What does Intercambio provide?
What are the different teaching opportunities?
What experience do I need to begin volunteering?
Do I need to know Spanish to teach?
What is the commitment volunteers are asked to make?
What teaching resources will Intercambio provide?
Do I have to go to a student’s home to teach?
Where do the students come from?
Do students pay to take class?
We are an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2001 that works to build respectful communities and broaden opportunities for immigrants through language education, cultural exchange and friendship.
The mission of Intercambio de Comunidades is to build respectful communities and increase opportunities for immigrants through language education, cultural exchange and friendship.
What does Intercambio provide?
- Affordable and flexible English classes for over 1000 adult immigrants each year, taught by over 400 trained volunteers at students' homes, other nonprofit agencies, and at public buildings.
- Community resource information and workshops on issues such as affordable health care, housing, laws and finances.
- Intercultural exchange through community social events such as potlucks, fiestas, camping trips and park clean-ups.
- Help immigrants achieve greater self-sufficiency and confidence.
- Foster cross-cultural relationships through volunteerism (400 volunteers a year) and grassroots outreach.
- Create a more accepting and integrated community in which all members can feel comfortable and effectively contribute.
- Build social capital by bringing people together to learn from each other and advance together.
Individual donors, City and County of Boulder, corporations, foundations and La Fiesta!What do volunteers do?
- Teach: Our volunteers teach English to adult immigrants in one–on–one and group settings.
- Work in the office: We also look for individuals who are proficient in Spanish to work with our Program Coordinator on office tasks, such as calling students and updating our database.
- Work “in the field”: We need individuals who are proficient in Spanish and have their own transportation to go to the homes of potential students to do an initial language assessment that is required to enroll in classes with us.
- One-on-one: These teachers are typically sent into the students’ home. We match volunteers and students based on their gender. The schedule is flexible. We ask you to commit to teaching 1 full level, minimum. If you are meeting twice a week for 90 minutes, the average time this takes is anywhere from 3-5 months.
- Group: Groups meet at public locations, or in our office. The schedule is fairly flexible, but we only like to match people who can be stable with the schedule as we don’t find substitutes for missed classes. Groups range from approximately 3-12 people. We ask you to commit to teaching 1 full level, minimum. If you are meeting twice a week for 90 minutes, the average time this takes is anywhere from 3-5 months.
- School: Our school classes are offered in Boulder and Lafayette on a fixed 9-week term. All 7 levels are taught at the same time. Classes meet in the evening twice a week and volunteers must be able to commit to the entire term. There is an additional training for this type of teaching. Class size ranges from approximately 3-12 people.
What experience do I need to begin volunteering?
Materials and ongoing support are provided by the program.
We need people who are patient, enthusiastic, and able to commit to teaching an entire level to their student or students.
No prior teaching experience or 2nd language skills are required.
Do I need to know Spanish to teach?
No! We try to avoid matching level 0 English students with teachers who do not speak Spanish, but only to avoid issues with changing schedules. We encourage teachers to avoid using the student’s native language in class. Keep in mind, not all of our students are native Spanish speakers.
What is the commitment volunteers are asked to make?
The time commitment ranges from 3 to 4 months, depending on how quickly you move through the material with your student and whether you are teaching a home, group or school class. You will be expected to be available twice a week for 90 minute class sessions with your student. The teaching schedule is flexible.
Home class minimum commitment: average 4-6 months
Group class minimum commitment: average 4-6 months
School class minimum commitment: 9 week term (offered 4 times a year)
What teaching resources will Intercambio provide?
Intercambio has a 6 level curriculum comprised of 12 books. We developed our materials to attend to the general needs of the specific demographic of typical Intercambio students. The books come with a listening CD.
We give our teachers step-by-step lesson plans to go with each day’s lesson. The students are required to purchase the student portion of the book.
We encourage all teachers to use our materials, but many teachers who have had adult ELL teaching experience do develop their own lesson plans.
Rachel, the Academic Coordinator, is also available to help volunteers develop lessons outside of the book.
We also have a resource library in the office. Volunteers can check out books and use them for their classes.
We also sponsor bi-monthly in-service workshops on different topics useful for teaching. These workshops are always optional.
Do I have to go to a student’s home to teach?
Almost all of our one-on-one teaching opportunities are in student homes. A trained Intercambio staff member or intern always visits the home before we send a volunteer into it. We have never had an incident that compromised the safety or comfort of a volunteer while in a student’s home, still we encourage volunteers to contact us immediately if there are any issues.
Some of our students may be available to meet at a location other than their home. If you do not want to meet in a student’s home, you can let us know. Please be prepared to wait longer than you would otherwise.
Another option would be to teach a group or school class, though our need for those teachers isn’t as great as it is for home teachers.
Where do the students come from?
Intercambio students have come from over 40 different countries! The majority of our students are Spanish-speakers from Mexico.
Do students pay to take class?
Yes. Students are charged a low fee to register and purchase the course book. We believe that students who have a financial stake in their classes, take them more seriously.
Students who cannot pay are required to volunteer 2 hours per class anywhere in the community.
I want to volunteer, what do I do?
First, sign up as a volunteer on our website.
Then you must attend a 6-hour training session. The sessions are offered in two-parts, monthly. We alternate between two morning weekend sessions in Longmont and two evening sessions in Boulder.
We hold monthly training sessions, alternating each month between Boulder and Longmont.
Fill out the volunteer application online and we will contact you with information on the date, time and location of the next training session.
Who do I contact for more information?
Rachel Fuchs, Academic Coordinator
(303) 996-0275
rachel@intercambioweb.org
