“Who do you appreciate, everyone? Think of someone you really appreciate.”

Brian has started his training as the Rwandan teachers in this summer program are still filing into the room. He asks for a couple of examples as a warm up, then has everyone stand up and move in front of their desks.

He leads them in a chant: 2, 4, 6, 8 … who do we appreciate?!

When was the first time I heard that? As a child, no doubt, and this chant is much older than that, probably well over a hundred years. It is sort of funny to think that somewhere back in the past someone had to invent this. It really has staying power, I guess. The even numbers are easy to remember, the question fits the rhythm of the numbers, it has a good rhyme … some things are just right, this chant is one of those things. 

At the end of the chant, back in the here-and-now, Brian suggests everyone yell out who they appreciate. The first time he leads the chant he is basically a solo voice as he yells out “My wife, my wife, my wife!” He had meant that everyone should yell out their personal response at the same time. Instead everyone has a polite chuckle since it is Brian alone. “C’mon,” he says, “yell with me,” and they do. Now they have the idea. 

So in small groups the teachers decide what they are going to say. They pick family members. Brother! My mother! Children! Everyone looks happy. It feels good to appreciate others, and to do so loudly.

Brian switches it up and introduces a new chant. He’s making it fit for Rwanda, using the local currency, the Rwandan franc.

2 francs, 4 francs, 6 francs, a dollar

All for ________, stand up and holler!

He explains how it is going to work. Insert the person you are cheering for in the second line, shout it out good and loud. He reviews the pronunciation. Holler is a surprisingly hard word for a native Kinyarwandan speaker. Everyone practices for a bit. Holluh, horrel, hollrr … Both “l” and “r” are difficult, here they are right together. It turns out to be the perfect cheer to practice to work on exactly the pronunciation difficulties that make understanding difficult.

To get everyone entirely committed to practicing the pronunciation, Brian splits the class into two groups and they shout the cheer from one group to the other, trying to be as loud as possible.

These chants aren’t a stand alone exercise. There is a context. Namely, in two days, the closing day of this two-week program, there is going to be a sports tournament during which these teachers will compete, for fun. To liven things up, Brian is teaching these American chants. Friday afternoon is going to be lively.

The next chant he introduces, holding a tagboard sign, reminds me of assemblies in my high school, back in the suburbs of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Cooper High School, to be exact. We used to yell this one back and forth across the gym.

We’ve got spirit,

Yes, we do!

We’ve got spirit,

How ‘bout you?

The class, still in two groups, sends the chant back and forth. It’s deafening, just like back in those high school pep rallies.

I don’t think I’ve ever been in an English as a Second Language class based on traditional American sports cheers. Pretty much any realia can serve as teaching material, can’t it? By this point we’ve looked at grammar, practiced pronunciation, considered elisions (how ‘bout you), and talked a bit about culture (Rwandan francs, US dollars). 

It looks like there is one more cheer to learn. Brian reviews indefinite articles. When do you use “a”, when do you use “an,” and how are they pronounced? I realize he is getting ready for this one:

Give me a [insert letter]

Give me a [insert the next letter]

and so on until you’ve spelled a word. He’s going to use SUCCESS. This is why he needed to explain a and an. S needs “an.” C needs “a.” Even short chunks of language bring challenges. And teaching opportunities, for that matter.

S U C C E S S yells the class, in unison. That’s the way you spell SUCCESS!

Brian passes out the letters to spell success, one per teacher. He’s wrapping it up, bringing it home. “Step forward when your letter is called,” he says. 

“Give me an S!” he calls. The teachers step forward as their letter is called out. They’ve got it. They shout out the letters. “What does it spell?”

SUCCESS!