A new program by the ADvocacy Student Interest Group at NYU Abu Dhabi teaches the English language to migrant labor communities in the area.

English as a Second Language teaching began alongside ADvocacy’s range of other programs in the Spring 2013 semester with student volunteers teaching basic English skills.

"One thing that came out of conversations with people we were working with," said founder and senior Alex Wang. "All of whom had this sort of common need ... that English is something really necessary in navigating the city."

“I and a number of the other volunteers that helped me write the curriculum had had experience teaching [English to] children, but most of us had not had experience teaching adults ESL before,” added senior Charlotte Wang. “When we started … we were working with a couple of GAFs who had formal ESL training.”

ADvocacy started in 2010 at the initiative of NYUAD’s first class. The SIG focused more on events-based work, but after visits to potential volunteering sites, a vision to developing more extensive programs was created.

The program has since evolved and now operates at multiple sites, with teaching materials and curricula developed independently. The Eton Institute, based in Dubai, conducts introductory courses for ADvocacy volunteers that require training in ESL teaching or curriculum development.

The volunteer base for ESL is larger this semester than ever before, but ADvocacy always invites more students to join their programs. For some, volunteering to teach English is an excellent opportunity to engage with the local community.

“We have a lot of dedicated teachers who have found that this is something engaging for them,” said Alex Wang, who leads the team of student teachers.

“Likewise, we have a really dedicated team working on the curriculum and I think they have also found it really fulfilling,” added Charlotte Wang, who leads the curriculum development team.

Freshman Gabriel Figueroa Torres has volunteered to teach ESL this semester.

“It really has been a beautiful experience,” he said. “I personally really want to get to know the UAE, and the UAE is something that is not restricted to just the Emiratis. After all ... 80 percent of this country is expats, and if we don’t understand the living conditions of these people ... then we do not understand the UAE.”

The experience reminds Torres of his home country, Colombia.

“There are many people from Latin America who are in a similar situation,” said Torres. “They need to learn English, and they have nobody to learn from. This really motivated me at the beginning.”

English is not just useful to help the participants find their way around Abu Dhabi but is also necessary for certain jobs from which many migrant workers would otherwise be excluded. For several volunteers though, an important function is to build connections and tell stories, something which a common language makes possible.

“I think the migrant community here, as any other migrant [communities] in any other country, positions them as a vulnerable population,” said Torres. “And it’s really important for others in the UAE to remind them that they’re not alone; there are actually people here who are willing to work for them.”

For Torres, effectively teaching English requires having knowledge of the students and understanding how the knowledge relates to them. This understanding creates a dialogue between the teachers and the participants, one that allows both parties to develop.

“It is enriching to see how they [open up] to you … they really appreciate it. I think that is one of the most rewarding experiences as a volunteer, seeing that ice break to you,” Torres said.

Senior Connie Tran Trinh saw this sharing of stories as the most enjoyable component of volunteering in the ESL program.

“Part of teaching English is hearing stories, and [in the context of an English class] this is good for my patience level, because I need to be more patient,” said Trinh.

Torres finds the language barrier an interesting challenge.

“I’ve mainly been working with women from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, and the connection we’ve made is so nice,” said Torres. “There is this language barrier, I mean they are learning English, but while they are learning … at times you know they are not understanding you, and you are not understanding them. But it doesn’t matter because you are trying.”

The ESL program is only two semesters old, but ADvocacy has implemented processes to reflect on their past experiences and adapt to the needs of the growing program. However, envisioning the future of the ESL program has been a difficult task.

“It’s hard to project too far,” said Wang. “I think … this component of ADvocacy is going to be very long-term.”

One of the challenges is the changes within the migrant communities.

“Because the migrant communities here are quite transient … we are working with a different community both last semester and this semester,” explained Charlotte Wang.

Foreseeably, the program will continue to integrate its commitment to community-building with a stronger and more systematic ESL curriculum.

One factor that led to the creation of the program in the first place was the idea of the university sharing knowledge.

“Part of the mission of NYU Abu Dhabi is global education,” said Alex Wang. “As an institution of higher education, one thing we can uniquely provide is additional education.”

When asked about his greatest fantasy for the ESL program, Alex Wang described his vision for the project’s development.

“It’s my hope that this becomes part of the institution’s mission,” said Alex Wang. “Part of the task of engaging with this community and [becoming] deeply embedded in the fabric of Abu Dhabi will be rendering these kinds of services and ensuring that we’re doing our best as an institution of higher education to provide people with a resource that we’re uniquely equipped to provide.”