Volunteer Opportunities

Interested in volunteering with English At Large? Please submit an inquiry:

Questions? Please call our office at 781-395-2374 or email volunteer@englishatlarge.org

One-to-one Tutors

To be an English tutor, you don’t need previous teaching experience. You don’t even need to know another language.

As a volunteer one-to-one tutor with English At Large, you will be:

Trained in a 12-hour workshop series to learn the essentials of a successful tutoring relationship.
Matched with an adult learner in your area.
Encouraged to work with your learner for 1½ – 2 hours per week, always in a public space—usually a library. (You and your learner will agree on the time and place.)
Expected to make a minimum commitment of 50 contact hours with your learner.

Please note: For the comfort and safety of our Tutoring learners and volunteers, EAL has instituted a Health Policy. Tutoring volunteers and learners will be asked to share their COVID-19 vaccination status upon enrollment in the program. This information will be used to make tutor-learner matches that consider the comfort level of each individual. Vaccination against COVID-19 is not required to participate in EAL Programs. For more information, please refer to the EAL Tutoring Program Health Policies, effective September 1, 2023.

Beginner English Teaching Support

EAL partners with Tufts University student volunteers to offer Beginner English classes to learners in Medford and surrounding communities. The Beginner curriculum fills a real need for “survival English” instruction. Students learn basic English communication, including how to give personal information, navigate their communities, and talk about their daily activities. Classes are facilitated by Tufts student volunteers through the school’s community service program. These students are enthusiastic teachers who devote two evenings each week during the academic year (September to May) to the Beginner classes. EAL provides student volunteers with a full Beginner curriculum, initial training, and support and mentoring throughout the year.

If you have a Masters in TESOL, a CELTA or TEFL ESL teaching certificate, or have experience teaching ESL in the U.S. or abroad, and are interested in mentoring the student volunteers with classroom observations and feedback, please contact our staff. This flexible volunteer role provides welcome support and skills development for the volunteer teachers, as well as an opportunity to see Beginner Classes in action.

Beginner English Co-Teacher

BEGINNER ENGLISH CO-TEACHER (in person): To meet the increasing demand for Beginner level English instruction, English At Large will offer free in-person Beginner English classes in the Acton-Boxborough-Chelmsford area starting in January 2024. English At Large has developed a full academic year curriculum of basic English survival and communication skills, with teaching notes included. The 90-minute classes meet twice weekly for 10- to12-week semesters, and are co-taught by pairs of EAL volunteers. Each co-teacher teaches with their assigned partner one day a week, for one or two semesters. Teaching experience is not required for this position, but teachers should have a moderate to high comfort level with online and internet technology.

Conversation Group Facilitator

Conversation Groups help English learners to build fluency skills and speaking confidence. Each Conversation Group of up to 12 adult English learners from intermediate to advanced levels is led by two co-facilitators. This is a weekly, 1½-hour commitment for a minimum of three months.

As a group leader, you will receive a four-hour training to learn how to:

Create a constructive and engaging learner-centered environment
Encourage active conversation among participants
Work with multi-level English learners
Select the most beneficial conversation topics

Please note: Effective September 1, 2023, proof of vaccination against COVID-19 is not required to participate in EAL programs. Please refer to the EAL Group Program Health Policies for more information.

Summer Book Club Group Leader

English At Large Summer Book Groups provide opportunities for intermediate to advanced English learners to practice reading, speaking, and writing skills. Groups of 8-10 learners meet weekly for 1.5 hours during the 6-week session. Participants read the assigned text, prepare talking points in advance, and take an active role in leading the discussion. Book Group Facilitators attend a one-time, two-hour EAL training workshop, and use materials to explore story concepts, word use, composition, and cultural comparisons.

The Book Group leader’s main role is to facilitate the book or short story discussion, and assign rotating participant roles that promote discussion skills, vocabulary expansion, and expressing opinions. Learners will be encouraged to develop the discussion topics and to participate in small and large group speaking activities. The Book Group Facilitator role requires a 3-hour weekly commitment for 6 weeks, including 1.5 hours of weekly meeting time.

Intake Assessor

Interview prospective learners to determine their eligibility for the English At Large tutoring program and test their English level. This role has a flexible schedule where volunteers can conduct as few as two interviews per month, or as many as you like.

As an interviewer, you will receive a one-hour training session to learn how to:

Determine a learner’s goals for learning English
Gather basic demographic information
Administer a brief reading/writing and listening/speaking test
Evaluate all of the information you collect to fully understand the needs of our learners.

BEST PLUS Speaking/Listening Standardized Test Assessor

This important volunteer function helps English At Large track the language progress of our learners.

BEST PLUS SPEAKING/LISTENING STANDARDIZED TEST ASSESSOR: Best Plus test assessors meet with learners at the start and completion of their tutoring to administer a 20-minute standardized speaking test that measures speaking proficiency level. Volunteer Assessors attend a SABES training and complete a certification test. Tests are administered during the learner’s tutoring session at area libraries, within a comfortable travel radius. This flexible volunteer role involves personal interaction with learners of all levels, and requires a friendly demeanor and ability to put learners at ease.

Career Access Lab (CAL) Volunteer

Our Career Access Lab (CAL) welcomes volunteers willing to share their experience in the U.S. workforce

CAL volunteers support the Career Readiness Group, a 15-week program that covers the skills needed to start a career in the US. The topics include resumes, cover letters, networking skills, job interview skills, and information about US workforce culture.

Volunteers may choose to:

Visit the CAL Group to support a career lesson
Provide Career Mentoring to a CAL participant
Offer feedback at the Resume Review Event
Conduct interviews at the Mock Interview Event
Participate in the Networking Event

For more information on volunteering in CAL, please contact the program facilitator at americorps@englishatlarge.org

Interpreter

Interpreters help EAL staff communicate with current and potential learners. Many of our learners are in the early stages of their English journey and need
interpretation during the application and intake process. Interpretation opportunities include conducting telephone intake calls, supporting intake and
English language assessments, and translating informational materials about our programs. If you are proficient in English and a second language and
would like to volunteer, please complete a volunteer inquiry form.

Priority languages include Arabic, Chinese, French, Haitian Creole, Korean, Portuguese, Russian,
Spanish, and Vietnamese.

Changing Volunteer Opportunities

If you don’t have time for a weekly volunteer commitment, consider one of our other volunteer roles:

Event Volunteer

Event volunteers lend a hand at our volunteer, learner, community, and fundraising events. Typical activities include staffing a raffle table, food table or information booth, greeting guests, registering attendees, or being part of the set-up/clean-up team.

Fundraising & Grant-Writing Volunteer

Help us grow to serve more newcomers by conveying why English At Large is important in your community through fundraisers and grants.

English At Large

800 West Cummings Park, Suite 5550
Woburn, MA 01801
tel : 781.395.2374
email : info@englishatlarge.org

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