Our volunteer tutors help young adults, mostly Ethiopian Israelis, who seek to improve their English to support their professional and economic advancement. English language proficiency is needed in many professional domains. Many of our students are not able to afford or access English tutors who live in Israel.

Building on our longstanding partnerships throughout Israeli nonprofit sector, we currently seek English tutors to work with young professionals entering high tech careers. We especially seek to meet demand for tutoring among staff, students, and alumni who are part of a technology training and professional placement program in Lod, Israel, that helps post-army Ethiopian Israelis from all over Israel pursue high-tech careers.

While prior tutoring or teaching experience is not required, you should be confident and comfortable taking the lead in discussions and be willing to prepare for each tutoring session. 

Students and tutors are interviewed to match individuals based on language abilities, student goals, tutoring experience, and professional background.

Although many of the students seeking English tutoring are preparing for or are already in the high tech field, tutors do not need to have a high tech background. The focus of the need is focused on conversational English and improving writing skills.

It’s helpful to know some Hebrew, but not necessary. Whenever possible, our program coordinator matches volunteer tutors with students whose careers are aligned and pairs students who have the weakest English with volunteers with strong Hebrew language skills.

We ask volunteers to commit to initially providing 10 tutoring sessions, each 60 minutes long. With preparation time and follow up emails, the per-student commitment is approximately two hours weekly. Sessions typically occur in the morning or early afternoon in North America because the time zone for students in Israel is 7 to 10 hours later.

Tutors should be comfortable working on Zoom, the recommended platform. Students and tutors set goals for sessions and schedule sessions directly with each other.

You’re welcome to continue tutoring beyond 10 sessions, though we ask you to please let our program coordinator know. Many of our pilot program participants continue to work with their tutors.

We currently offer this program free of charge, thanks to support from our board and supporters. However, we hope participating tutors will feel moved to contribute to support the expansion of this program.

Tutoring changes the lives of students and tutors alike. Students seek greater English proficiency to help them advance into higher-level careers and establish supportive relationships with mentors whom they might not otherwise be able to afford or access.

Volunteering with English B’Yachad gives you a way to help a new, emerging generation of professionals in Israeli society. Tutors experience the satisfaction of providing meaningful assistance and forming new personal connections with Israelis. This is your chance to connect with Israel, even when you can’t go there in person, and it's an opportunity to do something life-changing from the convenience of your home. Who knows? The relationships you form via virtual tutoring may someday lead to an in-person visit!

We offer Zoom Train-the-Trainer sessions, which are also recorded and posted online for tutors as resources. We let tutors know when the next training is scheduled, and we also provide you with a link to a recorded training.

We also share sample topics and structures to help tutors think about how to plan their sessions. This program is not built upon a set curriculum, as tutoring session content is customized to each student’s needs and goals.

If you’re interested and would like to explore whether your skills match this volunteer opportunity, complete this inquiry form or contact Marla Gamoran, Executive Director for Skilled Volunteers for Israel.

If you have other questions or would like to explore philanthropic opportunities to support this program, contact Marla Gamoran.

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