Welcome to MELIK!
melik - (Kurdish noun) - "king"
Millennium English Language Instruction in Kurdistan
Our summer 2012 English conversation classes in Zakho, Iraq, are scheduled to begin in June. Registration will be June 16-18, starting at 5:30 pm each day. Classes are scheduled to begin June 19 and will be held Saturday through Thursday. We’ll finish classes July 18, the day before Ramadan begins.
Summer 2011 in Zakho was a great summer. We had 6 returning teachers and 4 new teachers, and 150 students. A local businessman, a former student, sponsored us for the summer. We also gave 2 local high school English teachers training in modern methods of teaching English.
We enjoyed visiting our friends, students and business associates, as always. We also visited a monastery, the citadel in Erbil, Nahum’s tomb, a mountain waterfall and cave, picnics with students, visits and shopping in the marketplace. A couple of us attended the University of Zakho’s first graduation ceremony.
We're looking forward to another summer of relationship building through English teaching and Kurdish language/culture learning in 2012. Friend us at Melik Jeenuazadi on Facebook.
Where we've been... Why we do what we do...
In 2003 we taught classes in the Department of English at Dohuk University and saw the need firsthand for additional English programs in the university system and in the communities in general.
During the summer of 2004 we established the MELIK English program with a full-time program in Dohuk and a part-time program in Erbil. We had 400 registered students in 20 classesand between the two cities. Classes in Dohuk were held for 10 weeks with each class lasting 4-6 hours. Classes in Erbil were part-time.
Our 2005 program expanded to full-time classes in Erbil and a new full-time summer program in Zakho. We had almost 900 students between the three cities. Six of our summer teachers stayed on during the 2005-2006 school year and worked salaried jobs for either the Ministry of Education (in Dohuk and Erbil) or for the University of Salahaddin (in Erbil).
Our 2006-2007 summer and school year programs were staffed by our three teachers who worked for the University of Salahaddin in Erbil. We helped to establish the Language Centre of the University of Salahaddin, which has a continuing English conversation program for university students in Erbil.
Starting in 2007, we've held our summer programs exclusively in the city of Zakho.
2007 - We had four teachers and 136 students who were eager to learn English conversation! We taught a well-attended Kurdish-English literacy class for the first time, which students and teachers alike enjoyed.
2008 - We had 8 teachers, 2 kids on our team that were our assistant teachers, and 188 students in 6 levels of classes (literacy through advanced). We taught an enthusiastic Book 5 class for the first time. Also for the first time we held classes 5 days / week for 2 hours a day over a period of 6 weeks. Halfway through our program we took a short break for the teachers to take a road trip to a neighboring city to visit some other English teachers!
2009 - We had 11 teachers, 2 kids on our team that were our assistant teachers, about 185 students in 6 levels of classes (literacy through advanced). We had two literacy classes for the first time. We held classes again 5 days / week for 2 hours a day over a peiod of 6 weeks. For the first time we were able to have some "electives" classes in which we played fun games. Classes were held 5 days / week for 2 hours each day. We took a few extra days before the course to hang out with students in the market, and during the course we visited with students outside the classroom on the soccer field, basketball court, in restaurants, and in people's homes.
2010 – We had 12 teachers, 1 kid on our team, and only a handful of private students. That summer the rules in the Kurdish government changed, and our NGO’s license from Baghdad was no longer accepted. We made “lemonade” and decided to teach private lessons and create a photo book of Zakho instead, both which were successful. Google “At Home in Zakho” (with the quotation marks) and you can view the book online. We printed 2000 copies of the book in Dohuk and made them available to the community in 2011.
2011 – We had 10 teachers and 150 students in 5 levels of classes (literacy through Book 4). We were so grateful to be able to hold our program again. Our sponsor, a local businessman and former student, worked really hard to make our license happen for us. Classes were again held 5 days / week for 2 hours each day for 5½ weeks. We finished up a day or two earlier than we had planned because the students requested the end-of-term certificates and celebration before Ramadan began.
In addition to our English conversation classes, we held our first TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) teacher training classes for local high school English teachers. Our 2 students showed great aptitude in improving their teaching methods using the high school’s textbooks.
We are looking for 10-12 teachers for our summer 2012 program in Zakho. We'd like to continue our focus on relationship building with our students outside of our two-hour classes. We’ll have a super-intensive program, as we want to finish up before Ramadan begins. Come and join us!
Our students respond positively to our interactive teaching style and modern methods, and they enjoyed using our "New Bridges" English materials, which are designed especially for them.
The presidents of the University of Dohuk and the University of Zakho are delighted with our program and interest in community development. Many universities and some private language institutes in Northern Iraq are eager to employ native speakers who hold an M.A. as teachers in their programs during the school year with monthly salaries, free housing, and a few other benefits.
Our thanks to the Minister of Education in Zakho who continually welcomes us warmly to Zakho.
Contact me for the latest information on pre-field training, travel to Iraq, teaching, textbooks, etc.
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