In Samantha Smith’s Group, hundreds of people are working together to help the Ukrainians who have been forced to leave their home country, to learn English and other languages.
Ready to help
Ready to learn
About project
Due to the war, a vast number of Ukrainians, both adults and children, have either been displaced or are preparing to leave Ukraine. They often arrive in other countries without any knowledge of the local language. We help these people to master a local language for faster and smoother integration into life in a new country.
Samantha Smith’s Group is an international movement with a diverse geography of our team ranging from Canada to New Zealand. The vast majority of our volunteers are Russians, Ukrainians, and Belarusians and speak Russian as one of their languages. We are based in different countries but we are brought together by our anti-war position, desire to help and to do everything we can for peace.
We want to make sure that our students obtain a high-quality education and strong language skills that enable them to find better career opportunities in their new locations. Our classes are held online and are free of charge.
Samanthas today
800+ volunteers
From Ireland, Great Britain, Germany, Spain, Czech Republic, France, Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, Kazakhstan, Canada, Japan, the USA and many more locations
>3500 students
are already studying with us and are getting support with their job searches
>1000
active study groups for adults and children
>7000 applications
from Ukrainians who need to learn English and other languages
4 more languages
were added in August — Spanish, French, German, and Swedish
Samantha Smith’s Group Samantha Smith’s Group
Samantha Smith’s Group Samantha Smith’s Group
Samantha Smith’s Group Samantha Smith’s Group
What matters to us?
✦ We aim to provide long-term support and high-quality language education to our students
✦ We help our students with job searches by conducting topical workshops as well as one on one CV or job interview prep sessions
✦ We are keen on developing our teacher community. We share our knowledge, approaches to teaching and hold training webinars for our volunteers
✦ We are continuously improving our work processes, making them more straightforward. One of our areas of focus is education of our volunteers on cybersecurity during online classes
✦ In Samantha’s Group, we have a psychologist who helps both students and volunteers to overcome crisis situations
Feedback
Svitlana Miros
I am really grateful for the perfectly organised useful course. The special thanks to Polina for hard work and quick help, our present teacher Alexandra for vibrant and amazing classes as well our previous teacher Valerie for good practice. Unfortunately, I couldn't attend all Speaking Clubs, but those I took a part in were quite productive. I am very glad to have an opportunity to get this knowledge. Your work was great!!!
Світлана Сенчина
Я дуже задоволенна навчанням в цій школі, рівень викладача дуже високий, я знаю, бо вже проходила курси англійської. Подобається матеріал який нам дає вчитель, все дуже різноманітне, ми працюємо з аудіо, відео матеріалом, використовуємо багато книг. Профессіонали своєї справи. Я дуже дуже рада навчатися з таким вчителем - Тетяна неймовірна. Дякую вам за таку можливість і в такий скрутний час, ви дуже допомогли ❤️❤️
Feedback
Julia Sviderska
Я проходила несколько speaking clubs с разными преподавателями. Все было точно, интересно с возможность последующей проработкой материала после. Но больше всего я хочу сказать большое спасибо своему преподавателю Полине за наши занятия уже более 5ти месяцев. Она не только профессиональный учитель. Полина приятная в общении, выдержанная, добрая.
Інесса Кірячок
Ви допомогли і допомагаєте всій моїй сім'ї і мені, і моїм трьом дітям. Ми разом з Вами вчимо і удосконалюємо свою англійську. Окремо хочу подякувати своему викладачу Валентині Дубовік і нашій групі 279 А2 Ви неїмовірні!!! За 3 місяця ми не просто вивчаємо англійську, а стали родиною. Дякую Вам від щирого серця!!!
Feedback
Даніїл Сирцов
Дуже хочу подякувати своєму викладачу Луїсу, з яким я вчу англійську вже 3 місяці. Дякую йому за неймовірно цікаві уроки, за терпіння, за те, що мотивує нас вчитися. You are the best!
Дар'я Васильєва
Доброго дня,це дуже гарна підтримка та допомога жителям України в такий важкий час.Я потрапила в групу до чудового викладача який дає натхнення на подальше вивчення, завжди робе своє заняття легким та цікавим.Дуже дякую вам за такий чудовий рух.
Feedback
Анна Міронова
Дуже дякую вам! Ваші курси та заходи допомогли пережити мені важкий період. Відкрила для себе французьку мову, і найголовніше - бажання її вивчати. Окремо хочу подякувати нашому вчителю Олі - чудовий підхід до навчання учнів, цікаві домашні завдання, а також вона завжди може допомогти і додатково все пояснити. На урок французької мови йдеш з розумінням, що наступна година пройде із задоволенням та користю.
Ще раз дякую вам за підтримку та все, що ви робите!
Ще раз дякую вам за підтримку та все, що ви робите!
Nataliia Smirnova
Дякую за заняття з вивчення англійської мови, за ваш особистий час, який ви витрачаєте на учнів! Особливо дякую викладачеві Мілі, яка цікаво проводить заняття та підбирає цікаві теми для уроків! Неймовірні викладачі Поліна та Ганна, які проводять Speaking Club!
