Are you interested in learning conversational English in Boston? Do you work during the week but rarely have an opportunity to practice your English outside of work? A lot of international professionals are too busy during the week to find a language exchange or attend a language school. If that is your situation, we have some great ideas for you in today's post. There is another way to practice your English while helping people in need and making connections in the community. You can become a volunteer in your free time! Do you have two extra hours a few times per month? If so, keep reading to find out why volunteering can help not only your English skills but also your state of mind!
If you are looking for more ideas and advice on this topic, get our e-book on how to learn English in Boston.
How Volunteering Will Help your English:
- Practice Conversational English with Other Volunteers: If you are living and working in Boston, you might have noticed that it can be difficult to find native speakers with whom you can practice your English. Well, volunteering is the perfect solution for this problem. While you serve food, build houses or plant gardens, you will be working alongside native English speakers who will be happy to speak with you.
- Make Professional Connections: Who says you can only make professional connections at a fancy networking event? Volunteering and getting to know people might be a great way to get connected to new career opportunities that can help you move closer to your goals.
- Be Present and Drop your Shyness: Being shy or afraid to speak is one of the biggest hurdles for English students. If you are volunteering at a busy soup kitchen, you will not have time to be shy. You will need to communicate with the other volunteers quickly to prepare and serve food. Other people will be relying on you! Volunteering regularly will help you develop a more natural and immersion-based approach to learning English.
- Learn New Vocabulary Words: Depending on where you choose to volunteer, you will learn new vocabulary words that you would probably not learn in a book or in your English class. This will help you to develop a more well-rounded vocabulary and be able to speak with a larger variety of people in the future.
3 Places to Volunteer:
- Boston Cares: This organization can connect you with tons of volunteer opportunities such as gardening, being an usher, working at a retirement home or a blood drive. Just visit the site and find something that interests you!
- Haley House Soup Kitchen: If you like to cook, you can serve food at this soup kitchen at different times during the week. It is fast-paced but the people are friendly and you will have plenty of opportunities to practice your English.
- Socializing for Justice: If you are interested in social justice issues, this community offers plently of chances to get involved, help out and learn new skills. A lot of the opportunities are free or affordable.
So try learning conversational English in a different way! Sign up for a volunteer opportunity in Boston and let us know how it goes. If this article was helpful, please share it with your network to let other people know about these great opportunities!
