ESL Program Intern

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ABOUT THE IRC:

Founded in 1933, the International Rescue Committee is a leading non-sectarian non-profit organization providing emergency relief, protection, rehabilitation assistance, resettlement services, and advocacy for refugees and victims of oppression or violent conflict. The 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 26 U.S. cities to restore safety, dignity and hope, the IRC leads the way from harm to home. Domestically, our 26 offices across the U.S. work with refugees to help them gain self-sufficiency, and ensure new arrivals have food, shelter, and clothing

IRC SAN JOSE:

As one of the IRC’s 26 domestic offices, the San Jose office serves refugees, asylees, special immigrants from Iraq and Afghanistan, and victims of human trafficking in Santa Clara County. Since opening in 1975, the San Jose office has resettled over 20,000 refugees, who in turn have helped to build a stronger community. A committed staff of professionals and volunteers provide essential case management and immigration services to immigrant families, providing them with the resources and tools to rebuild their lives with safety and dignity.

SCOPE OF WORK:

Interns work closely with the employment team and VESL instructor to provide basic ESL classes to newly arrived refugees, asylees, and victims of trafficking. The English taught is primarily focused on creating a vocational vocabulary for IRC clients to secure their first job. Interns will help create, develop, and implement curriculum and teach classes to IRC clients.

COMMITMENT

10 - 20 hours per week for three months, with a courtesy notice of at least two weeks prior to leaving the organization. Hours can be completed during normal business hours of Monday through Friday, from 9 am to 12 pm.

This internship is unpaid

ESSENTIAL POSITION FUNCTIONS:

• Develop lesson plans for 1 ELT classes per week; Classes are expected to be 1 - 2 hours in length and students are at the beginner to intermediate level
• Practice English Language Skills with students (including grammar, conversation, reading and writing)
• Lead each ESL class and record attendance as required by the IRC
• Administrative tasks including file creation and maintenance
• Other duties as requested by the VESL Instructor or Employment Services staff

REQUIREMENTS:

We require that candidates have the following qualities:

• Solidly reliable with strong attention to timeliness
• Excellent communication skills (both interpersonal and with supervisors)
• Possess a great attention to detail and be truly organized
• Have a strong sense of personal initiative and be able to work independently in a fast-paced office.
• An interest in international and refugee issues; prior experience with a multicultural setting a plus

REWARDS:

• The intern will also gain familiarity in cross-cultural training techniques, skills development and many other useful resources for career development.
• The intern will learn about the challenges faced by new arrivals in the US.

Proficiency in one of the following languages is highly desirable but not required: Arabic, Farsi, Spanish or Tigrinya.

This position reports to the Employment Program Coordinator

APPLYING:

Apply by sending your resume and a cover letter as a single Word document, titled "ESL Program Internship" to the volunteer coordinator at volunteerSJ@rescue.org

* Cover letters should clearly state your time availability, which includes 1) specific projected start and end dates, 2) the number of hours you are available each week, and 3) the days and times in which you are available.

We regret that due to the high volume of applications, we cannot respond to each prospective intern individually.