English Conversation Facilitator Needed! (Valley Hi-North Laguna Training provided

Do you love interacting with people from different cultures and languages? Are you great at making others feel welcome and connecting with people from diverse backgrounds?

English Conversation Group Facilitator (for adults) at Sacramento Public Library may be the volunteer position for you!

Not a teaching position, no teaching experience required, and bilingual not required but helpful. No specific education requirement--see skills desired below. Training and ongoing support provided. Participants are often native speakers of a variety of languages (not one dominant language), and may be at significantly different levels.

This is intended to be an informal, friendly, relaxed conversation group that is based on a particular theme/topic for each session and has some structure but only minimal direct instruction, if any, such as for limited, topic-relevant vocabulary. It is not meant to be a class. No teacher lecturing, please! Facilitator talk should be minimized in order to maximize participants' fluent speaking opportunities. Think of it as creating a social space for participants to speak and connect with each other, and even have fun.

If you are more interested in teaching/tutoring, we do also need volunteer tutors for ESL and general Basic Literacy adult learners in the Valley-Hi/North Laguna area and throughout Sacramento County.

Top personal qualities and skills desired:

• Humble, curious, patient, creative, flexible, culturally competent, self-aware
• Comfortable with beginner level English speakers
• Fluent in English and easily understood by others; able to self-monitor and simplify own speech as needed
• Values participants' interests and needs over own
• Excellent facilitation skills or willingness to learn, encourages peer interaction
• Willingness to incorporate interactive activities
• Models activities and instructions (vs. explains only), even if outside of own comfort zone (e.g. role play)

Location & Schedule: This posting is specifically for the Valley Hi-North Laguna library and is currently scheduled for Fridays 4:00-5:00. There may be a little flexibility with the time if needed. The hope is to start the group in September, but the exact start date is flexible.

Some preparation time should also be factored in, although the length of time may depend on the library branch staff capacity, the individual facilitator, and the participants' needs/interests. A minimum of 30 min should be expected, up to 1 hour.

Please contact us if you are interested or have questions. If you are being referred by a specific person or organization, please let us know!

If you are more interested in tutoring, see our "Help an Adult English Learner..." posting or use this posting to contact us and make a note in the comments.

We look forward to hearing from you!