Presentation of Pezhman

It is with the utmost pleasure that I introduce myself as Pezhman. I am forty seven years in age, who is a father to two children, as well as a grandfather to three lovely grandchildren. In the year 1975, together with my parents, we left for India from Iran. It was extremely difficult trying to learn three different languages. In the year 2001, together with my children, went to Norway. In order to integrate in the society, learning Norwegian was eminent. Since I was interested in continuing with my teaching career, I had to repeat my pedagogy. I had earlier obtained a MBA English (hon) and Pedagogy. To add to my achievements, I have qualifications in School Management and Norwegian Pedagogy. After a obtaining a university degree from NTNU, in school administration, I continued with teaching.

I am now a class contact teacher in the school system of Norway. Currently, I teach students who are adults between the ages of 21 to 65. This is at an institution known as Enhet for voksen opplaeing, which in English translates to ‘Unit for adult education’. There are 1000 students and 150 teachers, who are refugees. The subjects, which I teach are English, Norwegian and Social Science. All the students never attended school and this means that they follow a syllabi ranging from second to fourth. There are many challenges, which I encounter while working, but am able to cope. Most of the students find it difficult to learn Norwegian as they have not lived there, for long. Also, teaching English is another challenge, because the students do not have a common language. Besides, they have no background in education. It is often difficult for them to grasp two foreign languages at the same time. The reason is because of the different rules of grammar as well as it being new to them. The students are from Burma, Somalia, Brazil, Eritrea, Russia, Iraq and Afghanistan. According to the Norwegian laws, refugees in the city of Trondheim, have to spend 300 hours learning Norwegian.

Norway does not recognize some educational qualifications; this means that students have to spend seven years in secondary and primary education. Another challenge is that students, who are around forty years, are not motivated when learning languages, which are new. This is because they are not happy being supported, as they are used to supporting their own families. Also, it is often difficult for the students, since the books used are the same as those of the Norwegian students. Often, students finding it difficult to learn, as they are still traumatized by the experiences they suffered while at their home countries. Outcome assessment of my students is hindered, as there are no tools and guidelines for this task. My greatest source of joy comes from students, who show their gratitude because I helped them learn English. An example of such a scenario is when female students of Somali origin, thanked me as they were able to help their children with their homework. It was an achievement to them as they helped them write sentences and use Pronouns and Articles well. The students had never been in a classroom before they came to Norway. Even more, some of the students are now in college studying nursing.

The ‘MA young Learners Learning Ability’ through the York studies, will help me greatly in achieving success in my work. My students will also benefit as well, as I will have the skills and knowledge needed to teach them. My competence as an educational instructor will be increased if I obtain this opportunity. Indeed, I look forward to being accepted for this prestigious course at York.