VESL
ESL Resources
VESL Community Contacts
Training Opportunities
Tip of the Month
Cultural Information
Volunteer Highlights
Professional Development
Community News
VESL
About Us
Contact Us
Mailing List
Survey

volunteer profile - Doug

My name is Doug, and I have been volunteering with the Calgary Public Library’s ESL Conversation Club for about 4 years. One of the biggest payoffs of doing this is meeting people from different parts of the world and finding out about their customs, food, geography, and climate to mention a few things. In 2008-2009 I made 2 trips to Thailand and Laos, and had the privilege of helping teach English in a classroom setting. The experience taught me what it is like to be a visible minority unable to speak the local language. Even though this was the case, I felt so embraced and welcome by the teachers, students, and local people. Now that I am back in Canada, I plan to volunteer again with the ESL Conversation Club. It warms my heart when the conference room at the library is noisy with people from all over the globe speaking English.