Adult Education Intern

BACKGROUND:The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. At work in over 40 countries and 28 U.S. cities to restore safety, dignity and hope, the IRC leads the way from harm to home. The IRC in Atlanta office wasestablishedin 1979 and has resettled over 30,000 refugees from 67 countries into the Greater Atlanta area. As the largest refugee resettlement agency in Georgia, the IRC in Atlanta resettles an average of 1,000 refugees into Georgia annually and providesadditionalservices andassistanceto another 2,500 refugees and asylees.

SCOPE OF ADULT EDUCATION INTERN WORK:The IRC’s Adult Education Internassistsrefugee and immigrant adults in ESL classes to develop the language skills critical for success. The classes aim to build vocabulary and communication skills, convey skills necessary for the American workforce, and impart information about integral life skills and systems so that clients can be successful and productive members of their communities, that they can be civically engaged, and so that they can pursue career pathways of their choice.Please note that all internship positions are unpaid. 

These classesmeet regularlythree days per week, Tuesday through Thursday, for 3-hour class sessions, with bothin-personandonlineclass options, and offer instruction to adult students at varying levels of Englishproficiencies, from Basic to Advanced. Year-round classesoperatewith rollingenrollmentand new students are oriented and placed into classes and levels weekly. Classes are multi-level meaning multiple levels will be represented within a single class and interns and other class assistants allow for multiple breakout groups to separate students by theirproficiencylevel. Instruction is focused on developing literacy, comprehension, and confidence to apply towards real world situations including dealing with housing issues, shopping, the K-12 public school system, public transportation, employment, healthcare, and other daily life skills.

Adult Education interns work under class lead instructors and other IRC Adult Education staffto effectively engage with prospective and current immigrant and refugee clients. This can include a variety of ongoing activities such as:

Recruitmentand Outreach:providinginformation about programming, schedule, and expectations around education services.

Intake and Orientation: working with clients individually to complete enrollment documents, to discuss goals, and schedule a formalproficiencylevel assessment

Classroom Support:assistinglead instructors withclassroom management activities, following developed curriculumand leading instructionwith groups of English language learners.

Classroom Support is expected to be a primary activity fornearly allAdult Education interns.

Retention and Follow-up: conferencing with, surveying, andconnectingwithcurrent and formerparticipants, assessinggoalsand identifyingappropriate referrals

Adult Education interns inSummer2026 will work with both virtual classes and with in-person classes, working with students joining classes through online platforms and with students attending at the IRC in Atlanta’smain office.

RESPONSIBILITIES: 

• Teaching groups of students in multi-level classes following curriculum developed by lead instructor.

• Assistinstructor in developing and implementing multi-level comprehension and literacy activities.

• Supportingoutside-of-class functions ofthe Adult Education program in recruitment and outreach, intake and orientation, classroom support, and retention and follow-up activities.

• Support program activities by researching new curriculum content and preparing educational materials as requested by instructor.

• Submit intern hours on volunteer dashboard.

• Other duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS: 

Interns must have

• Strong communicationskills: communication between instructors and fellow class assistants before, during, and after classes, and communication with adult Education language learners during classes.

• Availability forat least 9 hours of class time per week. 

• An interest in or experience with teaching in generally and teachingESL specifically.

• Aninterest inworkingclosely with a diverse population of adults.

• Comfortability in working in a cross-cultural environment, in-person, online, and over the phone, with adult learners, sometimes with little or no Englishproficiency.

• Comfortability in working with a variable number of students (individually and in groups).

• Ability to work in a collaborative environment and in co-teaching.

• Comfortability in adapting learning activities with limited notice.

• Fluent in spoken and written English. Bi-lingual abilities are not necessary but can be a plus.

REQUIREMENTS:

• Mustsubmitintern hours on volunteer portal. 

• Must pass a background check. 

• Commitment of 9 hours per week for a minimum of 3 consecutive months. 

• Must be at least 18 years old.

• Mustbe authorized towork in the United States. Please note that we are unable to provide sponsorship for a US work authorization.

This is ahybridrole. This role reports to the Adult Education Instructional Supervisor.

The internship will be filled on a rolling basis. We will continue to accept applications until August 14th, 2026, or until the position is filled, whichever occurs first. Internship will begin the week of September 8th, 2026.