Online Adult ESOL Teaching Assistant – Tuesday mornings

About CARAS:

Community Action for Refugees and Asylum Seekers (CARAS) is a charity that supports refugees and people seeking asylum who live in south London, helping them to play their full part in the community. We offer a range of individual and group support to improve the holistic wellbeing of people who have a background of forced migration, providing them with tools to build lives filled with value, meaning and purpose in the UK. Our activities for adults currently include: ESOL classes (English for Speakers of Other Languages), a creative writing workshop, drama group, yoga and gardening project.

About the CARAS ESOL Team:

COVID has posed unprecedented challenges to refugees and people seeking asylum in London. Many of those we meet have arrived alone in the UK and have been living in contingency accommodation for many months. Our ESOL team offer English language classes to adults at a wide range of levels. This provides vital skills, opportunities and social contact and is crucial for enabling people to attend college and access other services in the future.

About the Role:

CARAS is looking for volunteer ESOL Teaching Assistants to support our online Zoom classes on  Monday mornings:

Adult ESOL Speaking & Listening at Entry 2+ Level: 11.30am to 1pm (plus a 15-minute debrief)

Please note that ESOL classes do not run during school holidays, and we follow Wandsworth Council term dates.

As a volunteer ESOL Teaching Assistant your role is flexible and varied. It will involve supporting the Adult ESOL Teacher in the delivery of online Zoom classes, as well as providing learners with one-to-one or small-group support.

Volunteer  tasks and responsibilities:

Providing learners with one-to-one or small group support within ESOL classes;

Helping learners build confidence in digital literacy;

Attending and contributing to volunteer debriefs after each session;

Making use of any community languages you may know to help students during the class;

Working collaboratively as a team and helping to shape the lessons;

Supporting people to develop their knowledge and skills, encouraging and inspiring participants to reach their full potential;

Following CARAS’ confidentiality, safeguarding, health & safety, equal opportunities, data management, online communications and all other policies as relevant.

Requirements: 

Essential:

To be 18 years or older;

An interest in education and English language teaching;

To be non-judgemental and able to engage with people from diverse cultural backgrounds;

To be reliable and punctual;

Excellent communication skills, especially with people with varying levels of English;

The ability to volunteer on Tuesday mornings during Wandsworth term time for a minimum of three months;

Currently resident in the UK;

Able to provide five years’ worth of addresses, and willing to undergo a DBS check;

Able to attend compulsory volunteer induction training (online) general and safeguarding prior to start of role

Desirable:

Knowledge of community languages, such as (including Arabic, Tigrinya, Amharic, Pashto, Dari, Farsi, Kurdish, Somali and Spanish).

Through volunteering with us you will:

Meet new members of your local community;

Learn about different cultures;

Learn about issues relating to refugees and people seeking asylum;

Work as part of a friendly, welcoming team;

Develop your skills and competencies;

Be able to access relevant training, including ESOL safeguarding training;

Gain experience in teaching and interpreting.