ESOL Instructor

The ESOL Instructor is responsible for planning, teaching, and evaluating ESOL classes that promote English language proficiency.  The Instructor should possess strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work effectively with a diverse population in a multicultural environment.   

Supervision Required: Under the general direction of the Head Librarian, the employee plans and carries out the regular work in accordance with standard practices and previous training, with substantial responsibility for determining the sequence and timing of action and substantial independence in planning and organizing the work activities, including determining the work methods.

Supervisory Responsibility: The employee, as a regular and continuing part of the job, is not required to supervise other employees.

Confidentiality: Regular access at the departmental level to a wide variety of confidential information, including patron records.

Accountability: Errors are usually detected in succeeding operations.  Consequences of errors, missed deadlines, or poor judgment may include time loss caused by back-checking by others and a slowdown of work.   Errors are generally confined to one department.

Judgment: The work requires examining, analyzing, and evaluating facts and circumstances surrounding individual problems, situations, or transactions, and determining actions to be taken within the limits of standard or accepted practices.  Guidelines include a large body of policies, practices, and precedents that may be complex or conflicting at times.  Judgment is used in analyzing specific situations to determine appropriate actions.   Employee is expected to weigh efficiency and relative priorities against procedural concerns in decision-making.  

Complexity: The work consists of the practical application of a variety of concepts, practices and specialized techniques relating to a professional or technical field.  Assignments typically involve evaluation and interpretation of factors, conditions or unusual circumstances; inspecting, testing or evaluating compliance with established standards or criteria; gathering, analyzing and evaluating facts or data using specialized fact finding techniques; or determining the methods to accomplish the work.

Work Environment: The work environment involves everyday discomforts typical of a public library setting. