Volunteer opportunities
Please Note:
Due to restrictions related to COVID-19, all EAL English programs have moved to online instruction. New volunteer placement is temporarily on hold, and we anticipate possible volunteer openings in early 2021. If you would like us to contact you then with information on opportunities, please fill out this interest form.
Questions? Please call our office at 781-395-2374 or email volunteer@englishatlarge.org
One-to-one Tutors
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.
Beginner English Teaching Support
English At Large Beginner English classes are taught on Tufts University (Medford) and Brandeis University (Waltham) campuses by student volunteers. The 90-minute Beginner English classes meet two days a week during the fall and spring academic semesters. 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 supporting the student volunteers at either university with classroom observations and feedback, please contact our staff. This flexible volunteer role provides welcome support and development for the volunteer teachers, as well as an opportunity to see Beginner Classes in action.
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
Book Club Group Leader
The English At Large Book Group provides opportunities for intermediate to advanced English learners to practice reading, speaking, and writing skills. Groups of 10-12 learners meet with their discussion leader and group each week for 1½ hours, for a 6-week session. Learners do the assigned reading before the meeting, and might also be assigned a different discussion role to prepare for the next meeting. Learner preparation includes 1-2 hours of reading and approximately 30 minutes of discussion role preparation each week.
The Book Group Discussion Leader’s main role is to facilitate book or short story discussion for groups of 10-12 intermediate to advanced English learners. Group leaders plan activities that promote interactive speaking practice and engage learners. Learners will be encouraged to develop the discussion topics and to participate in small and large group speaking activities. This role requires a 3-hour weekly commitment for 6 weeks, including 1½ hours of weekly meeting time. Discussion leaders read the short story or book prior to the start of session, and plan group discussion activities in advance.
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.
Test Administrator
This important volunteer function helps English At Large track the language progress of our learners.
As a test administrator, you will complete formal state certification training and administer standardized speaking or writing tests to our learners. Test Administrators can administer as many or as few tests as they like per month, though much of the testing must be completed in May and June.
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 co-facilitate 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
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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English learners! Practice English listening with this beautiful short film A New View of the Moon from the Visual English School site.
English Movie Lesson with A New View of the Moon - Visual English School - Learn English with Short Films
English Movie Lesson with A New View of the Moon. Learn English with the poetic short film by Wylie Overstreet ...
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English learners! Are you feeling stressed? Burnt out? This video lesson from features useful idioms to describe how you feel.
http://ow.ly/tub650EL9mK
mmmEnglish | Cook. Eat. Learn English.
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English learners! Do you struggle when asking questions in English? This video lesson from MMMEnglish could help! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4yWEt0OSpg
English learners! What does it mean to throw cold water on something? Find out with this short video from VOA's English in a Minute!
English in a Minute: Throw cold water on something
VOA Learning English presents news, features, audio, video and multimedia about the U.S. and the world in American ...
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English Learners! Are you interested in learning some American slang? This video from FluentU will help you learn 23 American English slang words that we use all the time in the U.S.
23 American English Slang Words you didn't know (and how to use them)
FREE trial of FluentU â https://link.fluentu.com/b81 FREE PDF Guide â <a href="#" class="ctf_more">...</a><span class="ct...
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English learners! Listening to everyday English conversations is a useful way to learn speaking skills. This YouTube channel features everyday conversations with subtitles, in a variety of English accents.
English Conversation 38
Please watch more VIDEOS like this at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzVm1SmjPKc_OnC56MbILOmdXvGV_3kE9#englishconversation
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English learners! Check out this interactive website http://LanguageGuide.org, for learning and practicing vocabulary words. http://ow.ly/WScT50EEimK
English learners! What is the difference between Say, Tell, Speak and Talk? Find out in this short video:
Practise the difference between Say, Tell, Speak and Talk
Brief description: Fill in the gap in the following sentences with talk, speak, say or tell in its correct form....
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English learners! Tomorrow is May 1st, which is a celebration of the spring season, but is also International Worker's Day. Watch this short video to learn the history May Day in the U.S.
Workers Of The World Unite And Fight â May Day Explained
What is May Day? Workers around the world have, for over a century, fought to ensure the bare minimum of labor...
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English learners! Voice of America offers a large catalog of English lessons for learners at all levels. Beginner learners, start here with this video lesson asking What is This?
Lesson 4: What Is It?
