and REALL hopes to provide other schools with language arts performance opportunities as its idea ignites.
Students from the Armenian School of Kuwait will be a welcome addition to REALL’s 2019 Language Arts Festival in TESOL Kuwait’s conference. With its roster of poems, plays, songs, cultural arts, and traditional dance, the Festival aims to inspire and promises to impress.
REALL is language alive.