The last I can remember is being at the North York Central Library on March 4, 2020. This was just a week before lockdown. We were all huddled together in a small meeting room for our weekly English Conversation Circle. There were four groups of approximately five participants in each group, talking, laughing, and sharing stories. Soon after that meeting, we were informed NO MORE SESSIONS AT THE LIBRARY UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. COVID 19 hit hard and out of the blue.
During the winter session, when things were still normal, the volunteers had been approached, about making a presentation on topics related to Canadian culture. One talk I gave was focused on Famous Canadians. Since music binds us together, I chose Leonard Cohen’s HALLELUJAH which we all sang together with great fervor. Energy and excitement could be felt around the room. Oh, how we yearn to sing HALLELUJAH again, when the vaccines have been administered and herd immunity has been reached.
In another talk, I spoke about Canadian Heroes. One such example I gave was Dr. Robert Banting, the founder of insulin. Little did I know that in the next few months populations around the world would be depending on vaccines for COVID 19. These research scientists are saving our lives!
In order to keep contact with our participants, NYCH quickly acted and created ways to keep learning consistent. ZOOM was introduced and thanks to the patient staff, Maxine McCoy, Maria Antonietta Crupi, and Shaobin Zhang, I am able to continue helping the participants to improve their conversation skills. I found it very challenging to learn the ZOOM program, as I am not a tech person. I really appreciate the guidance of the Canada Connects Program Workers who are supervising my sessions.
Soon after learning ZOOM, the volunteers were asked to prepare their own lesson plans. I decided I must find creative ways to keep the sessions fun. So, Fun Fridays began. My main goal was to keep the participants “thinking outside the box.” I did much research and “googled” everything that I could think of to get ideas.
These are some of my favorite types of exercises and techniques I implemented:
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Role Playing (Asking for a loan at the bank, New neighbour needing advice, Asking Grocery Manager for a product, Asking for street directions.)
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Reading Short Stories
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Answering “what if” questions
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Use your imagination eg. What advice would you give to a newborn?
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What is your opinion?
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List of emotions
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Food trivia
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Jokes
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Homophones
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Cooking verbs
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Word Games
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Oval alphabet – create a word from the random letters shown in the oval
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Scattergories Fill in blank categories using first letter of the word given by facilitator
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Alphabet Dating Game
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Word Jumble
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Words to Ponder (some examples are) :
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“Don’t always trust what you see, even salt looks like sugar.”
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“Never look down on anybody unless you’re helping them up.
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Just to liven things up I was asked if I would be interested in doing a pilot project using “MUSIC” as a learning tool.
So began the Musical Noon Hour Program on Thursdays whereby we listened to a wide variety of music in different genres. The lyrics were then discussed and a whole new vocabulary was learned. It is fun and lively, with a mixture of songs ranging from ballads to upbeat music. Some sessions cover a theme like Love/Friendship, Valentine’s Day, Country music, Freedom, Christmas.
A wonderful definition of music is:
“MUSIC IS WHAT FEELINGS SOUND LIKE”
Some highlights of the songs I chose are:
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Sound of Music – Julie Andrews
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People – Barbara Streisand
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New York, New York – Frank Sinatra
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Cabaret – Liza MinelliI
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Imagine – John Lennon
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A tribute to Gord Downie
Let the music speak is a great way to get so many messages across.
Since the singers are based worldwide, it is truly a musical mosaic covering life’s experiences. A tapestry of emotions blends the tunes and lyrics together.
Another program that I am involved with is a one-on-one mentor session. This started out as a telephone learning experience. However, it was brought to my attention that ZOOM would be a better way to see my body language as I spoke. These individuals needed help with gaining confidence with speaking with a stranger. After providing the topic ahead of time, the participant was able put their thoughts on paper. Great discussions resulted. Role playing turned out to be a very effective way of conversing. Discussing their “Favourites” such as Favourite part of the day, colour, drink animal, activity, dessert, and ice cream all worked well. Food topics are always an easy ice-breaker. Articles with humour are of particular interest. I encourage participants to let me know what topics would be helpful for them. The most popular request is the Who, What Where, When, Why, How questions.
“This (COVID) experience has shown me that there are many different alternate ways to learn, not only for the participant but also the facilitator.”
Different research techniques have given way to a variety of different topics, short stories, and word games. Learning to be creative and thinking outside the box has been a priority which I have taken seriously. This proved to show that the participant can have extraordinary potential to improve their English.
The most important aim is to meet new friends in a relaxed setting. They share their skills, talents, strengths and weaknesses. We laugh and sometimes shed a tear TOGETHER!