Our gratitude
Also, we are truly grateful to all of our fantastic volunteers who bring their friends to our project and help to get the word out there.
Info channels and movements
Help Desk Media | True Russia | Reshim
The Village | Tutoring Without Borders
Ковчег | Zhas Urpaq | Feminist Anti-War Resistance | OVD-Info | Teplitsa
Help Desk Media | True Russia | Reshim
The Village | Tutoring Without Borders
Ковчег | Zhas Urpaq | Feminist Anti-War Resistance | OVD-Info | Teplitsa
Movement designer
Alexandra N
Website creator and designer
Eugenia Z
Copywriter and editor
Nat Lat
Alexandra N
Website creator and designer
Eugenia Z
Copywriter and editor
Nat Lat
We would like to say a huge thank you to:
We would like to thank the friends of our project who helped Samantha by spreading the word about it. Thanks to them we managed to attract a lot of volunteers to our project and process more than 5000 applications from our students.
Bloggers and influencers
Eva Morozova | Maxim Kats and his team
Anna Urih | Natasha's Adventures
Rustem Adagamov
Checkbook for kindly providing our Speaking Clubs with free Zooms
Eva Morozova | Maxim Kats and his team
Anna Urih | Natasha's Adventures
Rustem Adagamov
Checkbook for kindly providing our Speaking Clubs with free Zooms
4000+
A person who was helped by our teachers
∞
Endless thanks! Dear friends, we wouldn’t manage it without you!
500+
Volunteers who helped put the project together
FAQ
Your desire to help is what matters the most! If you speak English — or another language you’d like to teach — and wish to try teaching, you won’t be left alone. One of Samantha’s teaching methodology experts will help you to start your teaching journey, or you can try out co-teaching, a format where you partner with a more experienced colleague teach a group together.
We hold teacher trainings for beginners and for those willing to advance their professional skills. As a teacher, you will have an access to our extensive library of teaching and learning materials and webinars to help you gain confidence in your new role. Reach out to us any time — our community of experienced professionals will give advice on any question you might have.
We hold teacher trainings for beginners and for those willing to advance their professional skills. As a teacher, you will have an access to our extensive library of teaching and learning materials and webinars to help you gain confidence in your new role. Reach out to us any time — our community of experienced professionals will give advice on any question you might have.
Not to worry, a lot of our volunteers don’t speak Ukrainian. To facilitate communication with our students, we have a template of the first message in Ukrainian. Using this sample, you will then decide which language to use to better communicate with your students. Our Ukrainian colleagues will take on a student who wishes to take classes from a Ukrainian speaking teacher only.
We are here to help those affected by the war in Ukraine. Please share this form with them and our volunteers will contact this person as soon as possible. We are doing our best to make sure everyone who applies for help can start classes with us as soon as possible. To this end, we need you — people who are passionate about helping!
We will be happy if you could spread the word about us on social media or share a link to our website or Instagram profile with your friends.
If you have any other ideas on how we can work together, or you can contribute in ways other than teaching, we’ll be delighted to hear from you at samanthasmithsgroup@gmail.com
If you have any other ideas on how we can work together, or you can contribute in ways other than teaching, we’ll be delighted to hear from you at samanthasmithsgroup@gmail.com
Your desire to help is what matters the most! If you speak English — or another language you’d like to teach — and wish to try teaching, you won’t be left alone. One of Samantha’s teaching methodology experts will help you to start your teaching journey, or you can try out co-teaching, a format where you partner with a more experienced colleague teach a group together.
We hold teacher trainings for beginners and for those willing to advance their professional skills. As a teacher, you will have an access to our extensive library of teaching and learning materials and webinars to help you gain confidence in your new role. Reach out to us any time — our community of experienced professionals will give advice on any question you might have.
We hold teacher trainings for beginners and for those willing to advance their professional skills. As a teacher, you will have an access to our extensive library of teaching and learning materials and webinars to help you gain confidence in your new role. Reach out to us any time — our community of experienced professionals will give advice on any question you might have.
Not to worry, a lot of our volunteers don’t speak Ukrainian. To facilitate communication with our students, we have a template of the first message in Ukrainian. Using this sample, you will then decide which language to use to better communicate with your students. Our Ukrainian colleagues will take on a student who wishes to take classes from a Ukrainian speaking teacher only.
We are here to help those affected by the war in Ukraine. Please share this form with them and our volunteers will contact this person as soon as possible. We are doing our best to make sure everyone who applies for help can start classes with us as soon as possible. To this end, we need you — people who are passionate about helping!
We will be happy if you could spread the word about us on social media or share a link to our website or Instagram profile with your friends.
If you have any other ideas on how we can work together, or you can contribute in ways other than teaching, we’ll be delighted to hear from you at samanthasmithsgroup@gmail.com
If you have any other ideas on how we can work together, or you can contribute in ways other than teaching, we’ll be delighted to hear from you at samanthasmithsgroup@gmail.com
