10 Real “ WHAT IF ” Situations in EVS
1 . What would you do if the volunteer does not speak / has A1 level of the language ? 2 . What would you do if you have the troubles with working time ? 3 . What would you do if you have the troubles among volunteers in the shared apartments ? 4 . What would you do if you cannot contact / reach the volunteer ? 5 . What would you do if the volunteer has bad money management ? 6 . What would you do if the volunteer participates in / conducts non-project activities ? 7 . What would you do if the volunteer has the lack of motivation ? 8 . What would you do if the volunteer decides to quit the project ? 9 . What would you do if there are troubles with visa procedure ? 10 . What would you do if the volunteer stays in the country after the project ends ?
Situation 1 : What would you do if the volunteer does not speak / has A1 level of the language ? Relevance of the problem : Communication in an essential part of any EVS project as it is one of the most important tools in reaching a project goal . It is important on all the stages of the project – preparation , implementation and evaluation . Insufficient language skills can be an obstacle in the potential of the volunteer ' s work , planning , implementation of the activities , reflection , reporting , evaluation as well as successful communication , teamwork and integration to the local community .
Risks for SENDING ORGANIZATION - complains about the volunteer ’ s work
Risk prevention : - explain the importance of at least basic language knowledge ; - provide the minimum vocabulary ; - contact with ex-volunteers , who were sent in the hosting county before for a language support if possible
Risks for VOLUNTEER - weak communication / miscommunication ; - inability to conduct activities ; - low integration ; - misunderstanding of the tasks ; - exclusion from the organization ’ s team ; - low motivation
Risk prevention : - learn the minimum vocabulary before departure ; - search for the optimal translation tool , install the mobile application ; - contact the volunteers from the organization / mentor for the advice beforehand ;
Risks for
RECEIVING ORGANIZATION - low productivity ; - difficulties in explanation of the tasks ; - limited set of tasks for the volunteer ; - risk of losing the volunteer ; - impossibility to reach the project goals
Risk prevention : - provide the minimum vocabulary ; - provide the useful language learning links
Solution : |
Solution : |
Solution : |
- |
- choose the best learning option ; - use all the proposed extrapossibilities to learn language ; |
|
- |
peer |
work |
( combine |
the |
volunteer in the couple with |
another volunteer for the better |
task implementation ); |
- be engaged with interaction with |
- search for the mentor who speaks the common language with the volunteer and RO representatives ; - give the access to language training tools online ; - provide the tutor / teacher to teach the language ;
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