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English2Success was born out of both personal experience and a deep sense of responsibility. I grew up in rural Türkiye, where educational opportunities were scarce. After moving from Istanbul to my village due to financial hardship, I quickly realized that the quality of education in under-resourced areas could never compete with that of more privileged regions. Even as a child, I felt the injustice deeply, but I also saw its root cause: access, not ability.
Years later, while studying at UWC Robert Bosch College, I met students from across the world who shared the same challenge: they wanted to learn, but their schools lacked strong English-speaking instruction. I realized that many of us had overcome this barrier ourselves and that we could help others do the same. So I launched English2Success as a pilot program pairing volunteer tutors with students in my village for online English speaking practice.
What started as a simple language exchange quickly grew. I watched students gain confidence, improve their grades, and access new opportunities. And then came Salma, an Afghan student who told me that our sessions were her only way to learn because she wasn’t allowed to attend school. Her words moved me deeply. I realized we weren’t just teaching English, we were offering a chance at something more.
English2Success is our response to inequality. A global effort to give students like Salma a fair shot at learning and opportunity.
In practice, English2Success is a relationship-based program where learning happens through meaningful human connection. At its core, students and tutors meet one-on-one online each week. These sessions go far beyond traditional lessons, they're shaped by mutual curiosity about each others cultures and/or shared interests. For example, one student and tutor might bond over Formula One races and use that passion to build vocabulary and conversation skills, while another pair might dive into biology topics together, blending academic support with language learning. Each relationship is different, but all are rooted in trust, consistency, and shared growth.
Outside of tutoring sessions, students engage with the wider English2Success community through career readiness workshops, feedback sessions, and open meetings with guest speakers. These spaces give students the opportunity to voice their ideas, build confidence, and access resources they wouldn’t typically encounter in their local contexts.
Tutors also participate in their own communities. On the university and high school campuses in which English2Success is established, they meet regularly to hang out, exchange ideas, reflect on challenges, and host presentations to recruit new volunteers. This peer-driven structure helps build leadership skills and keeps the program growing sustainably.
In short, English2Success thrives because it values people and personal connection over rigid curriculum.
English2Success has grown through a grassroots, globally connected model. On the tutor side, we partner with over 10 English-speaking high schools - primarily United World Colleges (UWCs) - to recruit motivated volunteers. We've also institutionalized the program at the University of Florida and Earlham College as student organization chapters, and have recruited volunteers that. With a clear onboarding process and digital-first structure, E2S is highly scalable to other English-speaking institutions around the world, whether they be universities, high schools or other NGOs.
On the student side, we reach underserved teens globally through collaborations with NGOs, especially in Afghanistan, and through targeted outreach on social media and our website. These efforts have resulted in applications from students across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Our flexible, online delivery model enables us to serve students regardless of location, internet speed, or time zone. As our community of tutors and partner organizations grows, so does our reach, without compromising the one-on-one, student-centered support that is center to our desire to deliver high-quality, free education to underprivileged teens.
English2Success began as a simple online group-based English tutoring initiative. However, we soon recognized that students in group settings - especially those from diverse language backgrounds - struggled to receive the individual attention they needed. We transitioned to a one-on-one model, which research and experience show leads to stronger learning outcomes, improved speaking confidence, and higher retention. Tutors can tailor lessons to each student's pace, goals, and background, creating a more empowering and motivating environment.
As our relationships with students deepened, we learned that many lacked access to basic mentorship on education and career pathways. We expanded E2S beyond language tutoring to include scholarship advising, essay feedback, and career mentoring workshops, bringing in students who had one scholarships, career advisors for panels etc. These additions have been especially impactful for students aiming to pursue international higher education opportunities but facing systemic barriers.
Most recently, our software team at University of Florida developed an AI-driven matching algorithm to pair students and tutors based on shared interests and personalities. The AI works with encrypted IDs rather than names, preserving student anonymity while enhancing match quality. This innovation improves both tutor and student satisfaction, contributing to more consistent, meaningful learning relationships.
Depends if you want to volunteer or you want to apply as a student.
If you want to volunteer, you have to be a high school student or a university student in institutions we work with. Then you apply and after passing a vetting and onboarding process, get paired with a student to tutor and mentor and it goes from there.
If you are an underprivileged student (that is, if you can't afford private tutoring and come from an underpriveleged background) you may apply through https://www.englishtosuccess.com/apply.
