1-on-1 Format: In this format, a volunteer is matched with one student for individual sessions. Optionally, volunteers can work with multiple students separately, holding one-on-one hour-long sessions with each student.
Mini-Group Format: In this format, volunteers work with a minimum of 2 students (of a similar English level) simultaneously, with the possibility of accommodating more participants upon request of the whole group. This setup enhances the volunteering impact by fostering group interaction and peer learning, allowing the volunteer to guide and support multiple students at once. Learn more about the Mini-Group format below.
Yes, ENGin is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and we're able to sign school forms or provide a standard ENGin form to help you get credit for your volunteer hours. To receive credit, all sessions must be scheduled on the ENGin platform and have their duration tracked.
You can volunteer with us as long as you want! At a minimum, it takes about 3 months for students to see improvement, so we ask you to commit to at least that period of time.
Despite 91% of Ukrainians studying English in school, Ukraine ranks 29th of 35 countries in Europe in English fluency: just 1% of Ukrainians consider themselves fluent in English.
Furthermore, Ukraine ranks 34th of 41 European countries on the DHL Global Connectedness Index, 38th of 41 on the KOF Social Globalization Index, and 37th on the KOF Economic Globalization Index.
The result? Since independence in 1991, Ukraine has failed to live up to its potential as a vibrant European democracy. For decades, it’s remained among the poorest countries in Europe, dogged by a Soviet legacy of apathy and corruption. russia’s recent invasion dealt another critical blow, creating an urgent need for cross-border connections to rebuild a devastated economy and society.
We aim to connect a million globally-minded Ukrainians with English speakers in the US and worldwide, forging supportive, authentic relationships, building a foundation of English fluency, and opening doors to academic and professional opportunities. Taken together, a million incremental improvements in participants’ lives will catalyze Ukraine’s economic and social development.
Essentially, we want to create a "new normal" in Ukraine, accelerating growth and connecting Ukraine to the global conversation in business, science, culture, and beyond.
Because our mission is countrywide change, we are focusing our resources on reaching as many Ukrainians as we can. We believe that achieving these goals in Ukraine will offer a powerful blueprint for other emerging democracies to accelerate growth through low-cost investments in human potential.
Our participants are from all over Ukraine and range in age from 9 to 60+.. Some live in cities, others in small towns. A few have evacuated outside Ukraine. All have some prior experience studying English, but we have a wide range of levels.
Many sessions happen on weekends because volunteers are busy during the week. Some sessions happen on weekdays, in the afternoon and evening Ukraine time.
If you are located in North or South America, please note that Ukraine is 7-10 hours AHEAD of your time zone, so you will need to schedule sessions in the first half of the day (otherwise, students will be asleep!)
If you are located in Australia, New Zealand, or Asia, Ukraine is 4-10 hours BEHIND, so afternoons and evenings will work best.
If you're in Europe, Africa, or the Middle East, time zone differences will be minimal, so we will be able to find a student to accommodate almost any schedule!
We match you with students who are available at the same times you indicate on your application form. Exact session times are determined directly with your student.
Volunteers are responsible for leading each session and deciding what to do. We provide many resources and activity ideas for you to choose from. You can use these as is or adapt them for your student. Please check out this preview of volunteer resources. to get a small taste of what ENGin offers volunteers. Once you’ve completed volunteer onboarding, you will be able to access all materials in the Resources section of our platform.
We have videochat integrated directly in our online platform. When you schedule sessions on the platform, an online meeting will be created automatically for you and your student to join.
Unfortunately, no. 13 is currently our minimum age!
We expect our volunteers to have a strong command of the English language. You should speak English confidently with no or minimal errors. You do not need to be a native speaker - we have many volunteers for whom English is a second or third language.
Yes, we welcome volunteers regardless of whether English is their first language or not.
Yes - to make sure sessions are effective and safe, we ask participants to have their video on.
PROGRAM DETAILS
In the mini-group format, volunteers work with a minimum of 2 students (of a similar English level) simultaneously in 1-hour sessions, with the possibility of accommodating more participants upon request of the whole group.
Mini-groups typically consist of 1 volunteer and a minimum of 2 students, with the possibility of accommodating more participants upon request of the whole group.
When placing participants in a mini-group, we focus on a few key factors to ensure a good match. First, we make sure everyone’s schedules align. We also consider gender preferences and try to pair participants with similar hobbies and interests. Additionally, we match students with similar English levels for better communication. However, it's important to remember that it's impossible to have exactly the same English level, as each student may have different strengths and weaknesses.
If one of the students in your mini-group cannot join the scheduled meeting, we encourage you to have a session with the other student (s). You may also agree to reschedule if that works better for everyone.
If the other student in your mini-group can no longer continue, we will search for a new student to join your mini-group and notify you by email when a new participant is available.
Yes - you can switch formats if you have worked with your student one-on-one for over 3 months and both of you agree to invite another student to join your sessions. Please reach out to our support team at info@enginprogram.org to make the switch.
For convenience, we recommend creating a chat group in any messenger that works best for everyone (e.g., WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook Messenger etc.). However, you can also use email to communicate with your students.
When you use ENGin’s built-in video chat feature, the session duration will be tracked automatically by our platform. Session duration is defined as time spent with at least one student. For instance, if you meet with Student 1 for 15 minutes, then Student 2 arrives late and you continue meeting with both students for 45 minutes, this will count as 1 hour of session time.
The approach is the same as in the 1-1 format. The number of volunteering hours depends on the actual duration of your meetings, which are tracked on app.enginprogram.org. It does not depend on the number of participants during the session.
If one student is shy and hesitant to participate, it's essential to be proactive. Set clear expectations that input from every student is valued and necessary for the learning process. If one student tends to dominate the conversation, establish time limits for their responses initially, gradually encouraging balanced participation over time.
Be mindful of the dynamics between the students and ensure that both have an equal opportunity to contribute to the conversation.
Employ turn-taking strategies to ensure everyone gets a chance to speak, such as using a timer or designated speaking order.
Pose open-ended questions that require more than yes/no answers and encourage critical thinking.
Vary your questioning techniques by encouraging students to answer each other's questions.
Incorporate a variety of interactive and engaging activities into your sessions , such as games, role-plays, and discussions. Tailor the content to the interests and learning styles of both students to keep them interested and motivated. You may want to check out our video “5 Speaking Games for your ENGin Sessions”.
Additionally, providing regular feedback and celebrating students’ progress can help maintain their enthusiasm for learning.
Our main tip is to adjust and adapt:
Provide the higher-level student with open-ended questions that require analysis or justification while offering the lower-level student closed-ended questions or prompts requiring simple responses.
Choose topics that allow both students to participate. Discuss a broad theme and let each student share details about their specific interests.
Role-playing with differentiated roles. The higher-level student might take on a more complex role, offering the other student opportunities to learn by observing and responding.
Please check out this preview of volunteer resources to get a small taste of what ENGin offers volunteers. Once you’ve completed volunteer onboarding, you will be able to access all materials in the Resources section of our platform.
At the moment, we don’t have specific session plans for groups. However, all existing session plans can be effectively used in a group setting. Please see this preview of volunteer resources for a small sample of what ENGin offers volunteers. Once you’ve completed volunteer onboarding, you will be able to access all materials in the Resources section of our platform.
You will evaluate each student individually using the ENGin Progress Tracking System. Additionally, we recommend having regular check-ins in a group setting, where you can provide feedback and discuss what works and what doesn't for the group, as well as any necessary adjustments. Here are some questions to guide your feedback sessions:
What is working well for you in our sessions?
Is there anything we can improve? What should we start/stop/keep doing?
How have your skills improved since we started meeting? Where do you feel you can continue improving?
Let’s make a plan for the next 3 months.
What goals should we set for the next few months?
This approach ensures that each student receives personalized guidance while also addressing group dynamics and overall progress.
In a mini-group setting, it's ideal to have a combination of common goals for everyone and individual goals for each student.
Here's why:
Having common goals promotes teamwork, discussion, and peer learning within the mini-group. Students can support each other's progress and celebrate collective achievements. These goals ensure everyone is aligned on the overall learning objectives for the program or specific session.
Each student may have specific areas they want to improve, such as reading comprehension, vocabulary building, or conversation skills. By setting individual SMART goals aligned with group goals, you can track each student's progress and provide personalized feedback.
Identify Common Goals:
Start with a group discussion to identify key skills or areas you want to focus on as a group. Example: "Improve communication and collaboration skills within the mini-group."
Use discussions to understand each student's current individual goals and specific areas of improvement.
Guide each student to develop SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) goals based on the common group goals and their individual needs.
Example:
Common Goal: Improve communication and collaboration skills within the mini-group.
