In November 2022 Guinea introduced English into their primary schools using the Jolly Phonics method. Guinea is a francophone country and prior to this, the teaching of English began in Junior High School. As part of the Jolly Futures Offer, Jolly Phonics was rolled out in Conakry, Boke, and Kindia. three of Guinea’s eight regions. A total of 1,050 CE1 (Primary 3) teachers received three days of Jolly Phonics training. Officials from the Ministry of Education also attended the training. The Minister of Pre - University and Literacy, Mr. Guilliaume Hawing, formally opened the training and said that introducing English in Guinean primary schools is a very important phase in securing the future of the Guinean children, in a world where English is the most widely spoken language. The Secretary General, Dr. Julien Bongunou, expressed the Ministry’s commitment to the Jolly Phonics project. They were supported by the National Director of Elementary Education, Deputy Directors, and other key personnel in the Ministry.
Seven professional Jolly Phonics trainers, from four countries, delivered the training. A special thanks to Dr. Olubusola Eshiet, Olufunmi Bankole, Emile Akpa, Jeremie Ohanete, Kesiena Adeniyi, Emefa Gyamfi and Thelma Edet Ebah for this delivering these trainings. The CE1 teachers said that at the outset they were petrified when told they would attend a training in English, but their end of training feedback shows that they found the training easy to understand and were confident to teach their pupils English. When trainers visited some classrooms before their departure from Guinea, they found many of the teachers delivering Jolly Phonics lessons confidently and the pupils were engaged in the fun multi-sensory approach. In 2023 the training will continue to ensure that all school head teachers and Officials will be trained in Jolly Phonics. This will enable them to monitor and mentor the teachers implementing the programme to ensure sustainability.
