Introducing Aiga: A Pole Dancing Engoo Tutor From Kyrgyzstan 🇰🇬

Today, we’ll get to learn about Aiga – an Engoo tutor, Kyrgyzstan national, pole dancer and more. Make sure to stick around to the end of the interview, where she shares a unique conversation starter for free talk lessons!

So tell us about yourself! 

My name is Aiga, and I’m a university student in Kyrgyzstan. My favorite pastime is pole dancing. I’ve been teaching English for four years and became an Engoo tutor during the pandemic, when the school I worked at had to be closed.

I have so many questions I want to ask. Let’s start with pole dancing. How did you get into it?

Haha well, I’m the kind of person who has to try anything that seems interesting. So far, I’ve tried my hand at archery, kickboxing, and nunchucks, and pole dancing is my latest passion! 

When I saw pole dancing for the first time many years ago, I thought, “I’ll never be able to do such a challenging sport!” But I gave it a try, and while it was painful in the beginning, it’s been very rewarding to get better at it.

Can you tell us about Kyrgyzstan? What languages do people speak there?

Kyrgyz is our mother tongue, but I think the most common language is actually Russian. Russian is more common in big cities, and Kyrgyz is more common in small towns and villages. 

In general, the Russian-speakers and Kyrgyz-speakers here can understand each other, but it’s hard to learn to speak the other language. This is because Kyrgyz and Russian are in different language families: Russian is a Slavic language whereas Kyrgyz is Turkic.

Speaking of which, Turkish is also a popular language to learn here. Kyrgyz and Turkish are very similar, so it’s fairly easy to learn the language. There are also schools that teach in Turkish.

Do you speak all of these languages too? And how did you learn them?

Yeah, so my native language is Kyrgyz, which my family speaks at home, but I also speak Russian fluently as well as a little Turkish.

Some schools in Kyrgyzstan teach in both Kyrgyz and Russian, while other schools focus on just one language. I attended a school that taught both, so that’s how I became literate in both languages. My mother also says that I learned a lot of Russian as a child through TV shows.

And Turkish, I learned about 10 years ago, when I took classes at a Kyrgyz-Turkish boarding school. Actually, at the time, my Turkish was better than my English.

In general, how well do people in Kyrgyzstan speak English?

The generation above me is generally not very good at English, but younger generations, like my students at the English school, can speak English. Many of them learned English via YouTube or by listening to music. 

And how did you learn English?

I started learning English in primary school, but I wasn’t very good at it then. I remember not being able to keep up with the pace of the lessons. Also, the way we were taught was to memorize the contents of the textbook and write them down in a notebook. Needless to say, you wouldn’t learn to speak English through this type of instruction!

Luckily, there was a place where American volunteers taught local kids English for free. I always loved talking, so I used this opportunity to talk in English as much as possible. The English class also hosted a competition to see who could read the most books. I didn’t win, but thanks to this, I gained the ability to read in English!

Then, in high school, I applied and was accepted to an exchange program called Future Leaders Exchange Program (FLEX). With this program, I spent a year in the US, and I loved it. I believe it played a big role in forming my personality.

When did you start teaching English?

There is an English school near my university, and that’s where I started working as an English tutor about four years ago. At this school, we teach in a more playful manner so that students can learn English while having fun. 

For a long time in Kyrgyzstan, people learned English grammar but could not speak the language. Seeing students at this school has helped me realize that having fun is the best way to learn English.

Can you tell us more about the activities you did at your school?

So we did different activities each week. For example, we might do acting one week, singing another week, and presentations and debates another week. 

For acting, students would choose some scenes from a movie, learn it during class, and then act them out together. For singing, they’d choose songs they were interested in and then practice and perform them. So they didn’t just learn English, but also got to work on their acting or other skills and talents.

There was also a student who likes writing song lyrics, so we'd do that together!

That sounds really fun. Can you tell me how your lessons on Engoo have been?

Unlike in the English school I taught at, at Engoo, I mainly teach adults. I find that they’re very knowledgeable and always have interesting stories and experiences to share. 

Many of them are hardworking and like learning new things, which I find inspiring. I’ve even had students in their 80s, and I have nothing but respect that they continue to learn new things after retirement. 

I’ve also had students who wanted to practice Russian and Kyrgyz with me! It’s always interesting to meet different students on Engoo.

What are some characteristics you’ve noticed about the students on our platform? And how does that affect your teaching style?

I think a lot of students on Engoo feel embarrassed about making mistakes. However, when I was learning English, I never worried about making mistakes. Recently I found the application form that I sent to the FLEX program, and it was full of mistakes. Yet I still got in!

So in my lessons, I try to encourage my students to relax and focus on expressing themselves in English. I tell them that when they’re learning a language (or anything new), they shouldn’t get stressed about it. Being worried about making mistakes is a form of stress and that will prevent them from properly expressing themselves.

I reassure students that with experience, they’ll naturally get better at English, and that even if they make mistakes, they can learn from them. I’ll also remind them that native speakers also make mistakes! This usually helps them go easier on themselves and enjoy the lesson more.

Would you say your work with teenagers helps you on Engoo?

For sure. The most important thing I learned from working with teens is to not be strict with them, and I think this definitely applies to adult students as well. 

So I mainly try to get to know my students as people, find some mutual interests, show interest in their lives, and they naturally open up and gain the confidence they need to speak English.

Along the way, I’ll also get to see a different side of them. For example, I’ve had a student who gave me a guitar performance during a lesson. I’ve even met a student who pole dances too!

It seems you get to know your students very well! By the way, are there any topics you find work very well as conversation-starters?

Yes, actually I love to ask students if they believe in mythical creatures (like mermaids and the Loch Ness monster). We often end up discussing aliens, ghosts, paranormal activities, and many other interesting topics!

I also ask about movies and food as well, but I’ve found mythical creatures to be a great conversation starter, especially if students booked a free-conversation lesson but don’t have anything to say. It also works well with new students.

👋 That’s it for now!

We hope you enjoyed getting to know Aiga as much as we did and maybe learned a thing or two along the way. Happy tutoring!