English for All

Mano Amiga Academy recently offered English classes for Adults to the parents of Mano Amiga students and to the other residents in the surrounding community. Administered by the Center for East Asian Languages, classes offered were both basic and intermediate. Those who volunteered their time to teach the class include the Center’s head, Patrick Ong, along with Jasper Ong and Raffy Inocencio. The program began with one-on-one interview with the students as well as a written test in order to determine their proficiency.

The parents found the sessions fun and interactive. The teachers reinforced the lessons by giving them daily worksheets and by asking them to put on skits and to write essays on different topics. They also had to write a journal entry everyday which they were asked to share in front of the class.

The teachers focused on helping the students improve their grammar, punctuation and sentence structure. For the intermediate section, special lessons for job interviews and English usage in the work place were given.

“It was truly heartwarming to see the enthusiasm of the parents.” Patrick Ong said. “We hope that after these sessions, they would to continue to be committed to improving their English proficiency by constantly practicing what they learned.”