This is the fourth lesson of "Let's Learn English" - a 52-week course for English learners. This week Anna meets...
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English learners! April showers bring May flowers, and into each life a little rain must fall... but once you master this week's idioms, you will be as right as rain!
English learners! This conversation lesson from mmmenglish will help you make requests, offer suggestions, and say “no” politely in English.
Conversation Lesson | How To Be Polite & Show Respect in English | mmmEnglish
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English learners! If you see something you really want to buy, what do you need to do? You can learn an English expression that describes what to do. But be quick before it goes!
BBC Learning English - The English We Speak / Snap up
A quick expression!
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English Learners! What does it mean for something to be an “emotional roller coaster?” See how the idiom is used in the new musical film The Heights.
English @ the Movies: Emotional roller coaster
VOA Learning English presents news, features, audio, video and multimedia about the U.S. and the world in American ...
learningenglish.voanews.com
English Learners! Do you like to cook? Learn the English words for things in your kitchen with this short quiz from http://ow.ly/ofsj50EtCxs
http://ow.ly/E1hF50EtCxr
English learners! This week's idioms are all about dogs! If you have been barking up the wrong tree, this list will have you feeling like a top dog!
English learners: today’s crossword puzzle topic is recreation. the answers include some things you may do for fun! http://ow.ly/8ccE50EqwdP
Did you know that English At Large volunteers donate more than 5,000 hours each year as tutors, teachers and small group facilitators. Thank you for making a difference for more than 400 local English language learners in our communities! #nationalvolunteerweek #NVW
English At Large learners! In honor of Volunteer Appreciation Week, we found this podcast in slow, spoken English from Culips on the history of volunteering in the United States, and the different ways that volunteers make a difference!
Simplified Speech #082 – Volunteering
Some people like to donate their free time to help clean the streets. Some people want to go to other countrie...
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Conversation Starters - News You Need to Hear from English At Large https://conta.cc/3gaRixI
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Please read this important announcement from an EAL Partner and join us in saying Congratulations and thank you to Eva A. Millona for your tireless efforts and leadership on behalf of local immigrants! Our communities are stronger and safer because of what MIRA: Massachusetts Immigrant & Refugee Advocacy Coalition has accomplished and inspired during your tenure. We wish you great success in her new role!MIRA is announcing today that our President and Chief Executive Officer Eva A.Millona will be stepping down to assume a senior leadership position with the Biden/Harris Administration. Millona has led MIRA, the largest organization representing the foreign-born community in New England, for more than 12 years. Effective May 25, she will assume the position of Assistant Secretary for Partnership and Engagement at the Department of Homeland Security.
“It has been the greatest honor and privilege of my life to serve MIRA, and I am looking forward to working with the Biden/Harris administration to advance shared values and strengthen the fabric of our nation,” said Millona. “I am proud of the incredible accomplishments MIRA has achieved during my time here – growing the power of the coalition, securing major policy wins at the local, state, and national levels, and advancing an inclusion agenda that was then adopted as a national model. With MIRA’s remarkable record of success and an amazing board, staff, members, and programs, I know they are well-positioned for this transition.”
“While the MIRA community will miss Eva’s talented, charismatic leadership, we are deeply proud of what she has accomplished for the organization over the years. Eva catapulted MIRA into one of the most high-profile players on the local, state and national levels, while also growing and diversifying the organization’s membership and staff,” said John Willshire-Carrera, Chair of the MIRA Coalition’s Board of Directors. “Of course, Eva’s work on behalf of immigrant and refugee communities is not complete and we look forward to all that she will accomplish alongside President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. We are deeply grateful for Eva’s years of service and her invaluable contributions to the MIRA Coalition and to immigrant and refugee communities across Massachusetts. Thanks to her leadership, MIRA’s future is very bright.”
English learners! Practice English listening with this beautiful short film A New View of the Moon from the Visual English School site. ow.ly/uVES50EL9rm
ow.ly
English Movie Lesson with A New View of the Moon. Learn English with the poetic short film by Wylie Overstreet and Alex Gorosh. It will change your perspective on many things here on Earth.
