Aisha
14-year-old of Somali descent, lives in Ottawa
Final Assignment Example — Aisha
About Aisha: Aisha is a 14-year-old girl of Somali descent from Ottawa. She is now validating her idea about making Somali language classes more accessible in Ottawa.
Here is how Aisha approached the Final Assignment:
"First, I thought about the questions proposed to think about the community problem I would like to solve. After rethinking about the community, the problems they face, and how solving the problem would benefit them, I started on the tasks.
Task 1 — Gathering Evidence
To validate my chosen problem, I decided an interview and a survey would work best. The survey allows me to capture the big picture, and the interview lets me ask one specific person detailed questions.
Task 2 — Community Interview
I designed an interview targeted towards a parent or middle school student interested in enrolling in an international languages course — ideally someone of Somali descent, as the problem specifically involves the Somali language course.
Two of my interview questions were:
- "Can you please begin by describing yourself — how long have you been in Ottawa/Canada, your name, grade (if applicable)?"
- "What motivation do you have in enrolling your children in the Somali language course? Why did you want them to enroll?"
Survey
I also designed a survey with questions including:
- "Have you or your children been interested in taking an international language course offered by the International Languages Program?"
- "Which format would you or your children prefer for the language course: online synchronous classes or in-person classes?"
Task 3 — Conclusion
After doing these investigations, I decided to keep my first proposed project — I think it is worth the time. My final thoughts: there must be others who prefer a certain format, so others in my local community may face the same problem of wanting in-person classes but only having an online option. I am interested to see what barriers the International Languages Office faces in offering in-person classes, and I would like to work with them to make the class more accessible."
What made Aisha's approach strong:
- She used two complementary methods (interview + survey)
- Her interview targeted the right people (parents and students from the affected community)
- She kept an open mind — ready to learn from the International Languages Office rather than assuming they were wrong