Adults can meet strangers, come closer together, and keep boredom away. As you can see, learning a language and democracy and peace are more connected than you might think.
Once I identified my community’s specific need for English, I set out to make classes targeting that need. I spent a long time getting in contact with people that would be interested in classes. After a long planning process and relying on community leaders for the location and other logistics, I began multiple classes, all of which are free so that everybody can access them. To date, I have adults and kids beginners classes, an English for tourism class, and an advanced conversation club, in addition to teaching every day at the local school.
Of course, I can’t cover this whole community’s needs alone, and there is always room for more resources. Not to mention, the community has many other pressing needs, such as tackling energy, education and health problems. However, I have seen some success in my projects so far, and I’m confident that I’ve made an impact on people’s lives. Sometimes success looks like taking a student’s English to another level, and other times it is teaching a local about an interesting aspect of American culture or being a good role model for a young kid.
