English Language Fellow Nathan Doan hosted an English Language Discussion Club at the American Corners in Dushanbe, Tajikistan that introduced a group of Tajik ESL students to American Jazz.
Students first listened to a jazz song through the American English website. Doan then shared some history of American Jazz to the students and explained the meanings of words that were new to the students. Students broke into small groups to write their own lyrics.
Once students had finished writing their songs, they were excited to share them with the rest of the class. The activity allowed students a new way to interact with the English language that was engaging and encouraged them to really know the meanings of words used before creating their own songs.