The Horliv Institute of Foreign Languages is a wealth of opportunities!
On our website and in social networks there are many offers regarding various internships, projects, programs that will help not only in professional, but also in personal development!
Recently, first-year student Mykhailytska Kateryna traveled to exotic Turkey. She went there for a volunteer program that involves teaching English to Syrian refugee children. In return, they promise professional development, useful experience, and many other cool things.
We talked with Katya and she told us how she got into this program, how she got used to living in another country and how she found a common language with foreigners.
Hello. Tell me: how did you get into this program in the first place? Was it difficult?
I found out about the program that I followed through SNT. I applied without any expectations, but I got lucky ;)
In order to be considered as a potential candidate, you need to write a resume and motivation letter. And the first question that arose in my mind is what to write in a resume? But here is my advice: even if you have no work experience, just leave stories about yourself and add good photos, and most importantly - write everything sincerely! Next, the organizers will contact you via video call or they will simply conduct a dialogue in correspondence. First, the NGO (public organization) communicates with you - the sending party, and closer to the beginning of the project - the receiving party. They also organize a Pre-departure meeting and many trainings for quick adaptation of volunteers.
What level of English is required for the program?
In general, spoken English is required (this level is close to B1). But the main thing is to never be afraid to make mistakes; no one will point a finger at you: on the contrary, they will be very happy to help you ;)
And what is your job?
My work consists in helping children who do not have the opportunity to study in a regular school right away. In general, we help preschoolers prepare for first grade.
Children - refugees from Syria - do not have the opportunity to go to school right away, so they go to the Youth Center to get basic knowledge, where they get a certificate, with which they go to school.
And what do you - volunteers - get in return?
First, we gain valuable experience working with foreigners!
Secondly, for us, a large number of different trainings on methods are held, for example, how to prepare for an informal lesson, as well as creative workshops on theater skills and so on.
But we are not only working all the time, as you probably thought! Local volunteers take us to the mountains, we participate in cycling marathons, attend various master classes; we get a lot of new knowledge about the culture of Turkey, making sightseeing trips to interesting tourist places and not quite tourist places. In general, we constantly make new acquaintances, get many pleasant experiences and enjoy Turkish food;)
What about your first teaching experience?
To be honest, in the first week of work, my hands were shaking because the children (5-8 years old) are very loud and cannot sit still: they run like monkeys, climb on my head, as if they want to eat me!
But already in the 3rd week, these monkeys don't want to let me go when I call, even on the street they recognize me and run to hug me shouting: "Miss Kate! We love you! »
All these moments are very inspiring and energize for further development in the chosen field of activity.
Tell us about your team: you're not alone there, right? 🙂
Our team is "crazy": 22 volunteers, of which 4 are Ukrainians, 2 are Portuguese, 1 is Spanish, and all the rest are Italians. But the composition of volunteers changes almost every 2 months: someone's short-term project ends, so a new person immediately arrives to replace him.
Imagine: you just got used to one team, and now a new one is forming!
Brag: did you find friends / like-minded people there?
Of course. We have an Activity-conversation club here, and there I met an incredible number of interesting people who, like me, want to "improve their language skills". We spend a lot of time together, talk and discuss different things, share our experiences with each other.
It's really cool because apart from English, we learn a bit of each other's native languages; for example, I now know many turkish expressions :)
In general, my entire environment consists of like-minded people - people who pursue some goals in this life and want to constantly develop!
Tell me: did you encounter any difficulties?
It is mainly a language barrier. The children do not know English at all, so there is an interpreter with us in the lessons; your prepared material is first translated into Arabic and presented to the children, and only then does your part of the "speech" begin.
What would you wish for our students in the end?
My advice: never be afraid to embrace change. On such projects, you develop your hard and soft skills; you will never regret your choice and get even more than you expected! I wish you interesting and exciting projects!
