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Flexible Schedule
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Carmichael, CA 95608
Do you love interacting with people from different cultures and languages? Are you great at making others feel welcome and connecting with people from diverse backgrounds? English Conversation Group Facilitator (for adults) at Sacramento Public Library may be the volunteer position for you! Not a teaching position, no teaching experience required, and bilingual not required but helpful. Participants are often native speakers of a variety of languages (not one dominant language). No specific education requirement. Training and ongoing support provided. This is intended to be an informal, friendly, relaxed conversation group that is based on a particular theme/topic for each session and has some structure but only minimal direct instruction, if any. It is not meant to be a class. No teacher lecturing, please! Facilitator talk should be minimized in order to maximize participants' fluent speaking opportunities. Think of it as creating a social space for participants to speak and connect with each other, and even have fun. If you are more interested in teaching, we do also need ESL Tutors throughout Sacramento County. Top personal qualities and skills desired: Humble, curious, patient, creative, flexible, culturally competent, self-aware Values participants' interests and needs (over own interests/goals) Comfortable with beginner level English speakers Fluent in English and easily understood by others Excellent facilitation skills or willingness to learn, encourages peer interaction Willing to incorporate different interactive activities Models/demonstrates activities and instructions (vs. explain only) The group meets once a month, for one hour. Some preparation time should also be factored in, although the length of time may depend on the person. A minimum of 15-30 min should be expected. Preferred schedule: 1st Friday of the month, 4:00-5:00. (Or, could be the 2nd or 3rd Friday.) This recruitment is specifically for the Carmichael library, in person, but we have/will have openings at other Sacramento library locations, and we also have virtual facilitator opportunities available. We hope to have at least two volunteers per group who can work together or lead independently, as needed, if one person is unavailable. Library staff support is also available as needed. Please contact us if you are interested in this opportunity or have questions. If you are more interested in tutoring, see our "Help an Adult English Learner..." posting or use this posting to contact us and make a note in the comments. We look forward to hearing from you!
Date Posted: 2024-11-26
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Flexible Schedule
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Sacramento, CA 95814
Help empower an adult in your community to reach their potential by tutoring them in basic reading, writing, and numeracy skills for everyday life, work, future education, and increased self-esteem. This part of our tutoring program is geared towards native English speakers, although we serve English language learners as well. Learn more about the learners who join our program in their own words by watching the video below. You do not need to be a teacher or even have a college degree to be an effective tutor for this program. We're looking for tutors who are empathetic, patient, and creative thinkers and problem-solvers so that this can translate to creative, learner-centered peer teaching (not top-down, tutor/teacher-centered teaching). We are focusing on in-person tutoring again for this program area as it is generally easier and more productive for lower level adult learners. Note: Due to the time it takes to complete training and to find a learner who is a good match, this is not a quick-start opportunity, and we ask for a 6-month minimum commitment from both tutor and learner. Did you know? An estimated 230,000 adults in Sacramento County need to improve their reading and writing skills to better help themselves, their families, and their communities. Of those adults who are unemployed, 75% have reading and writing difficulties. According to the National Institute for Literacy, 20% of the adults in Sacramento County have difficulty with reading, writing, and computational skills necessary to function in everyday life. The average adult learner in our program is between 30 and 50 years old, but the age range is very broad. What can you do? Consider being a tutor if you are 21 or older, able to read, write, and speak English clearly; have basic computer skills; and are willing to do the following : Tutor at least once a week for 1-2 hours each session, plus some lesson-planning; Commit to a minimum of 6 months or longer; Complete pre-service tutor training and orientation; Complete monthly tutor reports online; Participate in tutor in-service meetings throughout the year to reinforce your tutoring skills. How it works - what happens after training After completing pre-training, a tutor is matched with an adult learner based on preferred location(s) and day/time availability. Tutoring takes place at any of the 28 library branches, or at some other public location; or remotely/virtually, via basic phone call or video call, etc. Basic materials for tutor and learner are provided for free. Literacy staff provides assistance and support as learners progress through the program. A tutor may work with more than one learner individually if the tutor wishes. We look forward to hearing from you!
Date Posted: 2024-11-26
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Flexible Schedule
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Sacramento, CA 95835
Do you love interacting with people from different cultures and languages? Are you great at making others feel welcome and connecting with people from diverse backgrounds? English Conversation Group Facilitator (for adults) at Sacramento Public Library may be the volunteer position for you! Not a teaching position, no teaching experience required, and bilingual not required but helpful. No specific education requirement. Training and ongoing support provided. Participants are often native speakers of a variety of languages (not one dominant language). This is intended to be an informal, friendly, relaxed conversation group that is based on a particular theme/topic for each session and has some structure but only minimal direct instruction, if any. It is not meant to be a class. No teacher lecturing, please! Facilitator talk should be minimized in order to maximize participants' fluent speaking opportunities. Think of it as creating a social space for participants to speak and connect with each other, and even have fun. If you are more interested in teaching, we do also need ESL Tutors throughout Sacramento County. Top personal qualities and skills desired: Humble, curious, patient, creative, flexible, culturally competent, self-aware Comfortable with beginner level English speakers Values participants' interests and needs over own Fluent in English and easily understood by others Excellent facilitation skills or willingness to learn, encourages peer interaction Willingness to incorporate interactive activities Models activities and instructions (vs. explains only), even if feels outside of comfort zone (e.g. role play) The group meets once a week, for one hour. Some preparation time should also be factored in, although the length of time may depend on the person. A minimum of 15-30 min should be expected. The group currently meets Friday evenings at 5:00. This recruitment is specifically for the North Natomas library, in person, but we will have openings at other Sacramento library locations in the future, and we also have virtual opportunities available. We hope to have at least two volunteers per group who can work together or lead independently, as needed, if one person is unavailable. Library staff support is also available as needed. Please contact us if you are interested in this opportunity or have questions. If you are more interested in tutoring, see our "Help an Adult English Learner..." posting or use this posting to contact us and make a note in the comments. We look forward to hearing from you!
