Ep. 2 - Jacques: How Student-Centered Education Can Open Doors

Jacques, a missionary from Burkina Faso, came to the US in 2014 to study theology and spread Christianity in West Africa. He changed his visa from tourist to student and struggled to learn English while living with others from Burkina Faso. He was impressed with the student-centered education in the US and graduated from college in 2022. Jacques plans to return to Burkina Faso with more skills and experience to help people spiritually. His family joined him in the US and faced challenges adapting to New York City. Jacques advises international students to dream big and persist in pursuing their goals. the way they teach, a way that pushes you to think by yourself. This is Raquel Neres and you're listening to English Learners in New York City. In this episode we have the story of Jacques, a missionary from Burkina Faso that came to New York in 2014 with a dream, studying theology in an American institution to help spread Christian faith in West Africa. Let's listen to his story. I am Jacques Bamogo. I was born in 1973 in Burkina Faso and yes, I got the opportunity to come to the U.S. in 2014 to visit, just to visit. Three or four months later, I figured out that I could make a big change to become an international student in order to pursue my dream, which is to complete my degree in theology in the U.S. I was looking for a way to go to study in the U.S. because I know that the education in the U.S. is very good and I did not want to go back without having a diploma from the U.S. I was praying, asking the Lord to help me and to open the door for me to to be able to go to college in the U.S. and everything should start for me by the change of the visa, from tourist visa to F1 visa. Only to clarify, you actually can't change your visa inside the U.S., which was Jacques' situation. What you can do is change your status. In other words, Jacques changed his status from tourist to student. In his passport, he had still a tourist visa. Fortunately, Jacques succeeded, but changing the status in the U.S. is risky and much more bureaucratic than getting the visa itself. Getting back to Jacques' story, I was curious to know why New York? I came to New York because I had some friends in New York City that wanted me to come visit them and also when you are in Africa, speaking about the U.S., New York comes first because it is there that people come, a lot of places to visit, a lot of opportunities. So, back in Africa, the name New York is very known. I see, and did you find like when you came, did you find like a community from Burkina Faso? Yes, one of my friends from Burkina who came to the United States long years ago, he was the one who assisted me and allowed me to stay with him. Yes, and we were living with other peers from Burkina Faso. We had interaction with each other and yes, this is what we've been doing. Okay, and you, when you came in 2014, did you already know how to speak English? No, because I'm from a French-speaking country. In high school in Burkina Faso, we had like three hours for English and a week and because we used to speak French, we kind of neglected that part. So, when I came to the United States, I wasn't able to like make a good sentence in English, not have a lot of vocabulary, do not have any skills in speaking. In writing, I can read, but the speaking was very hard for me. So, I had to go to ESL classes after I changed the visa to learn how to speak and how to improve my English skills. Moving abroad to learn a new language is more efficient than trying to learn it in your home country, not just because it takes you out of your comfort zone, but also because you have to immerse yourself in a new culture. In New York City, you have to go to the stores, you have to go visit places, you have to meet people, and you have to speak English in order to for people to understand you. It helps you to get to know the culture, American culture, helps you to understand American history, gonna help you to be able to apply for college, yeah, and to get to engage in life in the U.S. Jacques is correct. However, as New York is a city of immigrants, cultural enclaves can get in the way when it comes to learning English outside the school. As people from the same countries tend to live in the same regions, they feel comfortable using their own language. That also happened with Jacques, who lived in the Bronx, one of the main locations of the Burkina Faso community, along with Harlan. Yeah, I can say that it was very hard to learn English because, first of all, I live, I was living with the people from Burkina Faso. We don't speak English. We just speak French when we are sitting together, and it wasn't easy because I go to school and I have vocabularies from the school, but I couldn't use them because I don't have anyone, a native person to speak to, so I am by myself, and I was the only one who was a student at that time. There were like six people in the apartment, all from Burkina, and I was the only one who was going to school, so that's why it took me like five years to improve my English, speaking, writing, so then we are not improving. On the other hand, for Jacques, learning English in school was more than just learning a new language. It was a way to make friends and to discover a different kind of education. It was exciting because I get to know how the education in the U.S. was. It's not the same as in Africa we were used to because here I saw that teachers are familiar with the students and they wanted to help them, and it was very good. Even if you cannot pronounce something, they are not making fun of you, they are trying to help you get there, and I liked it because at the beginning it was so hard for me to say things, and I saw the engagement, I saw the sacrifices, I saw the love from the teachers, and I appreciated that because it helped me a lot to