Interview with Jessie Ebersole: How ELT Organizations are Adapting Online and Virtual Volunteer Teaching
Show Notes
I’m happy to welcome back a returning guest this week on Expand Your Horizons: Jessie Ebersole. Jessie joined me on the podcast in the fall of 2019, but in case you missed our previous conversation, let me briefly introduce her before we dive into our conversation. Jessie is the Director of Academic Programs at Washington English Center, which is a non-profit English language school for adult immigrants in Washington, D.C. WEC offers 14 levels of ESL classes, and they rely on volunteer teachers for all of those. Jessie started out in the TESOL field as a volunteer herself, and she later went on to complete a master’s degree in TESOL at American University. She has a lot of experience in this field, including teaching at American University’s English Language Training Academy, and working as a draft writer for parts of Intercambio’s textbook series Confidence and Connections.
I’m thrilled to have Jessie join me here again, because I have a lot of respect for the work she does and for Washington English Center as an organization. In our conversation, Jessie and I catch up on how WEC is adapting to online teaching, discuss her take on the current state of the ELT industry and share opportunities for volunteer teaching online.
In this Episode
How Washington English Center serves the community and what Jessie does there
How WEC quickly adapted and moved their programs online when the Covid-19 pandemic began
What a typical WEC class looks like now that everything is fully online
The benefits of online learning and what students and teachers have gained from the change
How online learning is making local organizations global
The challenges of moving classes online, for staff/ teachers and for WEC as an organization
If you’re interested in doing volunteer teaching online: what you should know
The process of becoming a paid staff member at an organization like WEC
The benefits of volunteer teaching and working with an organization like WEC
What Jessie loves about the ELT industry, and how that’s changed since we’ve all gone virtual
Jessie’s predictions for the future of online teaching: where she thinks we’ll go from here, even post-pandemic
Her thoughts about whether WEC will continue to offer online classes, even after it’s safe to resume teaching in person
How to get in touch with Washington English Center or learn more: check out their website, find them on Facebook, or reach out to Jessie directly at jebersole@washingtonenglish.org