Have you ever thought about volunteering in an English-speaking culture as a way to get fluent fast in English?
Volunteering can provide countless benefits for the volunteer and for the community that he or she is serving.
Today we are lucky to have Andrew Bloniarz on the show. Andrew works at Haley House and worked closely with our listener Massimo at Haley House in the summer of 2018.
Today Andrew will show us why volunteering can help your English and how you can get involved with Haley House.
You’ll also see how volunteering can help you to gain a sense of community and to understand a culture on a deeper level in a way that traditional English-learning classes cannot.
Exercise 1. Answer the following questions.
What is volunteering? How volunteering can help you become fluent in English?
What are the services of Haley House? Visit the website of the organization for more information. Would you like to get involved with Haley House?
Exercise 2. Find out about the mission, vision, and philosophy of Haley House.
Mission
Haley House uses food with purpose and the power of community to break down barriers between people, empower individuals, and strengthen neighborhoods. They believe in radical solutions: solving problems at their root by challenging attitudes that perpetuate suffering and building alternative models.
Vision
Haley House is dedicated to helping those made vulnerable by the harshest effects of inequality move toward wholeness and economic independence. They offer collaborative living and working environments that:
• Build communities and connections across boundaries
• Model creative alternatives that confirm the intrinsic dignity and worth of each person
• Challenge the attitudes and structures that perpetuate suffering
Philosophy
They seek to honor the intrinsic goodness and dignity of every person and challenge systems of privilege and injustice in our society. They believe in the possibility of transformation through personal relationships and engaged community. They encourage spiritual exploration and affirm its ability to transform people’s lives and, in the end, our world.
Exercise 3: Read a summary of the podcast. Underline new words, translate them, and then write them in your own dictionary.
Have you ever thought about volunteering in an English-speaking culture as a way to get fluent fast in English?
Volunteering can provide countless benefits for the volunteer and for the community that he or she is serving.
Today we are lucky to have Andrew Bloniarz on the show. Andrew works at Haley House and worked closely with our listener Massimo at Haley House in the summer of 2018.
Today Andrew will show us why volunteering can help your English and how you can get involved with Haley House.
You’ll also see how volunteering can help you to gain a sense of community and to understand a culture on a deeper level in a way that traditional English-learning classes cannot.
Massimo’s Story
Massimo is a longtime listener of the All Ears English Podcast and was a part of the Urban Immersion Adventure with All Ears English in Boston in 2017.
In 2018 he decided to take his immersion to the next level and applied to be a volunteer at Haley House in Boston.
Haley House is a nonprofit association–the motto is “Food with Purpose.” It is a special place where people who may be in need of resources are welcome to come and enjoy a free meal and socialize with the community.
The soup kitchen has been in operation for 53 years now. There’s also an urban farm. The men’s breakfast is Sunday-Friday and the Elder Meal is lunch on Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday. Both are great events to be a part of.
These Opportunities Help You Master Skills
You can leverage an opportunity like this to improve your English.
When you look at Massimo, he used this opportunity to interact with guests which was great for conversation but he also refined other skills like pronunciation and grammar.
We noticed that Massimo’s grammar improved dramatically during the time that he was working at Haley House because he was learning it naturally.
He was in an environment where he was deeply immersed within the community so he was improving his English from the inside. This is a stark contrast to how most students learn which is with a textbook and looking at the language from the outside.
Volunteering Takes You Above and Beyond
There are so many wonderful benefits and positive aspects to volunteering.
One thing that tends to be missing in the world today is a sense of community–volunteering helps to create and reestablish that.
When Massimo volunteered there he was able to get a lot of face time and be a part of this community.
Not only did he have interactions with people where he was volunteering, but he was also interacting with the people who volunteer and work there too.
All of these interactions help somebody to improve their English, to be part of a community, and to grow as a person.
This is a great opportunity for a student or somebody trying to improve their English and skills overall.
A Sense of Community Is So Important
The only way to really appreciate and be part of a community is to be part of one–and volunteer opportunities allow that.
This may be a rather unusual or unique way of learning the language, but it’s all about immersing yourself in that local culture.
You get the added benefit of volunteering while you are learning to master your English speaking skills.
Takeaway
Volunteering is good for you on so many different levels.
If you are looking for a way to expand your English speaking skills, then this is a great avenue.
It immerses you into conversations that help you to practice and improve your English skills.
It also helps you to make important and lasting connections, and that’s what it’s all about!
Exercise 4. Retell the podcast “How Massimo skyrocketed his English by volunteering in Boston” from Russian into English. Download the text if needed here.
