Yesterday, while surfing Facebook, I saw a marketing video that really touched me. In order to motivate students to speak and practice English, CNA which is a well known language school in Brazil decided to innovate.
They created a computer program similar to Skype called "Speaking Exchange", in which Brazilian students of English would interact with elderly people from the USA. By doing so, both students and seniors would benefit from the experience. Considering students intend to speak English fluently through more humanistic and real ways and those experienced people want someone interesting to share their experiences and learn different thing, why not linking then?
When both get in touch, the native speakers are usually very kind, funny, and helpful. They help students with pronunciation and grammar mistakes. In addition, who else would be able to talk about American culture better than such open-hearted people?
Check it out:
Well, I really don't know CNA practices and methodology, but as a teacher of English I have to confess that I not only felt touched, but also I saw in this action a really new and efficient way of turning this into a better world. Congratulations!
Oh, and you don't need to be a CNA student to do the same. Just look for retirement communities in the US, England, Ireland or in any other English speaking country, send an e-mail talking about your will and get Skype started. It'll be great experience. I recommend.
