SEEDS partner, Pendar Pagi, runs an English club called English Zone to provide university students with the opportunity to improve their conversational English. English Zone currently offers weekly discussions led by native speakers. It is located less than four kilometers from University Riau, however, members have joined from a number of the local universities.

A survey of English Zone activities was conducted by our program’s coordinators late last year. Feedback from the members showed that the opportunities to interact with and learn from native speakers is highly valued. Recently, guests from Australia attended the weekly discussion. One of the guests, a Chinese Indonesian woman, has lived in Australia for the last ten years. Our guest was able to share with the members how she secured visas for the duration of her time in Australia, and how her English language progressed after moving to Australia. The club is currently liaising with recent high school graduates, from America and Singapore, that are in Pekanbaru on a gap-year program. For a long time, it has been tradition to hang the flag of the discussion facilitators in the meeting area. We currently have flags from Australia, USA, Philippines, South Africa, England, Guyana, Japan and Germany. We hope that more and more flags will be added to the collection.

In addition to guest speakers, SEEDS consultants also volunteer with English Zone by facilitating discussions. Discussion topics vary significantly from cultural celebrations, to ethics, personality traits and lifestyle. This allows members the opportunity to practice using language required for a variety of contexts and covering a broad range of topics. In addition to preparing discussion questions, consultants incorporate interactive activities including quizzes and games. This has helped members with more limited English to participate in the program. English Zone continues to evaluate its activities and adapt them to suit the preferences and needs of its members.