With two highly committed students, my tutoring experience is continuously rewarding and interesting.  Our online meetings are filled with questions and insights, grammar and shared laughter too! Through our conversations, my students have helped me understand their work in technology.  Beyond their work, we have discussed their favorite places in Israel and the world.  We’ve discussed and compared current events in Israel and the United States.  Together we have read English articles about their interests in science, health and sports.  And of course, we have discusse ..read more

From R to her tutor Jan: At the beginning of my and Jan’s meetings, I was very embarrassed to speak English, I did not feel comfortable.  In terms of my English level, I was unable to conduct a conversation in English.  But from session to session, my English improved greatly.  Today I feel more comfortable speaking English, my vocabulary is growing and it is all thanks to Jan. Our sessions helped me to come to terms with the experience I had as a student at school where my teacher influenced my lack of success in English.  The sharing made me fee comfortable with that situ ..read more

Students Gadi and Melishu share their experience with tutor, Sharon L-C Gadi: “I am very happy about this class.  It helps me a lot.  I feel I am improving in many things because of the lessons and because of the teacher.  I’m improving at work because my friends understand me better.  This helps me a lot and will help other students. It is important that we spoke before the lessons began about what I wanted to achieve. Because of the lessons, I am allowing myself to speak English with other people at my job.  Before this class, I did not want to speak English and ..read more

From Hadas about Tutor Myra E: What have our lessons meant to me?  Our lessons are meaningful to me because it combines both social values and fun learning.   What is important to me about our lessons?  It is important to me that we have good communication and understanding and that our ‘class’ is the form of learning, conversation management and patience! What important things did we learn about each other?  I learned that you (tutor) have a big heart with a lot of giving and that you are a role model.  You are a loyal, caring woman who is responsible.  I can lea ..read more

Over the course of the last ten moths, I have had three students from the English B’Yachad program.  Each has brought his particular strengths and weaknesses to our relationship, but I would like to focus in particular on my latest student, S. Not to belittle the accomplishments of my first two students, but S is in a class of his own.  Extremely bright, charming, possessed of an easy and assured (if sometimes a bit rough and ready) command of English, both spoken and written.  His sense of humor is quick and he catches punchlines in English as quickly as they are thrown at him ..read more

My first student introduction took place in September, 2020, and we have been in contact ever since.  The matching process of student to tutor has been extremely effective for me. My second student introduction took place in April 2021. Again, an excellent match for me.  Both adult students speak American English pretty well, although they do not think so!   It’s been an extremely rewarding experience for us to be connected. My first student has become a friend and he shared many touching and beautiful moments with me, showing me his mother’s cooking, his favorite coffee, a ..read more

Quiz #1  What have our lessons meant to me? Which of my passions does English B’Yachad tutoring fulfill? Which is true? I am a teacher at heart (after a long career in education.) I am an ardent Zionist who visits Israel often and loves the country. I strongly believe in volunteering to help others. I am certain that I am using my skills to make contributions to this program. I have discovered a new experience that is rewarding, joyful and exciting. I treasure meeting and getting to know a truly lovely and special person, my student Hadas. ALL OF THE ABOVE.   Quiz #2  What is ..read more

Farewell Lunch with Teaching Staff at the Goldstein Youth Village for two skilled volunteers, Sam (Far left) and Sharon (third from left) There were so many wonderful moments during my volunteer experience at Havat Hanoar Hatzioni (Goldstein Youth Village School) it would be impossible to write about all of them. Some special memories were rather simple occurrences yet they were important. For example, the teachers I worked with said hello to me when they came into the workroom in the morning. They didn’t ignore me or take my presence for granted but rather acknowledged me with a greeting an ..read more

Who would have thought, when I googled “volunteer opportunities in Israel “ that I would find SKILLED VOLUNTERS FOR ISRAEL. Participating in  this program is one of the most wonderful experiences in my life! I am currently completing 3 out of a little more than 4 weeks at my school placement, where I’m tutoring English to students from Israel, Russia, Moldova, and the Ukraine.  All of the teachers at the school have been very welcoming and helpful. The volunteer coordinator is a wonderful woman who invited me for Shabbat dinner the first day I met her!  The students are hardworking and motivat ..read more

Christmas and Chanukah at Hebrew University Of Jerusalem After my first Skilled Volunteer experience in 2016, I said that my days as a “regular” tourist in Israel were over. Today I believe that even more than I did then. I can’t imagine spending my annual winter vacation in Israel just as a consumer. By the same token, I can’t imagine not having opportunities for new adventures. And that’s what I love about being a Skilled Volunteer. While I am able to make a small mark on, to contribute in some slight way to, and to use a little of my “skill” for the betterment of Israeli society, I don’t ..read more