Date Posted: 2024-11-26
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Flexible Schedule
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Antelope, CA 95843
Do you love interacting with people from different cultures and languages? Are you great at making others feel welcome and connecting with people from diverse backgrounds? English Conversation Group Facilitator (for adults) at Sacramento Public Library may be the volunteer position for you! Not a teaching position, no teaching experience required, and bilingual not required but helpful. No specific education requirement. Training and ongoing support provided. Participants are often native speakers of a variety of languages (not one dominant language), and may be at significantly different levels. This is intended to be an informal, friendly, relaxed conversation group that is based on a particular theme/topic for each session and has some structure but only minimal direct instruction, if any. It is not meant to be a class. No teacher lecturing, please! Facilitator talk should be minimized in order to maximize participants' fluent speaking opportunities. Think of it as creating a social space for participants to speak and connect with each other, and even have fun. If you are more interested in teaching/tutoring, we do also need ESL Tutors throughout Sacramento County. Top personal qualities and skills desired: Humble, curious, patient, creative, flexible, culturally competent, self-aware Comfortable with beginner level English speakers Values participants' interests and needs over own Fluent in English and easily understood by others Excellent facilitation skills or willingness to learn, encourages peer interaction Willingness to incorporate interactive activities Models activities and instructions (vs. explains only), even if outside of own comfort zone (e.g. role play) This posting is specifically for the North Highlands-Antelope library and will start off as once a month, the first Saturday of every month for one hour as the group is small at this time. (There is another session on the 3rd Saturday, already filled by another volunteer, but there may be opportunities to fill in then as needed.) Some preparation time should also be factored in, although the length of time may depend on the individual facilitator and the participants' needs/interests. A minimum of 20-30 min should be expected, up to 1 hour. Note: We may have openings at other Sacramento library locations, and we also have virtual co-facilitator opportunities available. Please contact us if you are interested or have questions. If you are being referred by a specific person or organization, please let us know! If you are more interested in tutoring, see our "Help an Adult English Learner..." posting or use this posting to contact us and make a note in the comments. We look forward to hearing from you!
Date Posted: 2024-11-26
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Flexible Schedule
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Virtual Opportunity
Thank you for your interest! Would you like to help adult English language learners develop confidence in their speaking and listening skills? Are you an excellent listener and facilitator with great cross-cultural and interpersonal skills? (Note: This is not a traditional "class" and not a teaching position; it's more of a social group for participants to actually speak in a guided/facilitated setting, at their current level.) This is an opportunity to co-facilitate an English Conversation Group for adult ESL/English language learners (ELLs) with Sacramento Public Library (California). There are virtual and in-person opportunities. These groups are open to the public but may also include Adult Literacy ESL learners from our tutoring program. This is NOT a class and not a teaching position, in the traditional sense; we chose the term " facilitator" for a reason! No lecturing please. We want facilitators who will minimize their own speaking and maximize participant speaking time. Volunteer facilitators are trained and guided by an Adult Literacy staff person with TESOL* expertise, so previous experience is not required. As a co-facilitator, you can contribute discussion ideas/content, facilitate discussion among adult ESL participants, and assist in particular with breakout room discussions. The virtual conversation group sessions have a basic structure with some regular activities, all based on a specific theme or topic (food, holidays, etc.) with slides that a staff person creates, often based on participant and volunteer input, but are otherwise informal. In-person groups have more flexibility and allow for more facilitator independence, although general training guidelines and expectations still apply so that participants have a somewhat consistent experience across our large system. The preferred number of co-facilitators per virtual session is 2-3, to help manage virtual breakout rooms. We currently offer 3 virtual conversation group sessions (listed below) and are looking for more in-person facilitators also, for different locations. You may commit to facilitating one or more sessions. Thursdays, 1:00 - Beginner/Intermediate Thursdays, 5:00 - Intermediate/Advanced Fridays, 1:00 - "Make-up" session, tailored to average level using Thursday's topic(s) Let us know if you are interested in in-person groups at certain library branches (28 total) Due to the time it takes to train volunteers and for volunteers to become comfortable, we ask volunteers commit to 6 months or longer, but there is some flexibility. Longer-term volunteers also help build a sense of community and trust with participants for better persistence and outcomes. Potential facilitators are welcome to observe a session and volunteer planning session before committing to the opportunity! Please contact us for more information. *TESOL = Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages
Date Posted: 2024-10-14
