The Albanian Language Unites Us!
Kozeta Zylo
After the successful completion of the first semester and the end-of-year holidays, the students of the Albanian School “Alba Life” Ambassador of the Nation started the second semester online due to the pandemic.
Teachers, students and parents of the Albanian School “Alba Life” are continuing to challenge Covid-19 which has isolated a whole world. Although it was the end of the year holidays, but for the school board there was work with intensity to continue learning the Albanian language as normally as possible. Admission of students, conversations with parents online, phone calls, work with teachers, recordings, interviews with new teachers, as well as raising public awareness in the media made it possible to achieve and continue the teaching process based on scientific pedagogical methods used by teachers of this school.
This activity as teaching and as a basic category of didactics is performed with great professionalism in this institution in the Diaspora created with so much effort and sacrifice, continuing the traces of our Rilindas guides. Created 14 years ago with only one class in Staten Island, the Albanian school has only grown and increased the number of students being included in all neighborhoods of New York which shows the seriousness, teaching content, changes and systematic components, creative and interactive.
It is not at all easy in this world crisis to practice learning Albanian online in the Diaspora in completely isolated conditions, where the screen is made as a classroom, to cooperate in all directions, and on the other hand to work to support the family, after learning of the Albanian language is voluntary.
For learning the Albanian language we have chosen the weekends starting on Friday afternoon and continues with full intensity all Saturday starting at 10 am to 7 pm in different classes, teachers and schedules. The large number of students in the multiple classes up to 13 classes has significantly increased the work as well as the participation of more teachers. Some teachers have two classes who teach on different days. This semester, a new class was opened after several students from Chicago enrolled in this school, another online challenge, as this platform gives the opportunity to enroll students from all over the world.
For this new class was accepted the teacher Marinela Kondakçiu licensed by both Albanian and American countries who welcomed with great love the cooperation and said that she will work with great diligence to teach the children of the Diaspora the Albanian language.
We have 17 students from Halifax, Canada as well as from various countries in America and Europe, most recently from Chicago.
Parents look forward to learning Albanian with a lot of heart and love, so they often say that your program keeps them very active by not letting them sit all day in front of the phone, computer games without moving. In this program, they get the culture, love and pride for Albania through the Albanian language.
A parent from Chicago, Eligerta Cuka said: “Thank you for accepting our children! The children missed the Albanian school, we are looking forward to this beautiful online experience “.
The prominent artist from Chicago, the patriot Pajazit Murtishi, inspired with his greeting, writing, among other things, that: in the specific case in the suburbs of Chicago, that as a result of the pandemic our school does not function, and our children attend your school, “Alba Life” as well as the name itself to be translated into our language is: “Albanian Life” and for this works and the facts speak, and not the empty words, you are ready for the maximum sacrifice, that the children of other states also attend the lessons. And finally I wish this initiative to be successful, and I do not know how much we owe you Zylo family, for this so patriotic act, until the circumstances return to normal.
Online learning challenges isolation
Learning the Albanian language with the online platform in different classes started with a lot of seriousness and full of love. According to the founder and director of the Albanian School Mr. Qemal Zylo who has a life experience in teaching at the Military Academy, Tirana as head of department and in schools for technical drawing and Autocad between the two continents observes all classes without interruption and said that many students come 5 to 10 minutes in front of the screen which shows their great interest in the Albanian language. In the 15-second greetings and congratulations we gave to each class, what sticks in my mind are the wishes of the students who can’t wait for the public schools to open to teach in the classroom and for
When I told her in a class that we will definitely meet in September in concrete classes, Ariana, a wonderful student, sadly told me that it is a long time until then i The great emigration, the spread of everyone according to family interests must bring a kind of division, direct non-recognition among Albanians. According to teachers, parents and students, this school has become not only an institution of learning the Albanian language, but also as a large family, as it is a great opportunity and privilege to get to know as many Albanians as possible and to be forever connected as sisters. and as brothers of one blood. From our decades of experience are many of the families, teachers, students who have become close and inseparable friends precisely thanks to the knowledge in this school and the serious and extremely professional leadership. Rightly to the two school coordinators Mrs. Arta Xhaferrri and Blerim Gjocaj say that Alba Life is like our second home.
Teacher Entela Muda in her class explained to the students about the text, the meaning of this word. She said that everything we see and think we can write or tell in one or more sentences.
Sentences connecting with each other form the text.
The text expresses a complete meaning. Then he continued with the questions how did they spend the end-of-year holidays, the most beautiful gift, or which book did you read?
In the class of Dr. Manjola Duli, Mr. Zylo after her lesson concluded that: The topic that the teacher addressed today aroused great interest among students. Dr. Duli focused on the Illyrian kingdoms, as the earliest inhabitants of the Balkan Peninsula, originating from the Pelasgians. She explained about the Illyrian tribes and their kingdoms as: Albanians, from whom the Albanians took their name and had their center in Albanopoli, today the city of Kruja and continued with the Dardanians, Atintans, Taulants, Enkelejds and Ardians. There was interest and discussion from the students, when they learned about Queen Teuta of the Ardian tribe based in Shkodra, whose name was inherited by the mother of a student. They learned about the emancipation of women in the Illyrian tribes since ancient times.
Among other things, through the “Schoolme” platform, students gained a lot of grammatical knowledge
Teacher Laçaj explained the language of music to her students in Brooklyn and the Bronx. She said why at the Vienna concert every New Year they come from different parts of the world they understand the language of music equally. The screen showed Vienna, the capital of Austria, which lies northwest of the Danube River. Vienna is very famous for world famous composers like Mozart born in Vienna and Beethoven from Bonn of Germany who continued Mozart’s path there, etc. Art lovers from all over the world go to see the concert. She went on to ask the students about the New Year gifts they had received. Among them, I was impressed by the gift that Sofia had received from a very diligent student who is improving the Albanian language. She was given a diary. Her gift thrilled me immensely because I am a fan of diaries.
Teacher Shiqerukaj in her class in the Bronx was given to the students to choose the verb “play” in the present tense. The syllables that are formed with the letter V, meanwhile on the screen was given a girl named Valbona who had invited her friends to her show playing the violin.
Teacher Veselaj in the junior class in the Bronx was given the letters dh and ll as well as their pronunciation. She illustrated them with different words by activating different students for this textbook.
They listened intently as they each uttered these letters.
Teacher Bulku was given the text entitled “Children’s Gift”. He then addressed the question: “How did the New Year’s Elder find out about the children’s wishes by giving them some options. You can write your wish for the New Year. She continued learning how to write some words according to the unified language, giving them with concrete and correct examples, such as: bulbs and not teeth, big and not fashionable, apples and not fashionable.
Teacher Skënderi in her class explained the vowels in Albanian and illustrated it with the words that contained these vowels. She was also taught about the use of adjectives in the Albanian language, the use of words at the airport, the verbs jam, kam, I speak in the present tense. They were then asked to describe in their own words the visits to different places in Albania.
Learning with the online platform with 13 classes with the students and teachers of the Albanian School “Alba Life” challenges isolation and makes them active and connected with each other in emigration to the countries where fate threw us.
Original title: Albanian School “Alba Life” started with a new class the second semester online
13 classes from the Albanian School “Alba Life” and this is a success!