Volunteering To Teach English: Some Common Questions

No Comments | March 21st, 2007 | Trackback

If you’re reading this post, you have a skill that many people around the world would also like to have: English language ability. It might not sound like the most exciting volunteer work, but people from a wide variety of backgrounds and countries pay dearly for this; plenty more would like to learn English and feel it is key to their future success, but for whatever practical reasons, cannot.

As an experienced English teacher myself, when I was contacting organizations to volunteer with, the desire for English language lessons cropped up regularly.

Some common questions are:

If I don’t have training or experience, can I still volunteer to teach English?

This is a good question, and I’d say “kudos to anyone who asks it”. Many English teachers react strongly to the idea of volunteers who assume that just because they can speak English, they can teach it.

Reality 1: If you have no training or experience, the class or lessons you lead will probably not reach the quality or effectiveness level of someone with training. But this will be true in nearly every type of position – not just teaching. The difference with language is…if you can speak the language, you have an ability – not the same one as someone with training to teach it as well – but an ability nonetheless; if people want one – to – one conversations with an English speaker to practice, you can often provide that.

Reality 2: There are paying English teacher positions which require neither specific English language teacher training nor qualifications (though they often require a BA). Is this an ideal situation? Perhaps not, I’d say it depends on the situation though. The point is, there are students who pay to attend lessons with (generally native) English speakers without qualifications, so don’t feel that lack of experience necessarily precludes volunteering.

Should I get training? Where can I get training?
If at all possible yes – often organizations that assist immigrants and refugees in your own country (Idealist.org is a great place to search for these) will provide basic training to volunteers who then work one-to-one with learners there. Some organizations like Travel to Teach and Cultural Extremes offer volunteer programs where participants pay a fee, receive some basic training, and then volunteer and receive ongoing support. Many native English speakers who teach English get their start with a month-long intensive TEFL course, such as the CELTA or a similar course, such as those offered through Bootsnall by TEFL International – and there’s no reason a future volunteer couldn’t do one.

Stay tuned for more common questions about volunteering to teach English.