Richard Goldie
Saudi Arabia must seem a very distant and mysterious place to friends and family who never went there. But despite the challenges to living there – and especially in the work environment we were in – Oliver, like many of us, had many fulfilling and enjoyable years there. He was a key member of the tennis club and joined in many of the social activities we made for ourselves (you had to make your own fun when no entertainment was available in the town back then – Saudi is changing now). We all taught English to young male air force cadets in the Technical Studies Institute, Dhahran. All the cadets were Saudis and most of whom came from villages. They were not academic and many did not in fact want to learn English at all! It took special pedagogic and interpersonal skills (as well as dogged determination) to successfully handle/teach them. Many qualified teachers could not – but Oliver was an example of someone who did. As you will read below, Oliver exuded professionalism, creativity and social ‘nous’ in being able to control the class and build up the students language ability one tiny building block at a time. …
- September 18, 2023
- 9:37 am
