Dear VE Friends and Volunteers

Many of our volunteers come to us speaking Spanish, while others arrive with a strong willingness to improve their skills. Some, who truly impress us, come speaking a combination of English, German, French, Norwegian or Punjabi, and a world of other languages. We're inspired by our multilingual volunteers because we know languages open doors and create new ways of thinking.

This month our volunteers have been teaching English as a second language to the kids in our English in Motion (EIM) program. While there are many languages we could teach, the Chilean school system focuses on English education. EIM was designed to complement and reinforce the kids' school curriculum. During our lessons, we don’t just get out our grammar books. We jump. We run. We plan scavenger hunts. We play Twister. We actively teach in the target language.

Learning another language using this approach keeps our kids having fun while they soak up the words and phrases we use. Teaching through conversation and games does not replace what our kids learn in the classroom, but it does help put the language in a real-life context. And, as any of our volunteers can confirm firsthand, real-life is probably the fastest, most effective way to pick up a new language.

Through both English in Motion and exposure to our diverse community, our hope is the kids catch the same bilingual bug that our volunteers have. We want them to have better grades in school, leading to greater educational and career opportunities in the future. Research shows learning a second language will help them achieve that, and if we can motivate them to learn one by playing Simon Says, we’ll do it.

Teaching English: An Inside Look

Katrien, a volunteer from the class of January 2011, is actively involved in the English in Motion program. She both teaches in her institution, Domingo Savio, and helps oversee and improve the lesson plans of all our other volunteers. Katrien has written a blog about the challenges the Chilean educational system faces with respect to teaching English and how she works to compensate for those gaps, while keeping the kids happy and laughing at the same time.

Katrien hails from Belgium and henceforth, we are able to add a new language to the blog! To read the post in Dutch, click here or here for English.

Language Bumbles

For many of our volunteers, improving their Spanish was part of the appeal to volunteer in Chile. Yet as non-native speakers, we are all bound to embarrass ourselves from time to time.

Whether it's describing how we apply a fresh base of butter (mantequilla) to our faces instead of make-up (maquillaje), confusing a bee (abeja) for a sheep (oveja) -- or even a horse (caballo) for an onion (cebolla) - we never cease to confuse and entertain the Chilean community.

Some of our most embarrassing moments happen when our emotions are high and we react without thinking. Mariah, once yelled out during a winning streak, “¡SOMOS CHAMPIÑONES!” – victoriously proclaiming to the world that she was a mushroom, rather than a champion (campeón). Katrien, while volunteering at Domingo Savio, needed to remove a pot off the stove before it boiled over. As she desperately searched for a towel, she shouted, "¿Dónde está el pañal?” - using the Spanish word for diaper instead of toalla.

With so many ways to make a mistake, it´s good to have a sense of humor and laugh your way through learning a language. If you are finally considering picking up that second language, think about volunteering with us. As you can see, most of our volunteers have had a language bumble or two, so you won’t be alone.

Un Abrazo,

Josh Pilz
Executive Director