Ukrainians’ demand for English tutors has soared
TUTORS with TEFL qualifications (teaching English as a foreign language) are playing a vital role in providing Ukrainian refugees with practical language skills as they settle in the UK.
The world’s largest provider of TEFL courses has reported many of its UK-based alumni have offered up their time and skills to provide free or heavily discounted sessions to many of the 100,000 Ukrainians who have arrived in the UK since the start of the war.
Andy Healy, Managing Director of The TEFL Org, has noted an increase in the number of enquiries and discussions with current and prospective student tutors over the last six months in relation to Ukrainian tuition.
Klaudia Lacka and Lucy Hill are two tutors who have offered their time to help teach, both equipped with qualifications from The TEFL Org that they gained a number of years ago.
When news of the conflict first broke, the increase in demand for teaching services from refugees was immediate.
Klaudia, 32, from Poland and now living in East Sussex, said: “Knowing that a bomb dropped just 20km away from the Polish border was terrifying. It really hit home for me.
“I decided to write a Facebook post about my teaching services and received a wave of replies asking if I could help. I received so many messages that I reluctantly had to turn some down.
“A few of my students divulged some of their experiences with me – it was all very difficult to take. In one of my classes, I found out an individual had been separated from their elderly parents in Ukraine, as well as their 18-year-old son who had to stay and fight.
“A lot of the people I taught just needed someone to listen. I would always make sure to assign some extra time at the start of each class as I wanted to be that sounding board for them as well as their teacher.
“All those I’ve taught have expressed such gratitude and hearing how their lessons made a difference to their lives has been incredibly rewarding and brought me so much joy. A few of them had to stop their lessons as they found out they had been accepted for a job, while one told me that she was able to book a doctor’s appointment for the first time. I was thrilled.”
The focus of the tutors’ teachings were practical language skills that would help with everyday life situations, including words and phrases needed for job hunting.
Lucy, 51, from South Croydon said: “I knew that I had to help in any way that I could. I had donated to the cause, but I felt that it just wasn’t enough and I was eager to help in a more practical way.
“I saw a post on Facebook asking qualified TEFL tutors to help teach refugees, and I knew this was something that I should do.
“I taught 16 online lessons to 11 Ukrainian refugees over an eight-week period and I was overwhelmed and humbled by the thanks I received from the group. I felt like I didn’t deserve it. One of my tutees told me she frequently uses the words and phrases that she learned during the class at her new job in a South London coffee shop.”
Both Klaudia and Lucy said the experience has been humbling and that the TEFL Org course helped them manage a sensitive teaching situation.
Klaudia said: “When I completed my course and became a TEFL tutor, I never thought I’d be using my qualification under these circumstances, but the experience has given me the confidence to try and help more people struggling in this terrible situation.
“The experience has been so fulfilling. This life changing situation could have happened to any one of us – you never know what is around the corner.
“Ukrainian demand for English tutors is still high and I urge anyone interested to try out this incredibly rewarding career.”
Andy Healy said: “Being able to teach English as a foreign language is an incredible life skill.
“We keep hearing amazing stories, just like Klaudia and Lucy’s. Behind the scenes there’s an incredible amount of work going on that is helping refugees – not just those from Ukraine – to settle and ultimately flourish in often unimaginably challenging situations.”
Inverness-headquartered, The TEFL Org is now a market leader in its sector, providing internationally recognised qualifications to more than 150,000 teachers who have gone on to find employment across the globe. The firm provides a range of flexible classroom, virtual and online courses, ranging from 20 hours to 188 hours.
It has recently been recognised by The Queen’s Award (the highest official awards for British businesses) for Enterprise in International Trade for outstanding growth in overseas sales as it eyes further international expansion in the coming months.
For more information on The TEFL Org and the opportunities it can provide, visit: https://www.tefl.org/
