Childhood dreams comes in various forms, my first childhood dream was to become an accountant simply because I love money 馃, it's not like I'm covetous or wanting to do anything illegal, I just loved the idea of having money with me, so I was fond of saving my pocket money and due to that my siblings usually keep their money with me until they were ready to use it because I just don't spend like kids my age. Do you think that's a genuine basis for the choice of a career?
I grew up with that and I went to the commercial class in secondary school but along the line my dreams changed, I discovered that I love teaching, I remember helping my elder sister handle her home lesson students while she was busy and they end of knowing what she has been teaching for weeks in few hours, I felt it was my calling. Even when I thought my younger siblings they tend to enjoy learning from me, that was when I realized I had to get into a university of Education. Furthermore , a lot of Secondary school certificate (SSCE) holders in Nigeria couldn't get admission into higher institution in time due to the fact that they are bent on a particular course of study and at that time I made up my mind to get into higher institution in due time since I found fulfilment in teaching anything I'm good at doing.
So, I opted for another course which I felt like my chances of getting admission earlier will be high and getting into the root of politics in Nigeria so I thought political science was a great choice, I choose the course and I got admission. After paying my acceptance fee into the institution, I went for the admission process and along the line the institution decided to change my course based other admission requirements. I was given options between History and dilpomatic studies, french and creative art, I did my background check on the three courses, and I checked where I will have an edge and also enjoy while I cope, so I went for french language, probably because my dad speaks french, my mum is also from a francophone country so I felt it will be interesting
to be able to speak french in an anglophone country like Nigeria. So basically I was ready to take up a new challenge and I just didn't want to be lingering around the house.
Fortunately for me, I found myself in a department that was so interesting to me, while others felt like it was a strange language and they felt weird having to study a course they didn't plan to, I saw that as an opportunity and I could finally communicate In a different language from English which is my official language as a Nigerian, I knew I would be able to write and no one will understand me expect with the help of translation, I also knew I could gist with my dad in presence of my siblings and they won't understand, my 100level first semester was so interesting to me, my lecturers introduced the course with songs and basic knowledge so it helped the serious learners amongst us to grow, after each class I go back home pick of my french-english dictionary and start writing out meanings of each new word learnt, I also had to set a target of learning 5new french words per day and their English meaning, all of this made it easier for me, and then I started putting those words together, speaking with people that have lived In francophone countries and can easily correct me when I say it wrongly, it was going smoothly until my first exam, then I realized exams were not about the songs and the fun part of the language, it was time to write compositions and literary works all in french, it was quite tough, I knew I needed more, from there I had to go for YouTube videos, take grammar courses after school and I improved by the day, in 300level, I went for a bilingual course in Republic of Benin, there we had no English course, it was all in french and since the environment is a francophone environment, it basically compelled us to speak the language, going to the market, restaurant e.t.c you have no choice but to speak in french because the person attending to you cannot understand English.
That was how I was able to speak fluently, and the more I speak the more I become proud of myself, I could remember my 100level days when one of my lecturers was dictating in french and he used the word "la virgule" this word actually means the "comma"(,) punctuation mark in the English language, but as a novice to the french language at that time , instead of writing down the sign I was spelling "la virgule" in my dictation, while going through my work during personal studies, I discovered the meaning of the word and it was very funny 馃ぃ to me.
One of the courses I also enjoyed was french literature (la literature fran莽aise) where we were thought the french history and revolution, I ended up graduating with good grades and I work with it now as a french instructor in a secondary school here in Nigeria. I hope to further my education in linguistics or international relations someday, that's how how come about my career as an educator and I intend to learn and improve on it by the day.
Note all pictures in this post are mine.
