Photo By Sgt. David Marquis | Sgt. 1st Class Steve Leach, a Connecticut National Guard Soldier deployed to Kosovo...... read more read more
Subscribe
CAMP BONDSTEEL, Kosovo – Over the last four months, volunteers from Multinational Battle Group-East have been teaching local teens to speak and understand English, as part of the Teaching of English as a Foreign Language course.
Outside of Camp Bondsteel in Ferizaj, Kosovo, the Soldiers have spent their off-duty time preparing students to take the TOEFL test. Those students had the chance to visit Camp Bondsteel on Nov. 1, to see how their teachers live and work during their mission in Kosovo.
The TOEFL test gauges a student’s understanding of English at the university level for individuals whose first language is not English. In this case, the students are native Albanian speakers, which is the majority language spoken in Kosovo.
During their visit to Camp Bondsteel, the students were fully immersed in an English-speaking community for the first time in their lives and were required to put all of their English-speaking skills to use.
“They don’t have a choice but to speak English,” said Sgt. 1st Class Steve Leach, an aviation mechanic shop noncommissioned officer in charge with the 1st Battalion, 169th Aviation Regiment, a Connecticut National Guard unit based out of Windsor Locks, Connecticut. Leach is one of the instructors for the TOEFL course. “They are forced to speak in English, forced to think in English and that is primarily our goal. They get to see our culture, how we work, and how we work together as a team.”
More than 30 visiting students were able to see the how service members live during their deployment. Additionally, they were able to see the different facilities available on Camp Bondsteel, such as the hospital, which several students were excited about because they are studying to join the medical field.
“This is the first time in my life I’ve seen an American hospital,” said Donita Vata, one of the TOEFL students who is also studying medicine at Pristina University. “I’ve seen them on television, but I always thought those kinds of hospitals were just in the movies. Now that I’ve seen it, I know they are real. It was so inspiring.”
Lt. Col. Jeffery LaPierre, a Connecticut National Guard officer who commands MNBG-E’s Southern Command Post on Camp Bondsteel, introduced himself to the students while they visited the airfield, where most of NATO’s Kosovo Force helicopters are kept and maintained.
“I asked who in your class has been putting forth the most effort and really shining in class,” said LaPierre during a speech to the TOEFL class. “They told me every one of you are putting all your full effort into this program. You are all Kosovo’s future leaders, and I’m proud to hear about all the progress you’ve made.”
Ilirija Ferati, a TOEFL student studying engineering at Pristina University, said that between the TOEFL class and meeting American KFOR Soldiers on Camp Bondsteel, her English-speaking skills have greatly improved.
“I get to talk to people here who don’t know Albanian, so I have to make up sentences for them to understand me,” Ferati said. “I like socializing and talking to Soldiers. I’m a little bit tired now, but it’s the fun that keeps you going.”
In addition to visiting Camp Bondsteel’s hospital and airfield, the students also visited the camp’s Morale Welfare and Recreation building, where Leach and other TOEFL instructors taught the students how to play pool, table tennis and air hockey.
“For three months I couldn’t wait about this day,” Vata said. “It’s been better than I thought. I’ve met many new people and ate too much food. I played billiards and table tennis for the first time in my life,”
The Soldiers hosted the day’s event in order to share pieces of American culture that they’ve shared with the students. Service members have been learning about Kosovo’s culture during the deployment, and wanted to give part of the community a similar opportunity.
“If you look around, you see smiles on every face,” Leach said. “It’s a social event, so it’s something different from being cooped up in the classroom. Finding the balance between teaching and fun creates a bond and really gets them coming back to class.”
| Date Taken: | 11.01.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 11.09.2015 11:39 |
| Story ID: | 181418 |
| Location: | CAMP BONDSTEEL, ZZ |
| Web Views: | 275 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
This work, Speaking the Same Language: English students in Kosovo visit Bondsteel for a day, by SGT David Marquis, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
LEAVE A COMMENT