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Teaching is a rewarding venture whether doing it online or in person. One option that is available to newly certified teachers is to volunteer one’s services within the community. Volunteering serves several purposes and this paper will briefly explore volunteering as a means to get involved with the community, as a means of building up experience, and as a means of trying out various teaching methods. Volunteering as a means of getting involved in the community. Many communities have immigrants who are having difficulties with English. Whether they have been here a few weeks or for several years, these individuals struggle with day to day challenges. These challenges may include navigating the mass transit available within the city, trying to pay local water and trash bills, or understanding basic transaction language when paying for groceries at the supermarket. As a volunteer teacher, services can be offered to teach basic English skills to allow these people the ability to function as a member within the community. Lessons would be focused on real world situations to allow practice in a non-threatening environment. Volunteering as a means of building up experience. By offering free language lessons, one would be able to build up experience that is required for most paying opportunities. A recent search online for TEFL positions revealed a wide range of requirements. The one recurring requirement found was having at least one year’s worth of experience. If a candidate does not have a bachelor’s degree, it was typically found that several years’ experience was necessary. Even for job listings that did not have a minimum experience level, considering that there are many qualified candidates looking for work, it would be in one’s best interest to build up the resume by accumulating teaching hours. Volunteering allows the build up of contact hours. Volunteering as a means of trying out various teaching methods. As a new teacher, I have not yet utilized different teaching techniques in the classroom. If I were getting paid for my work, I would be expected to have the knowledge necessary to apply the appropriate teaching technique for the lesson. By volunteering in a non-paid environment, I can “try out” several techniques to see what best works for the lesson. This can be applied over several classes to gain the experience in knowing how to apply the various teaching methods. If a method does not work, then there is little consequence when compared to a paid or contract environment. Over time, the experience gained will allow the teacher to approach paid teaching opportunities with the confidence that he or she has tried out many teaching methods and can articulate to the employer what is best for a particular situation. Volunteering is an excellent way to get involved in the community, build up experience, and try out various teaching methods. Even for those who have paid or contract work, volunteering can provide a means by which one can get back to the basics and refine the teaching methods. By having this resource, not only is the teacher sharpening his or her skills, but he or she is also offering services to individuals who need it that otherwise could not get the training.
