As I began my TESOL course in Phuket, I met all types of people wanting to be teachers. Some students needed to work immediately after graduation and others were going on to a college or university to further their academic careers. I was in the position of having to return home and finish other work commitments before I could embark on a teaching career. I soon realized that if I was going to be confident in my new found teaching skills and to have the opportunity to build on what I had learned, I was going to have to do something proactive in the area of teaching English as a second language even though I was not in the position to take a full time teaching position. In pondering my predicament, I realized that I did have an option that would serve me and people seeking help in their English speaking skills.

Volunteer work! I soon discovered two ways to volunteer my teaching services. First, I discovered that most American cities have literacy centers to help their cities immigrants learn how to speak English at little or no cost to them. I was happy to see my city had just a center for our large Spanish community as well as for immigrants from other countries . Since I do have other commitments and I am unable to give my full attention or time to the literacy center, I contacted them and asked if they take volunteer teachers. They were thrilled to have a TESOL course graduate willing to teach at the literacy center at no expense to them. This gives me the opportunity to teach on weekends or evenings while I fulfill my other work commitments during the day. Another option in volunteer work is that I also travel extensively and realized that I could volunteer my teaching skills at schools, restaurants, hotels and resorts of the places I am traveling to. Teaching in these settings does a couple of things. It gives me the opportunity to extend my network connections of possible future employment when I am ready to pursue a full time teaching position and these settings are also a possible way to discount my travel expenses. You can ask if a hotel has a need for a basic class in hotel vocabulary or simple hotel phrases for employees to use. If they do, I just may get a discounted or free room while I am there on my stay. Restaurants may need a class or two in basic menu vocabulary or replies to patron’s food requests. These restaurants may be more than willing to treat me to a meal for my services. These are just two ways a TESOL graduate could keep their teaching skills fresh and gain experience.

Volunteer work is a great way to continue to teach and get the class room experience needed to be a better teacher while helping the community. Now, thanks to local literacy centers, the TESOL graduate will have the opportunity to have a consistent experience teaching in a classroom setting if they are not in the position to teach full time. Volunteer work will also give the TESOL graduate additional work experience to put on their teaching resume when the time comes to venture out into the teaching world. I know I will feel more confident in my abilities when my opportunity comes to become a full time TESOL teacher.

Lori Reeves