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Making learning English fun, by doing it the playful way. For instance, when on an outing with a group of native speakers.

As most of our regular readers know, C4C is actively carrying out educational and vocational programs for orphans and other socially disadvantaged children, to help them integrate from their foster environments into society. C4C’s “Springboard to Life” (STL) program is designed to prepare them for this transition by teaching them vocational skills that can, upon exiting their institutions, help them to be successful in the job market. (Click here for more @ STL) Besides teaching English, C4C’s roving team of teachers also teach classes in household sciences, computer literacy, hairstyling, cooking and baking and expressions in music.

Now enter Lech Nawara into the equation. Lech has been actively involved in orphan integration programs in Central and Eastern Europe and South-East Asia for the better part of two decades. He currently serves as C4C’s director of development and education. Father of seven children (!) himself, he’s a man full of dedication, experience and most of all – out of the box ideas! His tenet is “if my kids can have it, I want others to have it too”!

Conventional wisdom would dictate that classes are conducted in a class room, right? Well, sometimes! Lech contends that “in order to really learn a language you also have to mingle with native speakers”!

So, at sundry times, he invites some of his STL students to an outing or a fun activity, like today’s bowling match, to inundate them in a “foreign” environment. The students are advised beforehand, that for the day, communications will only be in English! To provide the original English setting, Lech also invited parents and children from the International School in Prague, all native English speakers. The venue? The upscale Planet Bowling lanes in the Nove Butovice mall in Prague.

So, as the bowling balls are starting to roll down the polished lanes, the stage is set for an educational experience of a different kind. Drinks and sandwiches are also provided on a complimentary basis by Planet Bowling, a long-time partner of C4C, to make this an all around satisfactory experience for everyone.

“The sky is the limit, bowling is just one of many things we can do with the children to make learning English fun”, says Lech, who is getting ready for some serious bowling himself. He turns to one of the children and says (in slow and measured English): “Your turn, Petra. You are next.” “Thank you”, answers a smiling Petra, obviously acutely aware that her answer must be in English.

 “This really makes a lot of sense to me”, comments Debbie Bellingham, who brought her teenage son, Jack, along to provide some of the English ‘nativity’ for the event. “It’s a great way to combine learning and pleasure!” Debbie and her family are expatriates from the UK. They have been living for several years in Prague, where her husband works at the British Council.

“I’m glad we could be part of this and contribute this way to make the day a success for the orphans,” says Venetia Dunlop, also a UK citizen, who came along with her two teenagers, Jack and Polly, to help out with the genuine English environment. Five students from the International School Prague, Axel, Anna, Jack, Amelia and Max, took up the challenge all on their own and came along as well to participate for the sake of the orphans.

Time flies when you’re having fun and the two hours at Planet Bowling are over all too soon.

And as the afternoon is drawing to a close, happy smiles abound and English, albeit sometimes slow and broken, is spoken everywhere.  And among the orphans, there is one question prevailing:  When can we do it again?

Who says learning can’t be fun?