Volunteer Opportunity: Cafe English Partner

Position Summary:

Café English volunteers aid in developing World Relief Memphis' Connect Language Center (CLC) students’ conversational English skills on Tuesday evenings from 5:30-6:30pm. Each week, Café English volunteers will build meaningful relationships and language skills with students who are eager to practice and learn. Volunteers have the option to purchase specialty coffee from the Café English barista. Cafe English volunteers can partner with a student to have a conversation or be the barista. Generally one barista is chosen per cycle.

 

Key Responsibilities:

1. Arrive to the CLC 5 minutes before the start time.
2. Engage in friendly conversation with ESL students.
3. Communicate with CLC staff if you will be absent.
4. Log volunteer hours in the WR Portal.

Qualifications:

1. 18+ years old
2. Complete the World Relief volunteer onboarding (application, online workshop, live orientation, background check, motor vehicle check, reference check)
3. Fluent in English conversation
4. Reliable, flexible, respectful towards other cultures

Time Commitment:

1. Volunteers should commit to Tuesday evenings for the class cycle. That is typically 8 weeks.
2. Cafe English is one hour per week, 5:30-6:30 pm.

Benefits to Volunteer:

Gain cross-cultural skills and experience

Begin mutually transformative friendships with refugees and other immigrants

Gain comfortability navigating a language barrier

Onboarding and Training:

1. General short-term/long-term volunteer onboarding process, including an application, online workshop, live orientation, background check, reference check.
2. On the first night of the cycle, the CLC staff will lead a short training on best practices for conversing with English language learners. They will also give additional tips and coaching as needed.
3. (Recommended) Complete the Navigating Friendships course bundle on The World Relief Workshop (coupon code wrmemphis).
4. (Recommended) Complete the English Conversation Partner course on The World Relief Workshop (coupon code wrmemphis).

Management and Communication:

Café English volunteers will be collaboratively managed. Church and Community Engagement (CCE) will recruit and onboard Café English volunteers. CLC will facilitate the Café English training at the beginning of the class cycle and coach as needed. At the end of each class cycle, CCE and CLC will do check-ins to communicate the status and need for onboarding new volunteers and communicate feedback from current Café English volunteers.

 

Feedback Loop:

At the end of the CLC class cycle, CLC/CCE will ask for feedback from the Café English volunteer. The CLC will recommend to CCE whether the volunteer should be recommended for another opportunity, or if the placement was not a good fit.