Lack of Conversation Class

The children at our school are really disadvantaged in that they rarely have the opportunity to hear and practice spoken English.  During one of our visits, we took a class of 8 grade 6 students who were without a teacher that day, and tested their conversation abilities.  We realised immediately that they have not been taught to speak even the most basic English, as questions such as 'How are you?' and 'How old are you?' were met with blank faces.  It was clear to us that the children were eager to learn, and this is something that FODAD needs to address urgently, since the children will become even more deprived as the new curriculum will also be testing spoken English.