Individual Goal (Student 1): Become more confident in expressing opinions during discussions. (Measure progress by recording the number of times Student 1 actively participates in discussions.)
Individual Goal (Student 2): Expand vocabulary related to hobbies and interests. (Measure progress by learning and using 5 new hobby-related words per session.)
By combining common and individual goals, you create a dynamic and personalized learning experience for your mini-group at ENGin.
MINI-GROUP FORMAT
We are really sorry about the inconvenience! We try to have many options in our calendar each week, but sometimes many people sign up and we run out. Just email us at info@enginprogram.org and we will add more timeslots to accommodate you. You may also complete our video interview option (detailed instructions here.)
Yes, you can reschedule or cancel your interview. Please log into your ENGin account and click on the “Reschedule” or “Cancel” button. Please be sure to cancel ahead of time so we can use the interview timeslot for someone else! Also, remember that you can cancel your interview only once according to our rules. If you cancel a second time, you will need to complete our video interview option (detailed instructions here.)
You can schedule a new interview by logging into your ENGin account at app.enginprogram.org. Also, remember that you can only miss an interview once according to our rules. If you miss a second interview, you will need to complete our video interview option (detailed instructions here.)
Our interviewers try their best to attend every interview, but sometimes they need to cancel due to a last-minute emergency. You can schedule a new interview at app.enginprogram.org.
Decision letters should arrive within 2 days of your interview. If you do not receive one, check your spam folder. If you still don’t see it, please email us at info@enginprogram.org and let us know.
APPLICATION AND INTERVIEW
To be matched to a student, you need to complete an interview with us, receive an acceptance email, sign our program agreement, and complete a volunteer training and quiz. Once you finish these steps, we try to match you with a student within 2 weeks.
Unfortunately, we are not always able to find a student who is a good match right away, especially if you have very specific preferences. However, we are doing our best to find the right students for you!
No! Please refrain from requesting matches based on age, marital status, or socioeconomic status of students. While we do consider your scheduling preferences during the matching process, we will not accommodate requests based on these criteria. This rule is in place to protect participants' privacy and ensure a respectful and safe environment for everyone in our program.
Log into your ENGin account at https://app.enginprogram.org/#/login.
You should contact your student right away to find a date for your first session.
You and your buddy can decide on a different way to communicate. For example - Telegram, Instagram messages, Google chat, WhatsApp, or whatever you both prefer. ENGin communicates with volunteers by email, so you should check your email regularly for messages from us.
GETTING MATCHED TO A STUDENT
Text/email your student again and wait four days. If your student still doesn’t respond, email us at info@enginprogram.org.
Please try to offer times that are convenient for the Ukrainian time zone (i.e. not too late at night). If you are offering different options but your student can’t make any of them work, please email us at info@enginprogram.org.
It usually takes some time for students and volunteers to become comfortable with each other. Many students do not have experience speaking to strangers online in English, so they are a bit shy and might come off as unfriendly. Also, cultural differences are real - you might be misinterpreting your student’s comments or body language.
Please, wait a few sessions. Try different activities and speaking topics, and get to know each other. If things haven’t improved after 4-5 sessions, email us at info@enginprogram.org and we can help.
Some of our volunteer-student pairs become friends. But many of our volunteers have a more professional relationship with students, and that’s okay!
When we match students with volunteers, we start with key logistical factors - gender preferences, age (minor vs. adult), and, most importantly, schedules. Then, once we’ve met these criteria, we consider interests and personalities.
Remember, the purpose of our program is to help students improve their English-speaking skills and learn to speak with someone from a different culture. As long as students are learning and making progress, the match can be considered a success!
Check out the tips in this video. If you continue to have trouble, please email us at info@enginprogram.org and we can help.
TROUBLE WITH A STUDENT
Yes! You just need to email us at info@enginprogram.org with your request.
Yes, you can. Please email us two weeks in advance to give us time to find a new volunteer for your student.
We will rematch students and volunteers for legitimate reasons. For example, the student has been skipping many sessions. Or, the volunteer's and the student’s schedules changed and they can’t find a mutual time despite both trying their best.
ADDING, DROPPING, OR CHANGING YOUR STUDENT
On your profile at app.enginprogram.org, there is an option to leave the program. Please remember that we require 2 weeks notice before leaving.
Email us and we’ll get you started again. You may not be able to work with the same student as you had before.