*the students are eager to learn and want to speak to a “native English speaker.”
*the teachers want your help and work with you
*you have the opportunity to teach adult students
*there is the potential to live in the community and learn first hand about the life of the people
*the hotel staff treats you like “family”
*the Mayor of Hodmezovasarhely is your host and provides support for the team.
* when at the end of the two weeks you might be saying “can I stay longer?”
Then the Hodmezovasarhely, Hungary site is for you. The following is based on my experience after having lead seven (7) teams to this site and just before leaving to lead the eighth (8th) team.
The service program in Hodmezovasarhely, Hungary is very rewarding. The focus of the program is to teach conversational English. Our “students” range from elementary school children to adults. We meet the needs of the students and community by having conversations with them in English. We have the opportunity to live in the community and interact in very meaningful ways with the citizens in Hodmezovasarhely. We are invited by the Mayor’s Office and are provided a host coordinator to assist us during our time in the community. There is a real need in this community to teach conversational English. Many adults come to the classes because they need to improve their English skills because of requirements at work.
The students look forward to having the volunteer’s come to their classes. The English language teachers in Hodmezovasarhely are excellent. Having stated that fact it is also important to the students to have a “conversation with a native English speaker” and it demonstrates to them that they can communicate in English. With these students the learning curve is very positive and the progress that they are able to make is amazing. Our being in the community motivates students, builds self-esteem, and confidence.
One of our “adult students” owns a local restaurant with her husband. Her progress in learning English has been great. She now comes to our table to take orders with ease and with pride in English. When I first meet her in February 2005 we frequently needed a translator. Frequently teachers, and students, will seek us out after class and want to have a conversation because they learn so much by speaking to a native speaker. Personally I believe that the interaction we have with the teachers is very important because as they learn from us they will share this information with their students for years to come.
So, in answer to the question “what can be accomplished in two weeks” the answer is much more than you might first believe. One becomes aware of the positive impact of our Service Program only after making return trips and being with the same people a number of times.
We stay at the Hotel Fama which is a very nice hotel. The rooms are very pleasant. Many of the hotel staff speak English. All of the staff are very nice people and they will go out of there way to make our stay comfortable. We will eat breakfast at the hotel and some of our evening meals. There are a number of very nice restaurants in the city which serve very good food, extremely large portions, and we will have an opportunity to eat at a number of them during our program.
Some video clips of the Hodmezovasarhely Service Program are on “youtube” and they can be accessed on the Global Volunteer Hungarian home page or by clicking on the following url: http://www.youtube.com/user/GlobalVolunteers
This is being written as we prepare for the April to May 2009 team and the following is an excerpt the newsletter that has been sent to team members:
Our host representative from the Municipality, and a teacher who I have worked with since Feb 2005, are in the process or arranging our teaching assignments. At this time I do not have all the detailed information, but we will be teaching in schools ranging from elementary to high school, and possibly the technical schools in the morning hours. Then we will have the opportunity to meet with adults in the late afternoon and help them practice conversational English. Some of these students have been attending these free English conversation lessons since they were started in February of 2006.
Meeting and interacting with the school children is always a joy, but it is during the adult lessons that we are able to interact with and gain a greater insight into the community and lives of the people. Many of the adult students come to our classes in order to help them prepare to pass an English competency which they need to advance in their employment. Our teaching activities are designed for us to be of service to the community and support “our students” in their endeavors.
http://www.youtube.com/user/GlobalVolunteers
Frequently volunteers seek resources that will allow them to learn a few words in magyar (Hungarian) before the trip. This is a good idea if you are so inclined. Hungarian is a language that kind of “stands alone” even though there is some relationship with Finnish. At the following website http://www.byki.com/ are FREE programs provided by Transparent Language that can be downloaded and used to learn some basic words in a number of languages. Click on download and when the list appears click on Hungarian and proceed with the download and install process. I believe that the free program is adequate for those who will be onsite for just two weeks. Neither Global Volunteers or I have any association with Transparent Language and this information is being provided as a resource to you as preparation is made for the trip.
Please contact a Volunteer Coordinator and if you want more information they will provide you with information on how to contact me directly.
Looking forward to seeing you in Hodmezovasarhely.
Milt Diehl
Volunteer Team Leader
So, in answer to the question “what can be accomplished in two weeks” the answer is much more than you might first believe. One becomes aware of the positive impact of our Service Program only after making return trips and being with the same people a number of times.
We stay at the Hotel Fama which is a very nice hotel. The rooms are very pleasant. Many of the hotel staff speak English. All of the staff are very nice people and they will go out of there way to make our stay comfortable. We will eat breakfast at the hotel and some of our evening meals. There are a number of very nice restaurants in the city which serve very good food, extremely large portions, and we will have an opportunity to eat at a number of them during our program.
Some video clips of the Hodmezovasarhely Service Program are on “youtube” and they can be accessed on the Global Volunteer Hungarian home page or by clicking on the following url: http://www.youtube.com/user/GlobalVolunteers
This is being written as we prepare for the April to May 2009 team and the following is an excerpt the newsletter that has been sent to team members:
Our host representative from the Municipality, and a teacher who I have worked with since Feb 2005, are in the process or arranging our teaching assignments. At this time I do not have all the detailed information, but we will be teaching in schools ranging from elementary to high school, and possibly the technical schools in the morning hours. Then we will have the opportunity to meet with adults in the late afternoon and help them practice conversational English. Some of these students have been attending these free English conversation lessons since they were started in February of 2006.
Meeting and interacting with the school children is always a joy, but it is during the adult lessons that we are able to interact with and gain a greater insight into the community and lives of the people. Many of the adult students come to our classes in order to help them prepare to pass an English competency which they need to advance in their employment. Our teaching activities are designed for us to be of service to the community and support “our students” in their endeavors.
http://www.youtube.com/user/GlobalVolunteers
Frequently volunteers seek resources that will allow them to learn a few words in magyar (Hungarian) before the trip. This is a good idea if you are so inclined. Hungarian is a language that kind of “stands alone” even though there is some relationship with Finnish. At the following website http://www.byki.com/ are FREE programs provided by Transparent Language that can be downloaded and used to learn some basic words in a number of languages. Click on download and when the list appears click on Hungarian and proceed with the download and install process. I believe that the free program is adequate for those who will be onsite for just two weeks. Neither Global Volunteers or I have any association with Transparent Language and this information is being provided as a resource to you as preparation is made for the trip.
Please contact a Volunteer Coordinator and if you want more information they will provide you with information on how to contact me directly.
Looking forward to seeing you in Hodmezovasarhely.
Milt Diehl
Volunteer Team Leader
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