In the spirit of giving back, American University of Sharjah (AUS) has been offering free English classes to its cleaners on campus.

Started by four AUS faculty members in 2015, the initiative will expand this year, in line with the Year of Giving, to allow students to volunteer starting at the fall semester in August.

Speaking to Khaleej Times, Cindy Baker, Senior Instructor in Management at the School of Business Administration and one of the initiative's founders, said the six-week programme, comprising of one-hour class every Saturday, will also include gardeners and security guards on campus.

Classes will also be offered for 10 weeks to give an opportunity to employees to expand on their language skills, and include more groups of students.

"We started with a class of 10 and worked on teaching them the basic English that they might use in their job. We have then grown to giving classes to different groups of 10, categorizing them depending on their job on campus," said Baker.

She added that the material was designed differently for cleaners depending on where they worked and what their jobs required.

"Cleaners who go to faculty homes have more one-on-one interaction with English speakers, which means they will need to be taught more advanced vocabularies to help with their jobs," said Baker, noting that founders are hoping to include about four different groups per semester.

Baker noted that since its inception, the programme has already covered a third of Cleanco workers. About 60 of 180 workers have now learned to speak basic English.

She said the programme started out of the desire to give back to the community. "We see the workers all the time on a daily basis, so it was essential that we, who benefit from their services, give back to them and allow them to be part of our community," said Baker.

"While English is something a lot of people need and it's something I have, so why not pass it on?"

Many requests have already been received from student volunteers to join the programme.

"The best thing about such initiatives is that the positive change it creates in the community. Now whenever I walk around and see the workers I taught, I'm more likely to engage in conversations. It draws the community together and allows people to understand one another," said Baker.

"Many students want to better understand cleaners they see around and understand their situation. Incorporating student volunteers will help that bridge that's been missing," said Baker.

The idea is the brainchild of Baker, along with Somia Anwar, adjunct faculty member at SBA; Jessica March, Acting Director and Senior Instructor at the AUS Achievement Academy and Dr. Jeannette Vinke, AUS Chief Operating Officer.
What students said:

Abu Baker Shuraib, 44, from Bangladesh has been serving as a cleaner AUS campus for 17 years now. He said learning English has increased his confidence in approaching students and staff members.

"Good classes. They taught us how to say a certain word and sentence and asked us to repeat it after them. Now I greet people with good morning and good evening with a smile and more confidence," said Shuraib.

"They taught us how to approach people happily, without being shy. I figured my English was not as bad as I thought," he added.

Kumari Nepali from Nepal is 39 years old. Of her English classes, she said "Before taking the classes, my English was little little, now it is better. I learned to new cleaning words which made my job easier," said Nepali.

She added that it helped her communicate with students and staff members more. She said while students usually approach her with a smile, now she feels more confident to engage in conversations and give better feedback.

Source: Khaleej Times