The past twelve months have been full of challenges: the pandemic rearranged our lives, interrupted our interactions, and enveloped the day-to-day with new anxieties and worries. And yet, through all of these challenges, the amazing team of ILI volunteers had the energy and drive to devote time each week to help support ILI’s students, programs and services.
We at ILI are grateful beyond words for our volunteers’ dedication and commitment to volunteering with us throughout the pandemic. From the new and continuing tutors who took the plunge into Zoom meetings, to the new volunteers helping with social media and document translations – thank you!
It’s no secret to us that volunteer tutors and in-class teaching assistants play a special role in the lives of students learning English. In small group and one-on-one settings, tutors can give personalized attention to learners in the form of language support and also by offering insights into life and customs in the US. Tutors also play an important role in building learners’ confidence on their English learning journey. Some of the diverse activities and topics in recent tutorials include:
- talking about holidays such as Ramadan, Easter, St. Patrick’s Day, Aid el adha
- preparing for the MA driving test and permit test
- sharing favorite recipes and talking about how they’re prepared
- sitting outside together and talking about traffic vocabulary
- reviewing past, present and future tenses
- using the phrase “going to”
- practicing pronunciation, reading and writing sight words
- describing pictures from the news
- comparing and contrasting the American school system with school systems in other countries
- exploring idioms
It’s also no secret to us that the volunteers sharing their skills and talents with social media and translating documents are also integral to helping smoothly run the day-to-day operations.
Happy National Volunteer Month – we see you and thank you for all your contributions!
By: Laura Robinson, Volunteer Tutor Coordinator and ESOL Instructor