Student at QF school believes it is her duty to pass on to others what she has learned

Reem Ansar’s passion for becoming a teacher has driven her to apply what she learned at Qatar Foundation’s Qatar Academy Doha and help other children develop their English language abilities – by creating an education YouTube channel.

Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 11-year-old not only seized the opportunity to enhance her own skills, but also sought to help students continue learning, through launching Reem Easy English.

“My English has developed a lot after joining Qatar Academy Doha, especially the pronunciation of words, and that led me to create a YouTube channel to help other students develop the skill of reading, speaking, pronouncing words more clearly, and learning English,” Reem said.

“In October 2020, I started working on the idea and, with the help of my mother, I produced my first short video on English letters and the correct way to pronounce them, while I also shared some hard-to-learn words.

"The English language is very popular all over the world, but there are many children who cannot speak it, so I hope the channel will reach as many of them as possible and contribute to improving their English language skills. I will continue to teach them everything I have learned but in a simplified way, especially children in my home country of Sri Lanka. It is one of the reasons why I launched the channel, as many of the children there have difficulty spelling words and forming sentences in English.

“I feel it is my duty to pass what I learned to them, and I hope that as many children as possible can benefit from my content.”

Qatar Academy Doha (QAD), which is part of Qatar Foundation’s Pre-University Education, aims to enable its students to achieve high levels of academic growth and personal well-being, empowering them to become responsible and open-minded global citizens.

And Reem said: “I had wholehearted support from the educational staff at QAD. They were happy to have such a platform, they shared and subscribed to the channel, and my content got many positive comments from them.

“My colleagues at the academy and my brothers at home enjoyed the videos, and encouraged me to keep going.”

Reem says that providing lessons and helping others learn at such an early age will not only help students learn English, but is a step towards achieving her dream of becoming a teacher in the future, explaining: “The more I give, the better the experience I will have and the more I will learn.

"I also believe that as my age is close to the age of the students I am looking to help, it makes me realize what the students need to learn. I always try to present the lessons to them easily and simply, and this may help them learn faster."

Despite her skills, Reem faced challenges when implementing the idea. “It was difficult at first, and I was shy and confused at first, but nothing is impossible when we work hard," she said.

“I really enjoy what I do, but I feel a great responsibility towards it, and I make sure to share useful and interesting content constantly. So far I have published 12 educational videos on different topics.”

Reem's mother, Rafaya, who works as a teacher assistant at QAD, said: “I am proud of what my daughter does to support her community. I am glad that through her skills and passion she can do something that benefits communities, and I always encourage her to keep going, to move forward, and to work hard to achieve what she aspires to.

"I always tell her that sharing is a big part of caring, and when we share something we love or care about with others, it represents the pinnacle of unconditional giving. This is what I want to instil and raise in my daughter: a beautiful habit that will stay with her throughout her life.”

Rafaya says she finds her daughter's passion for teaching English “wonderful”, and adds: "I can't wait to see Reem starting her future career as the English language teacher she aspires to be."