Navigating language learning through WhatsApp during the lockdown

Watch a recording of Abigail Ekangouo Awanga's session about using WhatsApp for learning at the IATEFL British Council World Teachers' Day web conference 2020.

About the session

Like everywhere else in the world, the COVID-19 pandemic has, no doubt, affected every aspect of human life in sub-Saharan Africa. In Cameroon, for example, the Government-imposed lockdown from March to June this meant that school children were left with little or no access to formal school-based education. Efforts by the Ministries in charge of Education to organise lessons for final year students on National television and radio proved useful for children with access to TV but many students and their teachers were left either frustrated or dependent on their own pragmatic solutions to education in the crisis. In this presentation, Abigail shares her experience of using WhatsApp to support her students’ learning during the lockdown and highlight the different possibilities which this commonly used app in her context can provide for teachers working in low-resourced contexts like hers. During the session, she showcases some of the activities and learning outcomes from her work with the students.

About the speaker

Abigail Ekangouo Awanga  has worked as an English language teacher at secondary level in Cameroon for 13 years. She is one of the Moderators of the Cameroon English Language and Literature Teachers Association (CAMELTA) WhatsApp group where she has run a series of teacher development workshops around the theme of teaching English through mobile technology. She is  interested in e-learning and working with learners with limited resources.

Watch a recording of Abigail's session 'Navigating language learning through WhatsApp during the lockdown: an experience from Cameroon' below

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