Students at AMIT Ashkelon Bet Jr. and Sr. High School recently found a creative way to improve their conversational English-language skills: regularly scheduled Skype conversations with retired American Jews.
Once a week, the students—who are studying English at the highest bagrut level, 5—sit down in front of computers at school for conversations that not only span continents but generations as well. They discuss their lives and current events in Israel with the retiree volunteers.
They also get to learn about Jewish life in the United States and about the seniors’ lives, experiences and hobbies, all while improving their conversational English.
“This unique intergenerational connection succeeds in significantly improving our students’ English and connecting them to Jewish people in the Diaspora,” said the school’s principal, Yaniv Akiva.
Photograph by Galit Mazuz