Tag Archives: community

East TN Chinese Assocation Spring Picnic and Tennis Tournament

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East Tennessee Chinese AssociationEast Tennessee Chinese Association     East Tennessee Chinese Association East Tennessee Chinese Association East Tennessee Chinese Association

Confidence Learning Services was proud to sponsor the East Tennessee Chinese Association 2015 Tennis Tournament.

The East Tennessee Chinese Association is a great non-profit community organization that improves the lives of the Chinese community in East Tennessee. They encourage academic, professional, and cultural exchanges among members; promote activities related to Chinese arts and culture, and foster the recognition and integration of the Chinese community in the Knoxville area. ETCA is also actively involved in various charitable fund raising events, and plays an important role in community diversity and cultural programs.

They have sponsored the East Tennessee Chinese School, which is a great resource for Chinese language learning in the East Tennessee and Knoxville area. If you are interested in learning more about this organization, please visit the  East Tennessee Chinese Association website.

Confidence Learning Services appreciates community organizations like the East Tennessee Chinese Association, and so we have sponsored this organization in the past through newsletter and e-mail sponsorship.

The East Tennessee Chinese Association also co-hosts the annual Chinese New Year Performance in Knoxville, an event that Confidence Learning Services also sponsors.

This year, we had the opportunity to sponsor a Tennis Tournament, which turned out to be a great event. The games took place in the months of April and May, weather permitting, and were a good opportunity for some friendly competition within the community.

All of the players competed well, and the top three winners were:

Xin Tong

Jianwei Hu

Brandon Chu

At the East Tennessee Chinese Association picnic, Confidence Learning Services was proud to present awards and trophies to the winning players. We got the chance to congratulate the winners, meet several members of the community, enjoy a nice afternoon outdoors at a local park, and try some delicious new food.

We would like to again congratulate the winners, and thank the board of the ETCA for allowing us to continue to sponsor their organization.

Do you know of a non-profit organization that would be interested in Confidence Learning Services’ sponsorship? Contact us today at 1-865-226-9477 to find out what type of resources we can provide at little or no cost to local non-profit organizations.

Finding a Language Partner in Your Community

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knoxville english spanish accent reduction
05 Feb

In my last post, I talked about using Language Exchange Websites to find a language partner to practice with. While these sites are great for finding language partners, you are unlikely to find someone in your area to practice with unless you live in a large metropolitan area. Video chatting online is great, but limited, and many people prefer face-to-face interactions. Let’s talk about some ways to find people to practice with in your own community. For the purpose of this post, we’ll assume you’re in the US and the dominant language in your community is English.

Community Language Partners – Meetup.com

Meetup.com is a website dedicated to groups of people who want to meet regularly “in real life.” There are groups dedicated to all kinds of topics, including language. If you speak English, you’ll want to find a group dedicated to the language you’re learning. This works best in bigger cities, and for more common languages. If you are trying to learn English, just about any meetup group will do! These groups usually meet at restaurants, cafes, libraries or other public places. Not all groups are created equal – some are better managed than others, some are free while others require a very small (usually less than $20/year) membership dues.

Community Language Partners – Community Organizations

knoxville english spanish accent reduction

Casa Azafran in Nashville.

You can look to language and ethnic identity organizations in your community for possible practice opportunities. For example, if you have a Hispanic community center, or an Asian Chamber of Commerce, you may contact them to see if they are aware of any language exchange groups that meet regularly, or if they are aware of an individual who would be a good language partner fit for you.

Community Language Partners – Religious Organizations

Religious organizations are great because they often serve as a bond for ethnic communities. If you speak English and are looking to learn a language like Arabic, Vietnamese, Russian, or many other languages, you can search for a Mosque, Buddhist temple, or Orthodox church where services are offered in the language you are studying. Chances are, there will be a member there who wants to practice their English as well. If you are trying to learn English, you could contact these organizations to see if they are aware of any language classes and clubs. Many religious organizations prioritize volunteering and serving their community and so may offer services to those who are trying to learn English.

Community Language Partners – Schools

 Knoxville english spanish accent reduction

Last, if you speak English and are looking to learn another language, you may contact your local elementary, middle or high school, specifically the English Language Learning department. Explain that you want to volunteer to help parents who speak Spanish (or your target language) to learn English, in exchange for their help to you, and see if you can leave your personal information with the teacher. Many teachers would be very happy for their students’ parents to have an opportunity to improve their English.

Connecting with a fluent speaker is key to succeeding in language learning. If you’re working on English, Spanish or Portuguese, contact Confidence Learning Services at 1-865-226-9477 for a free language consultation, face-to-face with a certified teacher.