Mentor for a young newcomer

What do you do as a mentor?

At Taal Doet Meer you can work as a language mentor for a primary school student or as a mentor in the School's cool project, a mentor project for first-year students. In February 2020, in collaboration with Taalschool Utrecht, we will start again with a group of students who are new to the Netherlands. This guidance focuses on pleasure in language and school, as well as on personal development. As a volunteer you have good contact with parents and where necessary you build a bridge between parents and school.

In practice:

You visit the family at home for about 1.5 hours a week. You take time to get to know the family. With a primary school pupil you will work with language in a playful way, for example by playing language games, practicing vocabulary and going to the library. In the guidance of a first grader you will work on reading pleasure, study skills and homework. Where possible, ask your parents to join the guidance; for example by playing a game together or planning homework. You and the parents contact the school to agree on the guidance. During the process you will be guided by a voluntary mentor coordinator and you can regularly exchange experiences with other mentors. You can also participate in relevant, in-depth workshops on topics such as refugee families or language development.

What do you have at home?

- You have an affinity with children, language and cultures;

- You are good at guiding and enthusing people;

- You are open to new encounters;

- You are eager to learn, independent and reliable;

- You are available for about two hours a week;

- You are willing to commit for a period of at least one year;

- You are willing to develop and participate in an in-depth workshop or training.

What do you get in return?

Through your efforts, you ensure that children make a good start at school in the Netherlands and in the first year of secondary education and can later participate in Utrecht society. After all, you need language to make friends, find a job, do your banking or do your homework. Meaningful work with a major social impact! At the same time, you get to know other cultures, you get a lot of enthusiastic Taal Doet Meer colleagues and you can develop through various appropriate training courses.

Do you have any questions or do you want to register directly? Then use the pink button below.