Anna Lin, a freshman at the UMass Honors College, might just be one of the most hardworking residents of Brookline. In addition to her rigorous excelled course load, she runs a 501(c)3 nonprofit called Language Virtual that uses a peer-to-peer model to teach English to students worldwide. And she’s been doing it for years.
Lin grew up in a multicultural household and spent summers in Thailand with her father’s family. As a fifth grader, she began teaching English to local students there, many of them only slightly older than her. It was an enlightening experience.
“I realized that we shared so many commonalities in how we learned and the things we were learning together,” says Lin. “We were all able to feel a sort of connection together. And that’s when I realized I wanted to connect my students with my friends and peers here in the U.S.”
During the COVID-19 shutdowns, Lin could not visit her students in Thailand, so she launched an online platform called Language Virtual that allows teachers to chat with students learning English around the globe. Since then, the nonprofit has exploded. Lin estimates that 800 students and teachers are currently participating, and more than 1,000 students have benefitted from the program since its inception in 2020.
This program is unique in its peer-to-peer teaching, so young students like Lin will chat with others around their age group. There also isn’t a strict curriculum or certification that the teachers follow. Lin provides educational resources and helps structure the curriculum, but teachers use an organic, conversational method that speaks to each student’s interests. Students are also paired with teachers by shared interests, such as art, sports, or music, and sometimes by age preference.
The model encourages a bond between student and teacher that resembles friendship more than educator and pupil.
“Teaching peer to peer not only provides, of course, English instruction, but also something invaluable, which is companionship,” says Lin. “A lot of our students are refugees or students in countries like Ukraine right now, who are not in a safe environment and whose education is disrupted. It helps them have a friend.”
Anyone ages 7-16 can apply for these free lessons, though they must have basic communication abilities in English. Skills will then be grown from there.
Lin hopes to grow the organization by including more in-person meetings that will allow for cross-cultural connections, friendship, and education. The nonprofit accepts tax-deductible donations on its website and regularly hosts fundraisers, sometimes at Lin’s alma mater, Brookline High School. Donations will go towards Zoom and nonprofit designation costs, stipends for low-income students to acquire laptops and Internet access, and the expansion of in-person programming.
In 2022, during a trip to California, Lin and her family had the opportunity to meet a Language Virtual student from Afghanistan and their family.
“It was an eye-opening experience for all of us to sit down at the table in person, finally after COVID, and share our stories and understand each other’s backgrounds and how Language Virtual has helped the students integrate into U.S. schools,” says Lin. “I want other teachers and students in our organization also to have that experience.”
