Interview with Jessie Ebersole: The Benefits of Volunteer Teaching
Show Notes
In this week's episode of Expand Your Horizons, our guest is Jessie Ebersole. Jessie is the Director of Academic Programs at Washington English Center, a non-profit English language school for adult immigrants in Washington, D.C., which relies on all volunteer teachers to teach 14 levels of classes. Jessie started out in the TESOL field as a volunteer, and later went on to complete a master’s degree in TESOL at American University. She previously taught at American University’s English Language Training Academy, and was a draft writer for parts of Intercambio’s textbook series Confidence and Connections. Jessie is the WATESOL Adult ED Special Interest Group Chair, and she always enjoys opportunities to connect with the broader TESOL community. In our conversation, we discuss how starting as a volunteer teacher kicked off her career in the field of English language teaching, and we dive into the benefits of being a volunteer teacher in general.
“On a deeper level, you learn about different people’s cultures and perspectives and backgrounds and experiences. In general, I think most teachers, and I also, am just amazed at how often these classroom communities form where everyone is very supportive of each other and you see people bonding across cultures and across language barriers. Even at the beginning level, you see students forming connections with people who they don’t have a lot of ways to communicate with based on their language level… but they still manage to connect. And I think that’s something that’s very rewarding to see. ”
In this Episode
How Jessie got started in the ELT industry
What inspired her to start teaching
Why she moved to Washington, DC
How she got started at Washington English Center
How volunteering launched her career
Her experience as a TESOL grad student
How she got experience in materials development
How volunteering let her “test the waters” to determine that she wanted to continue on in her training and development as a teacher
Why it can be helpful to have a little bit of teaching experience before starting a teaching degree or certification
What her job is like at Washington English Center
How she supports the teachers at WEC
How Washington English Center works
What it’s like to volunteer at WEC
The flexibility for students and teachers in WEC’s program
Why WEC uses a co-teaching model
The challenges that some volunteers face
Why it’s important to move away from the classroom model of “teacher as lecturer” and instead make lessons more like workshops
Where the students at WEC come from and what their expectations are
Why plenty of speaking practice is important in the classroom
Why someone might want to volunteer as a teacher at WEC
What volunteer teachers can expect
The benefits of volunteer teaching
Why the students at WEC are so motivated
How classroom communities form
The reward of seeing students’ abilities with language progress
Differences in teaching beginning students and more advanced students
Professional development opportunities offered to volunteers at WEC
Why it’s important to refresh your teaching skills regularly, no matter how much experience you have
Advice for teachers who are thinking about volunteer teaching, whether at WEC or elsewhere
Why volunteering can work as pre- or post-certification experience
Why volunteering is a great way to figure out if teaching is really for you
Why volunteering counts as “real teaching” when it comes to experience on resumes or in job interviews
What Jessie wishes she had known before she first started teaching
Her favorite thing about her work
Why there are so many different paths to take in the English language teaching industry- how to build it into a career
How to get in touch with Washington English Center: by emailing Jessie at jebersole@washingtonenglish.org or by calling 240-289-2101
Washington English Center’s website: https://www.washingtonenglish.org/