Support and Strengthen Volunteers with Training

“Great class! I originally wondered what we could possibly do for 12 hours. It turns out I could have enjoyed 12 more! The content was great, and the trainer was outstanding. I learned so much, not only about what and how to teach, but also found the cultural conversations so helpful. I’m looking forward to beginning my volunteering after starting out with such a great foundation. Thank you!”

Volunteers who have received training report feeling more confident in their teaching and tutoring roles, whether they are at the beginning of their volunteering experience, or have been in a role for years. The 12-hour ESL Pre-Service training prepares new volunteers for a variety of roles, including classroom assistant, one-on-one and small group tutor, and lead teacher. New volunteers develop their empathy, confidence, and classroom management skills as they explore a variety of topics including culture, giving effective corrective feedback, teaching new vocabulary, and supporting learners during reading and writing lessons. “I loved being taught how to think more like an ESL teacher!”

Experienced volunteers report positive gains as well. Language immersion and reading lesson roleplays help them to develop a better understanding of their learners’ challenges, and the concrete techniques modeled in the training strengthen lesson delivery and their ability to respond to learners. “The teacher modeling was very helpful. I have already copied things that the trainer has shown us in class and had much better results!” “As an experienced ESL and English teacher, I still found this training very enlightening and helpful. Well done!”

Volunteers can register for an upcoming pre-service training at http://mnliteracy.org/volunteers/training. The training will be held at the MN Literacy Council in St. Paul, MN.

Upcoming training dates include:

• September 23 & 25, 6:00pm-9:00pm, and September 28, 9:00am-3:30pm – MN Literacy Council, St. Paul, MN
• October 15, 17, 22, 24, 6:00pm-9:00pm – MN Literacy Council, St. Paul, MN
• October 21, 28, November 4, 11, 6:00pm-9:00pm – Eisenhower Community Center in Hopkins, MN
• November 11 & 13, 6:00pm-9:00pm, and November 16, 9:00am-3:30pm – MN Literacy Council, St. Paul, MN
• November 12, 14, 19, 21, 9:00am-12:00pm – MN Literacy Council, St. Paul, MN
• Reading, Writing, Math and GED Tutor Pre-Service Training is also available for new and experienced volunteers! The next one will be held on November 5, 7, 9, 6:00pm-9:00pm at MN Literacy Council, St. Paul, MN

Have 10 or more volunteers at your site who need the 12-hour pre-service training? You can contact Andrea Echelberger at [email protected] to arrange for an on-site training for your volunteer tutors.