By Mary-Jane Davison
When the spring 2020 pandemic arrived, “Learn English, Make Friends” (LEMF), an outreach program of WMB Church in Waterloo, moved from the community centre to an online format. Almost two years later, the online English conversation circle has shown significant benefits and unforeseen opportunities.
Not only has the online circle continued to provide students with English practice, the weekly sessions have become valued places of support and stability. I’d like to illustrate with an example of how emotional support was given and received. Before delving into our lesson one evening, a student shared how difficult the newly announced pandemic restrictions were for him, managing with young children at home in an apartment building while trying to minimize contact with the many vulnerable senior residents. The other students and myself listened, empathized, and relayed our own experiences until everyone was comfortable to start the lesson. Before we signed off, the students took the initiative to exchange phone numbers and invited each other to call if they needed to talk. I knew the “Learn English” part of the program was working in the online format, but that evening I witnessed that the “Make Friends” part was also alive and well.
The online program has been able to meet the varying needs of students, thanks to the flexibility of Zoom’s breakout room feature. During the initial months of the pandemic, students were arranged into consistent groups with the same volunteer. As students became comfortable with the format, they requested to be shuffled with other students and rotated among volunteers each session, providing more variation in their English practice. Students with special needs or requests, such as job interview practice or preference for a gender-specific group, are also able to be accommodated. When new participants join the program, they are screened in a designated breakout room during their first session, after which they are roughly classified according to English level as beginner, intermediate, or advanced. Since new students often self-identify as beginners but rarely are, the screening process allows groups to be created according to student level to ensure the right challenge for each participant. At least one breakout room is dedicated to beginners and uses a simplified and more concrete version of the regular lessons.
Moving online has expanded the geographical boundaries of the program beyond Waterloo region. Students who have returned to their home countries or who have moved across Canada have been able to continue learning English while seeing familiar faces. Word of mouth has a wider reach as family and friends “back home” and in other Canadian communities are invited and are able to join. While most current students live in Waterloo Region, regular attendees from other parts of Canada and the world are also supported.
The online program has eliminated several in-person attendance barriers related to weather and transportation. When we met at the community centre, attendance would be lower in winter as some found it difficult to get out in the cold and dark conditions. Students who are not confident with winter driving, have a long trip to the centre, or live far from a bus route no longer have to contend with transportation barriers as they save travel time and tune in online from the comfort of their warm homes.
Students and volunteers alike long for a return to meeting face to face, and a preliminary small scale in-person circle at the community centre has been met with enthusiasm. However, the pandemic journey has revealed sufficient benefits to warrant some form of ongoing online English program even when in-person circles resume and the pandemic and its restrictions are behind us.
* Mary-Jane Davison volunteers with “Learn English, Make Friends” from her home in Waterloo, Ontario.