Back to school 2021/2022: reading, writing seminars for pupils, students, teachers end with miraculous transformation

By Bakah Derick

Over 70 pupils, students and teachers have ended a one week seminar on reading and writing English Phonetics. The Seminars that went from August 31 to September 4, 2021 at the Piarist runned St Michael's Primary School Futru Nkwen have been organised by Rev Fr Njah Stephen Verla being a followup to the lunch of his book series Rudiments of English phonetics and phonology. 

Fr Njah Stephen and teachers at the end of their seminar

 

According to Fr Njah Stephen, the book series accompanied by the seminars is a responds to fundamental problems of reading and writing and covers from nursery to Higher Education as well as a volume for public speakers, non-formal education and adult literacy centers. 

"This work is as a result of my personal experience starting from when I went to yye East of Africa and realised that my Cameroonian accent was not the best... After working to improve my accent I decided to work with the children and teachers  on English phonetics accepted internationally." 

Representing the Fon of Nkwen at the closing ofchildren'sren's seminar, Muma Azehfor described the change witnessed in his children who attended the seminar as "a miracle". He has expressed the wish for the seminar to be made annual and duration increased. The plea instantly received a positive response from the author and seminar organiser. 

" I am happy I am a witnessed to this. My son who could not read anything is now able to read a few things. This is so great." Nyuyseh Philip a parent said 

"I had issues with pronunciation but after learning now that there are 44 sounds of the English alphabet instead of 26 as we were taught school." Maimo Emmanuel affirmed 

Fr Njah Stephen Verla has expressed satisfaction with the result from the seminars noting that pupils and students came from primary 2 to form five with all of them being able grasp the basics in English phonetics.