Appeal for volunteer teachers to teach English online to Ukrainians

An appeal has been made for volunteer teachers to teach English online to Ukrainian adults in Ireland.

The call has been made by teachers Global, an international online English teaching business for adult students based in County Roscommon. Usually, the company stipulates that all teachers on the platform are qualified primary/secondary teachers, are registered with the Teaching Council and hold English Language Education qualifications. Teachers are individually verified and vetted by the eTeachers global recruitment team.

Volunteer Teachers To Help Ukrainians

Horrified by the unfolding events in Ukraine, Company CEO, Joan Gilligan, discussed with her team what eTeachers Global could do to help Ukrainian refugees in Ireland. Stuart McNamara (our Chief Technology Officer and a military veteran) has spent many years of service on humanitarian and peacekeeping duties in areas of conflict all around the world. This wealth of experience led eTeachers Global to recognise that their platform technology could effectively be used to support teachers and students from Ukraine.

“Working with our developers, we have made our platform freely available to teachers who wish to help, and freely available to Ukrainian adults to use.

The aim is to help Ukrainians adapt to life in Ireland and support them as they learn English for work and day-to-day living here,” explained Joan.

Joan has worked in the education sector for many years and has confidence many teachers will offer their skills and time free of charge. Teachers must hold registration with the Teaching Council and preferably qualify for teaching English as an additional language. This additional ELE qualification is not essential for volunteer teachers.

Teachers can teach on a one-to-one or small group basis. They can cater for individual needs which may not always be possible in a large group setting e.g., someone may need help with the English needed for taking up a catering or healthcare job.

During the lockdown, many teachers quickly adapted to teaching online and now have the skills to do so effectively. For any teachers who may need help setting up, the eTeachers Global IT team are on hand to help.

Covid has negatively impacted schools with both pupil and staff absences so understandably not everyone is in a position to help. It may suit teachers who are job-sharing, on a career break or retired and who can commit to as little as an hour a week. The booking calendar on the platform is easily adjusted by teachers themselves to reflect their availability,” said Joan.

As part of the initiative, eTeachers Global is wavering all fees for teachers who wish to voluntarily teach English online to adult refugees from Ukraine living in Ireland.

Joan outlined:

“Usually, a small commission fee and an annual token subscription fee is charged on each class taught but these fees are waivered as part of our efforts to support the Ukrainian community.”

Anyone willing to support or help with this project please contact Joan directly by email at joan@eteachersglobal.com