Greek and English courses for adults at the Red Cross Multifunctional Center

Description

The MFC of the Hellenic Red Cross provides Greek and English classes to adult refugees and immigrants. The objective of the educational service is to increase the ability of the students to cope and manage their current situation by improving their ability to understand and communicate in Greek and English.  

The language lessons are delivered by the educators of the MFC in innovative methods of teaching that meet the special needs of the students that attend the classes. All the lessons have been planned according to the theories of Intercultural Education and of Teaching Greek as a foreign / second language.

The lessons are planned with the communicative approach. According to this approach, the objective of the lessons is the interpersonal communication. By having this principal, the objectives of the lessons are the tracking of the needs of communication of the students, the priority of oral speech in contrast with the written speech, the incorporation of the language differences in a communicative frame and the immediate effect of the teaching on the environment.

Τhere are different levels on each group (beginners, intermediate, advanced). The lessons are held twice a week and will last two hours each time. The educational material is given free of charge to all students.

In addition to the face-to-face classes that take place in our classroom, we also have online Greek and English classes in the weekly schedule, through the Zoom platform. The courses can be attended by beneficiaries from many parts of Athens and Greece, for whom distance or the inability to travel would be an inhibiting factor. In addition, students who are forced to change their place of residence, even to leave the country, during the period of their studies, have the possibility to continue their study program online.

This language program is an essential step in facilitating the integration of refugees and immigrants into the community. By offering focused English and Greek lessons, participants will be better equipped to navigate their daily lives, seek employment, and build meaningful connections in their new society. The program’s interactive and immersive approach ensures that learners are not only taught the language but also the cultural context in which it is used.