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Conversation Over Borders
Conversation Over Borders builds communities of people welcoming refugees and asylum seekers to ensure everyone has the tools they need to thrive in their new lives in the UK. We work with refugees and asylum seekers across the UK, offering English & Befriending, Mental Wellbeing, Digital Inclusion support and championing refugee voices through storytelling and campaign work. 
Description

We are looking for volunteer tutors to work one-to-one with refugees and asylum seekers online delivering our English conversation classes. You will be working with the same person twice a week for a minimum commitment time of 16 weeks. Classes are held on Google Meet and are an hour long, they can run between 9am-6pm on Monday-Thursday. You do not need to be a trained teacher to apply and we provide teaching support and resources for our volunteers.

The project is all about human connection; the one-to-one nature of the support allows people to build long-lasting, sustainable friendships and creates an environment that supports mutual learning and cultural exchange which ties into the overarching aim across our projects of humanising the narrative around displacement. Our services are client-oriented and we therefore arrange to interview and induct volunteers once we have a suitable client in mind to pair them with. For this reason, please provide as much detail as possible in your application. As far as possible, we take everyone's preference into account when it comes to age, gender and the level of English that you feel comfortable tutoring.

We require our volunteers to DBS checked, we can apply for an Enhanced DBS check on your behalf.

Duties

Meeting with the same learner 1-1 online twice a week for 16 weeks to facilitate a conversation English class. It'll be your responsibility to discuss with your partner the topics that they would like to learn and plan lessons accordingly. We have a Google Drive full of resources and lesson plans and a team of teaching consultants who can help you throughout your time as a responsibility. If you have any wellbeing or safeguarding concerns it is your duty to report them to Matt Bunker, if a wellbeing concern, or Colette Battern-Turner, if a safeguarding concern.

Time commitment

2 hours a week for 16 weeks minimum, can continue for longer is the volunteer wishes.

UCL Departments

This organisation is one of our community partner organisations.

Like all volunteer recruiters we work with, they have signed up to our service standards, agreeing to abide by our policy on partnership working to keep you safe and supported whilst you volunteer.

You’ll never be out of pocket for volunteering through us – with in-London travel expenses to and from your volunteering guaranteed.

In addition, the team here at Students’ Union UCL Volunteering Service is here to support you throughout your volunteering journey – you can get in touch with us at any time.