Daniel Charnoff: Charnoff@usc.edu
I was the first volunteer at Barreira do Vasco, so first I organized English classes. We ran 4 classes, each twice a week. The classes were for different age groups-one for kids, two for teens, one for adults. They each made different levels of progress which they can really attest to more than I can. There are so many students it is often hard to remember where they all are but they understand that and will remind you where you left off. Roughly, though, the teenagers made the most progress, then the kids, then the adults, who really struggle.
It would be best to continue working with the same students, teaching them whatever comes to mind. They really are most interested in how to say everyday things, like things they would need while travelling, and also in things they hear on tv/sports terms, etc… If there are more volunteers, then it would also probably be good to expand the classes offered to art, sports, other languages, etc. Hopefully there becomes a consistent offering of classes at the Residents Association that the people of Barreira can count on.
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My name's Eva and I'm Spanish, from Barcelona.
ReplyDeleteI arrived in Brazil the 17th of April 2011. My first week at Barreira de Vasco it was Easter, so I just met the coordinator of the association Moradores de Barreira do Vasco, VANIA, who is very nice but she's always busy, and she told me to come back the next week to organize my timetable.
I was working there for a month, until the 19th of May, on Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday, from 14:00 to 16:00 giving English lessons to children (6-7 year olds and sometimes some 10-12 year olds).
On Tuesday afternoon there was a French girl called Johanna giving Drawing lessons, so I was just replacing her when she was away traveling. And from 16:00 to 17:00 there is a Dutch/Chilean guy (Fabio) who is teaching English to adults. I also replaced him a couple of times when he was away in Chile.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays I had the option to go to another place to help Maria Jose, a teacher who was playing games with the children and helping them colour and draw, it was an open space 5 minutes away from the central square of Barreira de Vasco.
In the morning normally the children are at school, so they don't need volunteers (I tried going a couple of days but as children didn't turn up I started going only in the afternoon).
The classroom where I was teaching had some colours and pencils, but I had to buy some more because they don't last much with the children... I was also preparing exercises and making photocopies for the children to learn the numbers, the colours and the parts of the body in English. It was very difficult to have them seat for 2 hours, so the second hour when they had finished the exercises I would make them play something so they could burn some energy, they are very active children and it's difficult for them to concentrate for a long time...
Good luck to the next volunteer!!
Hola Eva!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comments! I am considering volunteering there and it is helpful to know what it's like. Would you recommend volunteering in Barreira do Vasco to others or do it again? Or would you try something else?
Thank you!