Refugee English Language Training Program Intern

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HeartlandAlliancefor Human Needs & Human Rights is a service-based, human rights organization that provides housing, health care, human services, and human rights protections to the most poor and vulnerable people in our society, and uses its 125 years of experience to advocate for social justice.

Heartland’s Refugee & Immigrant Community Services provides on-site English language training and vocational classes for immigrants, refugees and asylees through two program sites. At the refugee center in the Ravenswood neighborhood RICS annually resettles more than 200 individuals in Chicago from places like Burma, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo-Brazzaville, Cuba, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, & Uzbekistan. Wrap around services include cultural orientation, adjustment counseling, employment, job-readiness and placement services, medical case management, family literacy, prevention education services, and after-school tutoring for children. At our Belmont Cragin location we operate a community based adult education program focusing on serving the foreign born population of the area. This program serves 800 community members on an average per year and provides a large array of English language courses at multiple levels throughout the morning, daytime and evening.

Responsibilities of these positions include:

• Assisting teachers in English Language Training (ELT) and Vocational English classes, including tutoring and/or teaching students.
• Creating and implementing programs and activities for ELT and Vocational English students.
• Mentoring ELT and/or Vocational English students.
• Assisting with job-readiness training and employer outreach for ELT and Vocational English students.
• Working with individuals and groups on job-readiness skills including interviewing techniques, filling out job applications, and workplace culture orientations.
• Database entry.
• Assessment and reporting of program participant needs.
• Creation and maintenance of job upgrade and career plan forms.
• Assisting with the delivery of supplemental instruction courses to program participants.
• Helping with other projects, reports, and administrative tasks as necessary.
• 15-40 hours per week availability

Qualifications:

• Excellent communication and organizational skills.
• Interest in working with refugees in a multi-cultural, multi-lingual, and multi-ethnic environment.
• Patience and flexibility.
• Computer proficiency.
• Some knowledge of ESL and teaching or tutoring experience is helpful.
• Language proficiency in Amharic, Arabic, Burmese etc, French, Kirundi, Kinyarwanda, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Swahili, Turkish, and Uzbek is preferred, but not required.

Please submit resume and cover letter to: Cherrell Jackson, cjackson@heartlandalliance.org