“I’m from the US so coming back here I can automatically tell the difference between the education in the US and the education in Kurdistan,” Jina Jay, executive director of Edwina Language Institute, told Rudaw.
Jay, along with CEO Mohamad Rashad, opened Edwina’s doors in January 2018 to initially offer free classes and started out with just a handful of students.
“The people who took free courses and benefited – because they saw something different and were happy about it, they decided to share this place with their family and friends,” Jay said.
Now the institute has well over 500 students and has graduated between 400 to 450 students with another 60 to follow this month.
After the successful graduation of many students, Edwina has grown into a full-fledged language institute offering a range of courses from beginner to advanced levels, business courses, IELTS prep courses, private lessons, and even online courses for all ages.
“Besides this being a business, we don’t actually focus on the money part. We also focus on actually making a difference here,” Jay said.
Edwina has partnered with the Barzani Charity Foundation (BCF) as well as IKNN to continue to offer courses to those without the economic means.
Classes are also offered to orphans, as well as refugees and IDPs for free to help them learn English.
Additionally, the center offers German and Turkish language classes when they are requested.
“Our main focus is English, it is really necessary here,” Jay added. “Many people are top students in their university class, but due to having a language barrier, they are refused jobs.”
What makes Edwina stand out from other institutes, Jay says, is its diversity, with students coming from as far afield as Brazil and Malaysia, while teachers come from the US and other parts of the world.
“Besides that we like to innovate different ideas of learning,” Jay said. “We don’t want students just coming to class to sit and listen to a teacher lecture. We have a method where the teacher doesn’t do much of the talking. They guide them but it’s the students that run the class.”
Edwina also collaborates with Liverpool University in the UK as well as exchange programs in America so that students who score high enough on their IELTS can continue their language studies in an English speaking environment.
She added that the institute takes into consideration people’s situation “because we know it’s not affordable for everyone but English is something that they really need.”
Jay says there are plans to expand Edwina since it’s been so well received in Erbil. She hopes to open more branches in other cities across Kurdistan and eventually in America and the UK.
