Anastasiya Shikina – EFL Instructor, the Department of English Practical Course, Fergana State University, Fergana
The month that taught me to listen
When I first arrived in Almaty for the C5+1 Ed. program, I thought I knew what teaching was. I had my neat lesson plans, structured activities, and a sense of control that made me feel safe. But the first thing I learned here was that good teaching isn’t about control at all — it’s about relationship. It’s about how you hold the space, not just how you fill it.
I came from Fergana, a small city tucked between mountains and noise, bringing my beginner’s confidence and my quiet doubts. I left Almaty with both still intact — but changed. The difference was the people who crossed my path.
Roger (Roger Ramirez - USA) and Paola (Paola Angulo - Guatemala) didn’t just teach methodology. They lived it.
Roger taught us how to make learning light — how humor can soften even the toughest concepts, how laughter can be a lesson in itself. His sessions reminded me that joy isn’t a distraction from learning; it’s a doorway into it.
Paola, on the other hand, taught strength through gentleness. The way she listened, the calm in her presence, the quiet power of her feedback — it was a kind of pedagogy I had never seen before. She once said she hoped to change one person at a time. I think she already has. She changed me.
From Sally (Sally Kuzma - USA), I learned that beauty doesn’t have to be loud. Her Cento poetry session — where we stitched together borrowed lines into something uniquely ours — reminded me that creativity often begins with listening. Since then, I’ve tried to bring that same softness into my lessons: more space for reflection, more silence that actually speaks.
And then there was Ann (Dr. Ann Kennedy - USA) — my online teacher who became real. Her kindness wasn’t performative. It was quiet, steady, and deeply human. She reminded me that sincerity travels farther than any teaching technique ever could.
But it wasn’t just about the coaches. It was also about the 18 of us — teachers from across Central Asia, each carrying our own systems, accents, and struggles. We were so different, yet we kept asking the same questions:
How do we make learning human?
How do we measure growth that doesn’t fit on a test?
Every conversation — even the small talk over coffee — opened a new window in me. I realized that the most meaningful learning often happens in between the official sessions, in the shared laughter, in the silence before someone finds the right word.
If I had to name the biggest lesson I took from this experience, it’s this: flexibility is not a weakness — it’s a method.
Teaching, I’ve learned, isn’t a performance. It’s a dialogue.
Sometimes it’s not even about teaching at all — it’s about seeing your students, really seeing them, and letting their stories reshape your own.
So yes, I came to Almaty to learn how to teach better. But I left learning how to listen better — to others, and to myself.
And maybe that’s the real curriculum after all.
