Far away from the city of Jalalbad but within the Behsood district there lies a small village called Khoshgunbad.
In this village, nestled narrowly between a few local shops, lies the American English Language Centre where a young man teaches English.
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Students are keen to learn English for different purposes. One student we talked to says that they have learnt to speak English so that they can use computer and learn various things from the internet. Another thinks English is an international language and everybody should learn it.
They sit on the plastic mats in the lotus position, placing their notebooks on the floor in order to write. Several of them share one book. This is because they can not afford to buy the English books individually.
Shakirullah, the teacher, manages everything. He owns this course and acts not only as teacher but also as the admin officer and manager. He carries everything with him in one single folder everyday.
He is a kind man who enjoys teaching English. He does not mind how much a student pay him and the fee is not fixed so everybody pays as much as they can afford. This can range dramatically from 10 Afghani ($0.15) to 100 Afghani ($1.50). The only students here are boys. This might well be because of the lack of space and facilities available.
The class door is on the street. It is in fact like a garage to park car inside. It is open six days a week. Shakirullah is in year twelve of school himself and preparing for university.
Apart from teaching this English course Shakirullah helps a primary school in his village, where he teaches pupils in years 5 and 6 English as well.
