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;
15