At the age of eight, I could speak some basic phrases in English. At primary school we would say things such as ‘good morning’, ‘have a good afternoon’, ‘congratulations’, and ‘excuse me, sir or madam’. Apart from that, we only learned English by reading words from a book or dictionary, but without understanding the meaning. It was not until I started English classes in 2021 that I began to develop in confidence and speak more fluently.

I was frustrated with the Tanzanian school system because in primary school they barely teach English, but in secondary school they expect you to speak it fluently. They don’t teach it in a step-by-step, beginner-learning guide.

Attending private school and later an international school helped. At the start, it was hard to understand, since all lessons (except the Swahili class) are taught exclusively in English.

For me, I didn’t have teachers to help me learn, so I had to pick it up in a fast-paced setting and by using computers and watching English videos and movies with Swahili or English subtitles. It took me two years to master communication, but now I have little trouble holding conversations in English.

More recently, I have been volunteering and teaching students aged 11 to 16, at a summer camp in Kigamboni, Dar es Salaam, through the NGOs Uvi Foundation for Education and Shine Africa.

I taught 15 to 20 kids by providing practical lessons such as showing them objects and explaining their English, watching videos, reading and translating books, and playing word board games.