Through the halls of NC, various students who partake in English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) courses now hold the opportunity to become a mentee through NC’s new Bridge the Gap club. Beginning in late March, two outstanding students, magnet juniors and co-presidents Ana Taylor and Nikol Ivanova, founded this club with the help of a sponsor and ESOL teacher Ms. Lisa Hughes to cultivate an environment for all students who desire to help others in need and see their peers succeed.
“The goal of the club is to create a space outside of classrooms for the English language learners of NC. We hope to help them foster new friendships and also get access to peer tutoring. It is helpful to practice speaking English with native speakers as well,” Taylor said.
Tuesday, April 29, the Bridge the Gap club met for its weekly meeting in room 700 after school to foster friendships and build bridges against language barriers. Taylor started the afternoon with loads of energy to rally up the club members and create an exciting environment. Starting with an ice breaker to wake up the group, Taylor organized a game of charades with different subtopics such as animals, movies, music and sports. With laughter from person to person while watching fellow peers imitate animate or inanimate objects, individuals worked together to decide what the person attempted to recreate. After various rounds of guessing, club members settled down to play another game: speed culture dating.
This game, similar to a game of speed dating, brought two individuals together in which they each asked each other three questions about their specific culture. With an A team and B team, students rotated through the line of speed-dating participants. Then, after multiple rounds, both groups needed to recite as much information as they learned from all their partners to see which team remembered their partners better. Following, the club members continued to ask each other questions about their cultures to grow closer together while also developing knowledge about different native traditions, clothing or food that represents the students who fill NC.
“I feel like what makes Bridge the Gap stand out is that there is no other club at NC that directly works with ESOL students. Some things that we do to prepare for the club is we make sure that we get to know the ESOL students in advance. Some things that we do are icebreakers, charades and get to know each other activities,” Ivanova said.
Alongside the uplifting games the club engages in, the main goal behind the community of students resides in mentorship and creating resources for students in need. As ESOL students connect with native English speakers, homework, projects and tests become easier to grasp since these individuals gain further tutoring for their studies from their peers. The club inspires students to connect with individuals they may not encounter in classes to build friendships and a community that desires to see each other succeed.
“I really care about helping and leading others. All clubs and extracurriculars I am involved in include leading or teaching peers or students. Additionally, I want to become a part-time English tutor in Korea after freshman year in college since I already have plans to train there. I already volunteer with an organization called American Assimilation Helpline (AAH) as an English tutor, so I wanted to bring this to my school. [Bridge the Gap] allows me to bring my ESL teaching experience to our school to create something meaningful for our community and leave a lasting impact,” Taylor said.
