Club provides non-English speakers lively conversation
Founded in 2011, Saddleback College’s We Speak English Club (WSE) is a community of English and non-English speakers, who want to learn and enhance the English language through the act of communication.
The club meets from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. every Tuesday and Thursday in the Learning Resource Center’s Room 107, and every Wednesday in LRC 104. The club reaches out to anyone from the ages of 16 to 26, who are in the process of learning, already know the English language or want to practice conversing.
“You can learn so much in the classroom and teachers do a great job.I can’t do that,” said Matt Wright, founder of WSE and former Saddleback student. “But what they [non-English speakers] don’t get, is practice.”
At meetings, diverse cultures engage in every-day conversations, so that those learning English can become more comfortable in social environments and situations.
“Some people don’t realize how easy we have it,” Wright said. “English is a very important language in today’s world, because you can connect to so many people in cultures with it, and create so many opportunities”
WSE strongly believes that it is important for people to not just connect, but to also build a friendship within the club. By doing so, those who are learning can be comfortable with others and not be afraid to make mistakes when practicing.
“We want people to be a part of something bigger than themselves by bringing cultures together,” Wright said.
The We Speak English Project also has a club at UCLA. Hoping to expand to other campus over the summer, the project is currently focusing their attention on spreading the English language through social media.
The We Speak English Project’s official site, welcometotheproject.org has blogs, Skype lessons, and videos available for all English learners.
Starting with a meeting of five people in 2011, the Saddleback campus now has more than 20 members.
For the project’s official site-
http://welcometotheproject.org/
For the project’s Facebook page- https://www.facebook.com/wespeakenglishproject
For Saddleback’s active club list-http://www.saddleback.edu/clubs/active-clubs.html