Lots of Visitors and a Tip for Speaking with English Language Learners

The last few weeks have been full of visitors. Juan Jose, a staff member of the Medellin, Colombia YMCA came to work with the staff and volunteers of the Guatemala YMCA. Throughout one month, he taught about the strategies and sucesses that they have had in working in areas of high levels of violence as well helping everyone grieve the loss of the three young volunteers.



November 3-10 we had a group of 20 people from SW Illinois and St. Louis. The group came to do improvements in the YMCA camp, we painted, made bamboo fences, fixed roofs, painted and then painted some more. It was hard work but with a group of 20, in only 4 days we were able to give the camp a brand new face. We also spent a lot of time with the youth volunteers of San Crisobal (the town that the camp is closest to) and a few hours playing with the children of the village. Each person in the group brought two suitcases, one for themselves and the other full of donations for the Guatemalan community.






Talking with English Language Learners:

Throughout my years of working with immigrants and even in my own experiences of learning another language, I have picked up a few tips on how I feel that we can all most effectively speak with english language learners. First of all, I doubt you all remember those difficult years of grammer classes that we all took, but english is very hard to learn! When talking with someone that is learning english it is best to speak slowly and clearly, to try not to use slang or specific jargon and to try your hardest to listen patiently. I have been insulted by people because they try to listen for a moment and then get bored as I struggle for the correct word and start looking in different directions. I understand how difficult it can be to try to listen to someone that is learning english but trust me that it is so much more frustrating to be the person trying your hardest without a supportive listener.

A common mistake that I have noticed is that, people often tend to unconsciously raise our voices, as if higher volume will automatically help the other person to figure out what the word or phrase means. It is important to speak clearly, slowly and to use common words. Remember that there are many ways to explain something and most likely the person will understand if you use different words.