English Language Buddies

The English Language Buddies program will support Tibetan university students from the Tibetan region who are eager to learn and improve their English language capacity. Each Tibetan student will be paired with an online global language buddy who will serve as their weekly language tutor. By connecting each student with a global English tutor, the program will provide an immersive English-language environment through which Tibetan students can accelerate their language learning capacity.

Machik's English Language Buddies (ELB) directly connected Tibetans in Tibet with a global English language partner. The ELB's mission was to improve the student's English language capacity through direct conversational engagement with ta native English speaker.  Each student was matched with a volunteer language buddy through weekly online sessions to develop  vocabulary and topics tailored to the Tibetan student.  While the majority of ELB students were college students, the program accepted Tibetans in Tibet of all ages with basic to intermediate English background.  Machik accepted students who are serious about improving their English level. Many Tibetan students typically begin learning English in middle school, or even earlier in some cases. However, they often do not have the opportunities to practice what they learn in the classroom. Moreover, their English competency may vary significantly depending on their context and instructor.  As such, the English level of each student differed widely.  Students were selected based on their genuine interest and desire to learn and/or improve their conversational English.  Individual volunteers with native English fluency were screened for eligibility to sign up as a buddy. Machik especially selected individuals with patience and a keen interest to serve and support their ELB partner’s language needs.