English learners! Are you feeling stressed? Burnt out? This video lesson from ow.ly/iAkE50EL9mH features useful idioms to describe how you feel.
ow.ly/7iJs50EL9mJ
I'm at BREAKING POINT! 😫 English Idioms & Phrases about STRESS | mmmEnglish
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I’m at BREAKING POINT! 😫 English Idioms & Phrases about STRESS by Emma | Jul 30, 2020 | English Idioms, Vocabulary Builder | 20 comments Lesson Summary When you are stressed out and feeling under pressure, the best thing to do is TALK about it! So, let me share some common English Idioms & Phra...English learners! Do you struggle when asking questions in English? This video lesson from MMMEnglish could help! www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4yWEt0OSpg
Applications are now being accepted for the 2021-2022 NAIP AmeriCorps program! This is an opportunity to serve at a local nonprofit and support local immigrants! The EAL AmeriCorps member is the Program Coordinator for CAL, the Career Access Lab.
Apply TODAY: AmeriCorps New American Integration Program
mailchi.mp
Do you want to gain experience in a nonprofit setting while also helping to promote the power and potential of immigrants and refugees? The AmeriCorps New American Integration Program is an opportunity to:English learners! What does it mean to throw cold water on something? Find out with this short video from VOA's English in a Minute! ow.ly/ACqJ50EITqY
English in a Minute: Throw cold water on something
ow.ly
VOA Learning English presents news, features, audio, video and multimedia about the U.S. and the world in American English. Stories are written at the intermediate and upper-beginner level. Words are spoken one-third slower for ESL learners.English Learners! Are you interested in learning some American slang? This video from FluentU will help you learn 23 American English slang words that we use all the time in the U.S. ow.ly/jhlN50EGkOu
English learners! Listening to everyday English conversations is a useful way to learn speaking skills. This YouTube channel features everyday conversations with subtitles, in a variety of English accents. ow.ly/Sfbc50EEiZ7
English learners! Check out this interactive website LanguageGuide.org, for learning and practicing vocabulary words. ow.ly/aPH650EEimI
English learners! What is the difference between Say, Tell, Speak and Talk? Find out in this short video: ow.ly/CElg50EEi5B
English learners! Tomorrow is May 1st, which is a celebration of the spring season, but is also International Worker's Day. Watch this short video to learn the history May Day in the U.S. ow.ly/yeCa50EzZm9
English learners! Voice of America offers a large catalog of English lessons for learners at all levels. Beginner learners, start here with this video lesson asking What is This? ow.ly/5igJ50ExRYJ
ow.ly
This is the fourth lesson of "Let's Learn English" - a 52-week course for English learners. This week Anna meets some friends to go out for coffee. Watch and see what Anna has in her bag.English learners! April showers bring May flowers, and into each life a little rain must fall... but once you master this week's idioms, you will be as right as rain!
English learners! This conversation lesson from mmmenglish will help you make requests, offer suggestions, and say “no” politely in English. ow.ly/E4nq50ExRgV
Conversation Lesson | How To Be Polite & Show Respect in English | mmmEnglish
ow.ly
Conversation Lesson | How To Be Polite & Show Respect in English by Emma | Apr 22, 2021 | Confidence, Conversation | 12 comments Lesson Summary In this English conversation lesson, you'll practice phrases to sound polite and show respect. I'll teach you to make requests, offer suggestions, and say ....English learners! If you see something you really want to buy, what do you need to do? You can learn an English expression that describes what to do. But be quick before it goes! ow.ly/8dZz50ExQT1
Volunteer Drive up Appreciation happening now! Stop by and see us behind the Woburn Public Library until 12 noon! #VolunteerAppreciationWeek #weloveourvolunteers
Our third and final round of winners in our Volunteer Appreciation Raffle each receive a $10 Panera Gift Certificate. Congratulations to Shannon Ahern, Paul Broder and Myrna Kesselman and thank you for your volunteer service! #volunteerappreciationweek2021 #nationalvolunteerweek #weloveourvolunteers
English Learners! What does it mean for something to be an “emotional roller coaster?” See how the idiom is used in the new musical film The Heights.
learningenglish.voanews.com/a/5312116.html
English @ the Movies: Emotional roller coaster
learningenglish.voanews.com
VOA Learning English presents news, features, audio, video and multimedia about the U.S. and the world in American English. Stories are written at the intermediate and upper-beginner level. Words are spoken one-third slower for ESL learners.
English Learners! Do you like to cook? Learn the English words for things in your kitchen with this short quiz from ow.ly/3Blu50EtCxt
ow.ly/K4vb50EtCxq
We are braving the wind and cold for a chance to see our volunteers at our Lexington Appreciation Drive up, happening now! #nationalvolunteerweek #weloveourvolunteers
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