Yangju Dream Dream Runs English Conversation Mentoring Program with Daejin University 'PAY4WARD'

The Yangju City Out-of-School Youth Support Center (Yangju Dream Dream) has been operating an English conversation mentoring program for out-of-school youth in collaboration with Daejin University's English volunteer club 'PAY4WARD' from July 4 to August 29.

Yangju City is conducting a program where out-of-school youth learn and experience English together with Daejin University's English conversation club 'PAY4WARD'. Provided by Yangju City

This program was designed to foster a positive perception of the English language by combining it with various experiential activities and to strengthen the sense of belonging among participating youth. One participant, who has been serving as a mentor at Dream Dream for three years, said, "I spent a year preparing for this, hoping to show that English can be a familiar tool to broaden one's world."

The Daejin University club PAY4WARD was selected for the 'Club, Let's Mentor' contest organized by the Korea National Council on Social Welfare and received funding for its operations. Ten university student mentors and ten youth participants were paired up for a total of eight sessions. Activities ranged from making keyrings and creating terrariums to practical, everyday topics such as shopping at a supermarket and asking for directions at travel destinations, all conducted in English.

On August 22, a graduation ceremony was held, featuring an exhibition of activities, poster presentations, and English speeches, providing an opportunity to reflect on the eight-week program. The participating youth used this event to assess their practical speaking skills and share their experiences.

An official from the center stated, "We plan to support out-of-school youth so that their experience goes beyond simple English learning and leads to ongoing community activities through exchanges with university student mentors."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.