{"id":96087,"date":"2019-04-15T08:54:06","date_gmt":"2019-04-15T12:54:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087///news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087//www.ucf.edu/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087//news/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087//?p=96087"},"modified":"2019-04-15T09:46:07","modified_gmt":"2019-04-15T13:46:07","slug":"ucf-students-help-immigrants-maitland-adjust-american-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087///news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087//www.ucf.edu/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087//news/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087//ucf-students-help-immigrants-maitland-adjust-american-life/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087//","title":{"rendered":"UCF Students Help Immigrants in Maitland Adjust to American Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every Thursday evening at 6 p.m., a small group gathers in the cafeteria of Maitland Presbyterian Church. Their reason for coming together has nothing to do with faith or religion. At first glance, they have little in common./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087/n

Members of this particular group hail from Ecuador and Columbia, Haiti and Puerto Rico, France and Hungary. They speak Spanish, Creole, French and Hungarian. What they share is a desire to learn to speak English, which they are practicing with volunteers /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087/u2014 many of whom are UCF students./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087/n

/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087/u201c[Students are] not only learning the language, there/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087/u2019re learning what they need to know /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087/u2026 in day-to-day life./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087/u201d /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087/u2013 Iman Al-Shabibi, LLC director and UCF student/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087/n

The Church/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087/u2019s Language Learning Center was started in November 2016 to address a need in the community for a growing immigrant and refugee population in the area, says pastor Megan Collins. The program runs from August through May with monthly subjects focusing on topics that are useful in everyday life, such as finance, transportation, health and education./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087/n

Unlike other language assistance programs, the center serves people who speak any language, rather than just one, and provides specialized assistance from volunteers at the start and end of each class. The lesson plans also includes some real-world practices, such as the annual field trip through Winter Park that allows students to learn how to use public transportation./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087/n

/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087/u201cWhat we follow is a method that is kind of loosely based on a model I learned about in my classes [at UCF,]/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087/u201d says Iman Al-Shabibi, the center/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087/u2019s director and a senior communications sciences and disorders major. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087/u201c[We] try to get [students] immersed in it as much as possible. They/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087/u2019re not only learning the language, there/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087/u2019re learning what they need to know /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087/u2026 in day-to-day life. That may not be what [others are] taught in a traditional classroom./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087/n

Local Outreach /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087/n

Shortly before the program celebrated its two-year anniversary, Al-Shabibi took over leadership of the center. She started volunteering there in 2017 after learning about the opportunity through the UCF chapter of the National Student Speech Language Hearing Association, a pre-professional organization for students within her field./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087/n

For years, the association has provided members with opportunities to work with local elementary school students with autism spectrum disorder or Down syndrome. When the center reached out to the organization looking for volunteers, it was natural for its members to become involved./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087/n

/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087/u201cIt/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087/u2019s really interesting to help people in my community and get to know people I normally wouldn/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087/u2019t talk to./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087/u201d /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087/u2013 Madison Buford, UCF student/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087/n

/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087/u201cI think it/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087/u2019s good to be connected to the community through NSSHLA,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087/u201d says Madison Buford, a senior communication sciences and disorders major and NSSHLA member. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087/u201cIt/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087/u2019s really interesting to help people in my community and get to know people I normally wouldn/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087/u2019t talk to./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087/n

Buford started volunteering in November and typically does so three times a month. Most recently she/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087/u2019s been working with two brothers, ages 13 and 11, from Mexico. But most often she works with young adults who want to learn English to find jobs and provide for their families. Buford has had her own challenges with adjusting to life in a foreign country./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087/n

/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087/u201cI studied abroad in Korea and went through a similar program there,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087/u201d she says. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087/u201cSo I think it/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087/u2019s just really interesting to be able to do the opposite where I help people with English, and I really empathize with their struggle./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087/n

Holistic Approach /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087/n

In November and December, several students from UCF/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087/u2019s College of Medicine partnered with the center to lead sessions on nutrition and health. Lessons included how to find healthy foods at the grocery store, how to access healthcare services in Orlando, and even practicing how to talk about medical issues or concerns with practitioners./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087/n

/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087/u201cDifferent religions or societal upbringings can have a huge impact on a patient/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087/u2019s perspective on healthcare issues,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087/u201d says volunteer Michael Mankbadi, a UCF medical student who moved to the United States from Egypt when he was 5. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087/u201cFor example, different cultures often have various perspectives on end of life issues and understanding that perspective is essential for providing the right care./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087/n

/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087/u201cBecause I came to the United States so young, learning English came more naturally to me. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087/u2026 [But my parents] went through that culture shock of coming to a new country, not really knowing anyone and had to go through that process of learning a new language, learning a new culture./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087/n

These are part of the reasons Mankbadi was interested in volunteering with the center, but his main motivation was to use his expertise to give back to the community. In turn, he/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087/u2019s become more mindful of how culture can impact medical treatment, and he/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087/u2019s working to line up UCF volunteers to assist with the center/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087/u2019s nutrition and health units at the end of 2019./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/96087/n