VOLUNTEER ESL MENTORS!

ICNA Relief will offer a free ESL conversation groupfor individuals whose second language is English and who may or may not be taking any of our regular ESL classes. These fun drop-in sessions would focus on lively discussion around a myriad of subjects ranging from culture, food, news, entertainment, hobbies, life in the United States, sports, family, etc.

We are seeking mentors to join our ESL Let's Talk! Conversation Group. Ideal candidates are passionate about education and able to create a supportive, engaging, and lively learning environment for non-native English speakers to become more comfortable speaking English. This is a flexible and unique opportunity to make a direct impact on the lives of others while discovering new cultures and meeting new friends!

Since the ESL Let's Talk! Conversation Group is not a classroom situation, there are never any lessons or tests as such, but on occasion participants might find themselves running out of ideas for things to talk about or things to do. Additional topics would be provided for volunteer leads/participants to randomly select from to stimulate discussion, game ideas could be considered, as well as watching short films on Youtube on our large flatscreen- followed by discussion.

The blingual participants will learn to be more confident in expressing themselves in English and gain conversational vocabulary in a safe and relaxed environment. This is intended to be a friendly way to practise English outside of attending formal classes.

These sessions will support participants to:

• Share the cultural and liguistic heritage of their groups
• Break down communication and cultural barriers
• Connect with other members of the local community
• Foster confidence and leadership through a participant-lead approach to delivery
• They will be facilitated by YOU - volunteers from the local community, who will help guide conversation while encouraging participation and managing discussions. A ratio of one volunteer : 4 bilingual participants is the maximum number per conversation group.

Sessions will be held once a week at our Learning Lab space in West Ridge, Mondays = 12:00 - 1:00pm. Classes meet once a week per term term (Jan - Mar, Apr - Jun, Jul - Sept, Oct - Dec).