Oasis bustles with school-aged children in the afternoons after school and in the mornings for the littlest guests who don’t yet go to school. However, usually Saturday mornings when the Oasis opens, things are a bit quieter. Only the most studious students come first thing in the morning on a Saturday, when most would choose to sleep in. But these students are dedicated, coming every week ready to learn.
Because Saturday morning is English Club!
This group started in the spring of 2025 and since then has attracted a small group of very motivated kids. Each week the kids pay 50 franc for the morning of learning: speaking, singing, following directions, role-playing – all in English. The group ranges in age from the youngest being nine years old to the oldest being in college – with the French system that is middle school or upper primary school, and in UK it would be secondary school – about 14 years old.
The students learn using a method of language learning that mimics how children learn, starting with objects and slowly building vocabulary through object identification. A beginner lesson could sound like “This is a mother. Where is the mother?” Next the students will practice mimicking the teacher. “This is a mother.” “This is a mother.” Then verbs are added. By the end of the lesson, the kids are using their new vocabulary and forming full sentences. Later lessons build on the previous ones. And the older students are working at a higher level.
However, no lesson is complete without the singing. Some weeks new songs are introduced but the beloved favourites are “Hokey-Pokey” practicing body part vocabulary and “Who Stole the Cookie from the Cookie Jar?” practicing pronouns. At the end everyone is laughing and everyone gets a cookie. It is worth the 50 franc.
Kerith Trust 