Tips and tricks for volunteers part 2 - After the introduction we usually divided the class into 2 teams (the optimal number per team is 15 people). - We put the tables together, so there were two long tables (tried to put them as distant from each other as it is possible) and each of us worked with one team. Usually we sat down together with the kids, so we could contact each of them directly and they felt less shy or scared because of the public attention. - Usually we started with some basic questions like “What’s your name?” and “How old are you?” and passed these questions round, so everybody can get involved. - We also asked kids to write their names down on the common sheet of paper. If they don’t know how to do it - you can teach them (be careful, probably you’ll have to ask them many times to repeat, it’s hard to get the sounds, but it’s a huge fun for children to listen how you are trying to pronounce their names correctly) - After a couple of rounds we were able to understand what the level of english they have and how active they are and after we decided what activities would be next - This format works good, but it also has some minuses. If one of the students will be too slow or too quiet, the kids on the other part of the table may fall asleep. That’s why sometimes we asked the questions in both directions. - We had our laptops and some teaching videos with us (check Peppa Pig, Muzzy) and played them. These activities work good when you have to calm down the kids. - I had my ukulele with me and we were singing ABC song with kids (also I’ve learnt some simple songs like “My bonnie is over the ocean”, “Oh, my darling” and other. Kids enjoy music a lot and I guess it was their favourite part, - Sometimes, we were going outside and played some outdoor games (for example, “Simon says”), we were teaching kids some of the russian games. We tried to combine the learning process with the game (for example, while playing Hopscotch they had to pronounce the days of the week) - Don’t forget to share some information about your country and culture. We had videos about Russia with us and children were very excited to watch them. So, these are our basic tips for you. Hope they will be helpful, however, I believe that every experience should be unique and you can easily discover your own way to collaborate with kids. Just be yourself and have fun! Good luck!