On April 10, 2018, “Aleppo” Compatriotic charitable non-governmental organization (Aleppo-NGO) invited a group of Syrian youth to participate in the first Conversational English language class. This is the first group class within the framework of “Better Future for Syrian-Armenian Youth” project, organized with the support of WCC Armenian Round Table Foundation (ART).

The Conversational English classes are held periodically at the office of Aleppo-NGO, with two separate groups – elementary and intermediate. They are conducted and designed by native English speakers and guarantee top-notch learning experience. With a syllabus designed to specifically meet the needs of the participants, these free-of-charge trainings are a practical and fun way to spend after-class evenings.

Although learning English can be challenging and time-consuming, it has numerous benefits. Not only is English an international language spoken by more than quarter of the world’s population, it is an important tool which can take a person to the next level in their career. English is the dominant business language and speaking it fluently would allow the participants to have greater access to both local labor market.

The major goals of these group classes are to facilitate the integration of Syrian refugee youth in Armenia, to equip them with necessary training and skills to become competitive employees in the labor market; and empower the youth who escaped the ongoing conflict in Syria.

One of the key features of “Better Future for Syrian-Armenian Youth” project is that the participants had the opportunity to vote for and suggest classes, seminars, and activities they were particularly interested in. The most popular activities were selected, of which, Conversational English was the favorite.