MEDIA RELEASE
February 11, 2024
Mark Bils has been teaching English for years, but these days he says he learns just as much from his students.
Mark is our Volunteer of the Month, and he teaches English to new migrants or to anyone visiting New Zealand who would like to learn more conversational English through Multicultural Tauranga. It’s an unpaid job he’s loved for more than 10 years, and he’s learned that every country has its own uniqueness.
He trained as a primary school teacher, and then later did a course at Waikato University in teaching English as a second language. When he started teaching for Multicultural Tauranga, he realised that many people had learned English, but never got the opportunity to practice it.
“At home they just used their native language with their families, so they never have a chance to practise English, unless they have an English-speaking friend.”
Just before Christmas in his class he had eight different people who spoke eight different languages all speaking English together.
“They know English but initially they are afraid to speak because they are afraid of making a mistake. They also need to get used to our accent.”
He said he had Koreans in his class who didn’t speak at all to start with because they were used to an American teaching them English with an American accent.
Mark has plenty of empathy for those new to English. His father was German, speaking a Berlin dialect, and struggled to speak English even though his mother was a New Zealander.
“I enjoy it so much because I meet so many interesting people from all over the world. It’s so enjoyable, so that’s why I do it voluntarily.”
Mark got close to buying a backpackers before the opportunity to teach English came along to volunteer with Multicultural Tauranga. It was definitely the better choice.
“What’s nice is that they always tell you how wonderful New Zealand is. They’re in a new country and don’t know what’s going on, learning English can open their eyes to the culture. They’re also teaching me about their culture.”
Mark was involved in Multicultural Tauranga’s Festival for 13 years. The free family-friendly festival is on Saturday March 22, 10am-5pm at the Historic Village with food, music, art and cultural performances throughout the day.
