Thinking of volunteering abroad? Neil shares his experiences of helping around the globe and is thoughts on getting over that pesky language barrier…
In 2006 I embarked on a round the world backpacking trip. My first stop was Sri Lanka, and to this day it remains my favourite place. At the time I didn’t know too much about the country, but saw that as a good thing; I wouldn’t have too many expectations.
Having volunteered in South Africa the year previous, I knew I wanted to volunteer again and so I booked myself onto another project, this time in Asia.
The Placement
I applied to join a volunteer project in Sri Lanka which would see me coaching football at local schools and clubs for a period of six weeks.
I stayed in a house just outside of Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo for the majority of that time, but along with some other volunteers I would venture away from the house at the weekends in search of a beer or two.
To say I loved my placement would be an understatement. I had the best time teaching all the kids at the local school and still keep in contact with some of the other volunteers five years later.
Language Barrier? What Language Barrier?
One thing I never really thought about when signing up to my first volunteer project in South Africa was how easily I’d be able to communicate with the children.
As it happened, a lot of the kids had a decent enough grasp of English so it wasn’t too much of a problem. I was also one of many volunteers working on the project, so if one of us was having trouble conveying an idea, there were plenty of other volunteer teachers on hand to help out.
Fast forward 12 months(ish) volunteering sports coaching I was standing alone in a school armed with only a bag of footballs and faced with 30 or so young Sri Lankan lads smiling at me and expecting me to conduct some kind of lesson.
Oh dear … how do I … What should I … WTF man? How am I supposed to teach these kids anything when neither of us understands one another? Why had I not thought about this previously? This was a massive oversight, or was it? Enter the life-saving language of sport.
How Volunteering Abroad is The Best Way to Learn a Foreign Language
The next six weeks were a joy. In that time the kids taught me how to count and say hello etc, I taught them how to do crazy celebrations when they score … and a couple of skills to boot. The language barrier just wasn’t a problem. Obviously the kids had been schooled in the art of stopping when a teacher blows a whistle, and had some understanding of the death stair (not to be confused with the death star). Everything else just fell into place.
Don’t get me wrong, we weren’t doing the most complicated of drills, lots of relay races and simple team games, but we all enjoyed it. Hand signals and signs were used a lot, along with the occasional artistic impression made in the dirt beneath our feet, but the kids were smiling, I was smiling and the head teacher seemed happy enough with the progress made. I even had nicknames for a couple of the kids, and they in turn gave me a nickname … frog. I don’t know where that came from, but it stuck and in a strange way I liked it.
Practise, Onwards and Upwards
Along with another teacher (who did speak a bit of English), I was allowed to take the younger team to a tournament in Colombo on two occasions; the first time for some preliminary group games, and the second for the finals. In the preliminary rounds we drew our first game and won our second.
I was so very proud and screaming like a mad man whenever we scored, made a great pass or challenge. Unfortunately we lost out in the finals to a team that look suspiciously bigger and older, but I’m not bitter … much.
Despite that loss, the fact that I could take a team of young boys who I could not directly communicate with two hours away from a school setting and still have them happily regard me as their teacher shows that not be able to speak Sinhalese in no way hindered my volunteer experience.
I loved it, and to this very day Sri Lanka remains my favourite country I’ve visited (did I mention that already?). It’s going to take some beating too.
Top Tips For English Speaking Volunteers
Here is some advice for crossing the language barrier:
• Don’t panic! The kids will smell your fear… joke!
• Use images, even if it’s a group of rough drawings or sketches, these will help guide your learners. Even if the images only achieve 50% of your meaning, it’s better than nothing. Try to build on the parts they’ve understood and go from there
• You’ll learn about what works and what doesn’t through experience, so don’t be afraid to try new things
• Use your hands, basic hand signals are always worth using, same principles as above apply
• Try to learn something from your students. If they feel you’re trying to learn something frm them, they may put more effort into trying to learn something from you. Learn basic phrases from them such as ‘hello’ and ‘goodbye’, just so you are able to communicate on the most basic of levels. The students will also feel a sense of pride in teaching your something.
• Keep things moving. If plan A doesn’t work quickly move onto plan B. Don’t freeze and allow your lesson to some to a grinding halt. No one likes to stand around bored with no idea of what’s happening. Keep those you are teaching involved and active in their learning. Young children especially need to be kept busy
No matter if you want to have a meaningful trip or take gap year, I couldn’t recommend volunteering highly enough. Just go!
Do you have any tips for volunteering? Have you ever found the language barrier a problem? Share your thoughts below…