LDS English

One of the biggest and best projects of Help El Sal2009 has been teaching English at the LDS Church Employment Center. All HELP volunteers participate in this project, which happens Monday,Wednesday,and Friday from 5-6.

Why teach English? The most important reason is that it will increase the student´s ability to get jobs in a global market where English is increasingly becoming the international language.

The HELP volunteers have varying levels of Spanish-some are completely fluent from serving missions and other community experiences, others are well-versed from classes, and some only speak common phrases or sayings.Yet all HELP volunteers are able to get involved. There are 4 different classes: kids, basic, intermediate, and advanced. HELP volunteers usually usually go where they are most comfortable speaking Spanish. In other words,a volunteer with minimal Spanish will go to the advanced class, while a volunteer who is or is close to fluency will go to Basic.

One group participant, Allen Nicholson,expressed how it is important for teachers to not continually lecture, but to instead check for understanding, have group activities and worksheets, and most importantly, let the students talk.

Overall, the LDS English project has been a success. From the friendships formed, to the teaching experience gained, and of course from the increased English speaking and listening abilities, this has been one of our best projects.