“There’s no way you can leave this course without learning English.”
Education provides amazing gifts that often go far beyond those who are receiving the instruction. Such is the case with American National English Institute’s latest partnership with Doctor Yaso, which leverages language education across borders to take joy and hope to medical patients and elderly homes throughout the Americas.
Doctor Yaso is a nonprofit organization that was founded in Venezuela in 2005, after two major storms left the city of Caracas and surrounding areas in ruins and took countless lives. The organization provides comedic therapy to children and adolescents who suffer from illnesses and/or injuries. With 2,000 volunteers across all the locations, their goal is to expand their organization to different countries and bring joy to all who need it. American National English Language Institute has teamed up with Doctor Yaso, to help volunteers learn English. Our first student is non-other than the president and director of Doctor Yaso, Lilver Tovar Luna.
Lilver created Doctor Yaso as an experienced actress with the passion for wanting to help others. As the president and director, she has many responsibilities, but believes it is all worth it. She loves meeting new people and seeing the positive changes that occur in them after they meet Doctor Yaso. “The fact that I can be useful and help others makes me happy.” To communicate effectively with those in their Miami, Florida location, and to expand her organization in the United States, she decided to learn English.
She had opportunities to learn English at other institutions but felt as though she couldn’t apply what she learned in those classes to her everyday life. With American National English Language Institute, she felt the opposite. “This is the first time that I feel like I am really learning.”
Lilver admits that learning English did not come easy to her and was scared at first. She works hard with our intensive classes in order to achieve her goals of speaking English. “The schedule is intense. It forces you to remain attentive during class. Either you speak or you speak…it’s a high-profile course” Though her class requires a ton of effort, she is happy to have teachers who are always available to help. “My professor [Arlette Salcedo] cares about how the student is learning in class. I love her.” After taking our classes for a while, she became one of the best students in her class. “I realized that I have moments during the day that I have been thinking in English!”
Lilver has full confidence in ANELI and recommends our program to anyone looking to learn English and looks forward to continuing her education with us. “There’s no way you can leave this course without learning English.” If you are able, make sure to donate to the Doctor Yaso organization to help their volunteers join our program, further their careers with American National University, and expand their work. Visit doctoryaso.com their website to learn more about them.