be confident at school, wanting to talk to other people, and at school I made a lot of friends from other countries. It was very good. I know that I had to spend a lot of hours at school in the morning from 7 to like 1 or 1.30. I should be at school, have to wake up in the morning, and by 6 a.m. I have to go to the subway. Yes, it wasn't easy, but I liked it. I confess that I wasn't expecting Jacques to be so impressed with the learning methods he experienced in his English school, and that's why I started wondering what was his story as a student in Burkina? The interaction between the students and the teachers is completely different because back in my country, the teacher, the only master of the class, if he comes to class, you have to stay quiet and to listen to him until he finishes, and after that they are not available to help you if you want them. It's not easy. There is a distance between students and teachers. I don't see this gap anymore in the U.S. Instead, students and teachers, they have become friends. Very helpful for someone who is learning because the fear you had towards your teacher, there is no more fear, and you can talk to him as your friend. You can call him by his name. The way they teach, a way that pushes you to think by yourself. You do not need to receive everything from the teacher. It's like an interaction. You say something, you discuss the thing, what is your opinion, you say your opinion, and the teacher adds something to just leading you to the right path, and I love it. After understanding his story as a student in his country, I realized how I took for granted my school years in which professors were not so authoritarian. I also noticed how student-centered education is fundamental for international English learners, and it was key for Jack to start a new chapter in his life. So, I started my English classes in 2016 to 2019. Oh, so you did not study during the pandemic, right? No. At that time, I was in college. I graduated from college last May 2022. Nice. Where did you study? In, at Crown College in Minnesota. I requested for the OPT, so that's why I had to come to New York City. Just as a reminder, OPT stands for Optional Practical Training, which is a period that undergraduate and graduate students with F1 status are permitted to work towards getting practical training to complement their education. I am working with a branch of the CMA, the Christian and the Missionary Alliance, one branch, mission branch, that calls Envision. The mission or the vision is to reach out, list people from West Africa with the gospel. They don't have the opportunity to hear the gospel because they don't speak English, so they can understand what is the love of God for them. So, because I speak their language, I can help them to understand the meaning of the gospel and to help them receive salvation from Jesus. You accomplished your dream, right? Yes. Do you plan on staying in the U.S. or do you plan on returning to Burkina? How are your plans? I'm planning to return, but I wanted to have some experience in the U.S. so that I have a lot of skills and experience in how to help people grow in their spiritual life and the way the teaching style and how to disciple people. All of this, I have to get a lot of experience so I can help out people in Africa. It seemed to me that Jack had accomplished his dream. However, his sacrifice was even higher than I thought. Yes, I was married in 2002, and in 2014 when I was coming to the U.S., we had three sons and the youngest was like just six months. And when I came, it was seven years later in 2021 that my family got the opportunity to join me in the U.S. here. Because of the F-1 visa, they allowed me to apply for F-2 for my family member, so God has answered their prayer for them to come join me here. They stayed with me in Minnesota until I finished my studies, and now we are together in New York City. Wow, and how was their adaptation to New York? Yeah, it's not easy, but particularly my wife, she doesn't speak English, and it's not easy to go to stores or to visit places, so I have always to help her and help the kids too because it's not easy to walk around in New York City. At the end of our conversation, I asked Jack to share his advices. My advice is that if you have a chance to come to the U.S., I want to tell you to dream big because the U.S. offers great opportunities to help you make your dream come true. If you are persistent and you keep doing what you want to do, doors will be open for you to accomplish your dream. So, for international students, don't give up. In the first time, you are going to go through difficult times, especially for those who need to go to ESL classes. It's not easy to learn English, improve your English speaking and writing and everything, but you need to continue. You need to be like a hard worker, to be persistent, like I say, and then as you continue to make efforts to accomplish your dream, you will see that it will be easy for you later. I say that for me it wasn't easy, but because I didn't give up. People that I lived with, they were telling me to give up from studying, but I said no, I won't give up because this is the only opportunity that has been given to me. If they allowed me to become an F1 visa, I won't give up. So, I will continue until I see a door open. And yes, God has opened the door for me. This was the story of Jack, a missionary from Burkina Faso whose testimony shows how persistence and faith can make you go far. It also proves how student-centered education in ESL schools is fundamental not only for learning a new language, but also for promoting self-confidence, engagement and care. In case you are an international English learner in New York City or have had this experience in the past, please share your story with us. We want to give you voice. See you in the next episode of English Learners in New York City.