The students of One, Two…Tree! speak up!
The students of One, Two, Tree! tell us about their English classes!
We interviewed two One, Two…Tree! students to hear about their experiences learning English with our English teacher volunteers in Santiago, Guatemala.
Here’s what they had to say:
(Their answers are translated from Spanish)
Q: Hello! Thanks for doing this interview with us today! Could you introduce yourselves?
A: Hello! My name is Manuel Ixbalán. I am twelve years old. I have English lessons 2 times per week with One, Two…Tree!
A: Hello, my name is Silvia Saquid. I am twelve years old. I have lessons 2 times a week.
Students Learning English in Guatemala
What is your favorite English lesson so far? Why?
Manuel: I like all the classes because we learn about many different topics.
Silvia: I think all the classes are my favorite because the activities are fun and we learn about many interesting topics. We learn how to talk about our family, what we like to do, and talk about nature.
What is your favorite English word? Why? How did you learn it?
Manuel: “Great”, because I use it to say that things are always great, like when I say something is great or stupendous. I heard it in some videos, and then I asked Gracia (my teacher) what it meant, and I liked to start to use it.
Silvia: “Happy”, because everyone is happy when we come to English classes! We learned it in the class about emotions and colors. Happiness is represented by the color yellow.
Teaching English in Guatemala
Do you like learning from English teacher volunteers from other countries? What have you learned from them?
Manuel: Yes, I like it! Teacher Lily told me her house is next to Queen Elizabeth’s.
Silvia: I like it, because they talk to us about different things that we didn’t know, and also some of them are interested about the things that we do too.
What kind of games or activities do you enjoy playing in the classroom to help you learn English?
Manuel: I like all the activities. I really like to write on the worksheets and mime.
Silvia: I really like it when they give us homework and explain it well so that we learn to do it ourselves, and that way we can remember the topics when we are at home alone. I also like when we spend time taking care of the plants after class.
English Class Students
What is your favorite part of studying with One, Two…Tree!?
Manuel: Learning more English! And doing exercises in front of the class, because it helps us lose the fear of speaking in English and participating in public.
Silvia: When we go to write on the board or participate in front of everyone. Because it helps me lose my fear of speaking in public in English
Would you like to say anything to your One, Two…Tree! teachers?
Manuel: That they keep doing their work! I’m really happy to participate in the classes.
Silvia: I would tell them thanks for creating this English course, and they are helping us a lot to learn the English language. They are giving us an incredible opportunity because not many think about teaching English to children because in schools we do not have many English teachers. And here we learn and have fun too.
Learning English in Guatemala
Thank you so much Manuel and Silvia for these thoughtful and insightful answers!
We are so proud of all of our students for studying hard and learning more and more English with our dedicated English Teacher Volunteers here in Santiago.
If you’re interested in having an impact in the community of Santiago, or would like to learn more about volunteering with us, please send us an email to: guatemala@onetwo-tree.com