Students from Concordia International School in Hanoi volunteered their time to help students in one Hoai Duc Lower Secondary School practice their English. Engaging in English conversation with students from other nations helps the children improve foreign language skill, develops cross-cultural friendships, and leads to deeper cultural understanding. English exchanges also help students develop social skills and confidence.
To create a friendly atmosphere, each student introduced themselves and then they divided into 3 groups. Games, drawings and puzzles reinforced many words related to food, the human body, numbers, letters, and daily activities. The Concordia International students included one American, one Japanese, one South Korean, and one Vietnamese. They rotated facilitating group-work with different activities to strengthen a variety of English skills.
At first the local students were shy because they have few opportunities to practice speaking English. But wth the warmth and friendliness, as well as the good communication skills of the International Students, they became more comfortable and excitedly participated in the learning session. They now look forward to the next opportunity to have fun learning English.
This opportunity helped students become more fluent in English which is important to their future job opportunities, especially as Vietnam opens up to the rest of the world.
