Spring 2025 English as a Second Language (ESL) Adult Education Intern – Atlanta

BACKGROUND: The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. At work in over 40 countries and 28 U.S. cities to restore safety, dignity and hope, the IRC leads the way from harm to home. The IRC in Atlanta office was established in 1979 and has resettled over 30,000 refugees from 67 countries into the Greater Atlanta area. As the largest refugee resettlement agency in Georgia, the IRC in Atlanta resettles an average of 1,000 refugees into Georgia annually and provides additional services and assistance to another 2,500 refugees and asylees. 

SCOPE OF ADULT EDUCATION INTERN WORK: The IRC’s Adult Education Intern assists refugee and immigrant adults in ESL classes to develop the language skills critical for success. The classes aim to build vocabulary and communication skills, convey skills necessary for the American workforce, and impart information about integral life skills and systems so that clients can be successful and productive members of their communities, that they can be civically engaged, and so that they can pursue career pathways of their choice. Please note that all internship positions are unpaid.  

These classes meet regularly three days per week, Tuesday through Thursday, for 2-3-hour class sessions, with both in-person and online class options, and offer instruction to adult students at varying levels of English proficiencies, from Basic to Advanced. Year-round classes operate with rolling enrollment and new students are oriented and placed into classes and levels weekly. Classes are multi-level meaning multiple levels will be represented within a single class and interns and other class assistants allow for multiple breakout groups to separate students by their proficiency level. Instruction is focused on developing literacy, comprehension, and confidence to apply towards real world situations including dealing with housing issues, shopping, the K-12 public school system, public transportation, employment, healthcare, and other daily life skills. 

Adult Education interns work under class lead instructors and other IRC Adult Education staff to effectively engage with prospective and current immigrant and refugee clients. This can include a variety of ongoing activities such as: 

• Recruitment and Outreach: providing information about programming, schedule, and expectations around education services.
• Intake and Orientation: working with clients individually to complete enrollment documents, to discuss goals, and schedule a formal proficiency level assessment
• Classroom Support: assisting lead instructors with classroom management activities, following developed curriculum and leading instruction with groups of English language learners. Classroom Support is expected to be a primary activity for nearly all Adult Education interns.
• Retention and Follow-up: conferencing with, surveying, and connecting with current and former participants, assessing goals and identifying appropriate referrals

Adult Education interns will work with both virtual classes and with in-person classes, working with students joining classes through online platforms and with students attending at the IRC in Atlanta’s main office. 

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Teaching groups of students in multi-level classes following curriculum developed by lead instructor.
• Assist instructor in developing and implementing multi-level comprehension and literacy activities.
• Supporting outside-of-class functions of the Adult Education program in recruitment and outreach, intake and orientation, classroom support, and retention and follow-up activities.
• Support program activities by researching new curriculum content and preparing educational materials as requested by instructor.
• Submit intern hours on volunteer dashboard.
• Other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications:

QUALIFICATIONS: Interns must have 

• Strong communication skills: communication between instructors and fellow class assistants before, during, and after classes, and communication with adult Education language learners during classes.
• Availability for at least 6 hours of class time per week.
• An interest in or experience with teaching in generally and teaching ESL specifically.
• An interest in working closely with a diverse population of adults.
• Comfortability in working in a cross-cultural environment, in-person, online, and over the phone, with adult learners, sometimes with little or no English proficiency.
• Comfortability in working with a variable number of students (individually and in groups).
• Ability to work in a collaborative environment and in co-teaching.
• Comfortability in adapting learning activities with limited notice.
• Fluent in spoken and written English. Bi-lingual abilities are not necessary but can be a plus.

REQUIREMENTS:

• Must submit intern hours on volunteer portal.
• Must pass a background check.
• Commitment of 8 hours per week for a minimum of 3 consecutive months.
• Must be at least 18 years old.
• Must be authorized to work in the United States. Please note that we are unable to provide sponsorship for a US work authorization.

This is a hybrid role. This role reports to the Adult Education Instructional Supervisor. 

The internship will be filled on a rolling basis. We will continue to accept applications until December 2, 2024, or until the position is filled, whichever occurs first. Internship will begin the week of January 20th, 2025.