Welcome to our Virtual Speaking Club. This website supports English language learners as they develop confidence, strengthen communication skills, and share ideas about their lives, communities, and cultures.
What We Do
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- Practice speaking and listening in English.
- Build vocabulary and learn useful expressions.
- Explore cultural similarities and differences.
- Develop creative projects, presentations, and stories.
- Exchange ideas through meaningful discussion.
Our Goal
Explore Our Learning Resources
Visit our Lessons and Resources page for discussion prompts, vocabulary activities, lesson materials, and projects designed to make English learning engaging and relevant.
Learn. Share. Connect.
Getting to Know Each Other
SESSION 1: Four cooperating teachers and 28 students participated in a Virtual English Club at a Ukrainian liceum, creating a platform for cross-cultural exchange and communication. The teachers agreed that the first session was successful, largely because the expectations and structure were clearly established from the outset. The session provided a balanced combination of group norms, cultural sharing, student participation and production, and a clear understanding of the goals for the next session.
All About Me: My Personal ZINE
Session 2
Today’s ZINE activity reminded me how a simple, creative task can serve as a social-emotional learning (SEL) and identity-development activity, giving teenagers a meaningful way to share who they are and what matters to them. In a virtual setting, it can be harder to pick up on students’ interests and personalities naturally, so activities like “Introduce Myself” provide valuable opportunities to learn more about them. One student described his abstract cover art as a reflection of the layers of his creativity, offering a glimpse into how he sees himself. Despite a few technical glitches, we worked through the challenges together and took another meaningful step toward becoming a more connected group.
Window to My World: School
Session 3
Today’s session explored ways to break free from the traditional Zoom setting. The high school journalism technique of the “Stand Up” was introduced with an emphasis on cross-cultural communication through the Cultural Iceberg (Hall, E. T. (1976). Three groups of participants reporting from the school’s medical clinic, cafeteria, and stadium. The idea was to open up a cultural window to their world. Based on these remote reports, participants in the main session posed questions about what is was like in a US high school. Ideally, this will open further with students taking control of reports from the school, community, and personal preferences with a bridge to inquiry on life in the United States and a mutual understanding through the unseen areas of the iceberg.
Hall, E. T. (1976). Beyond culture. Anchor Press.
Shelter in Place
Today’s Virtual Service Pilot Project session was canceled due to the recent increase in strikes across Ukraine. As discussed during Monday’s team meeting, the school’s air-raid shelter has little to no cellular reception, making virtual sessions difficult. Despite exploring possible solutions, the circumstances made proceeding untenable. Everyone’s safety comes first, and as teachers, we hope to continue bringing a little sunshine and encouragement to our students’ days when circumstances allow.
Window to My World: My Passion
Session 4
The theme “Window to My World” was introduced, with a focus on each student’s personal passions. Using targeted structures, phrasal verbs, and idiomatic expressions, participants shared their interests in fitness, music, gymnastics, and more. In a lighthearted moment, one athletic participant even demonstrated the proper way to perform a handstand. These exchanges foster intercultural communicative competence (O’Dowd, 2007) and align with the Peace Corps’ Third Goal: promoting Americans’ understanding of other peoples and cultures (Peace Corps, n.d.).
O’Dowd, R. (2007). Evaluating the outcomes of online intercultural exchange. ELT Journal, 61(2), 144–152. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccm007
Peace Corps. (n.d.). Our mission. https://www.peacecorps.gov/what-we-do/our-mission/
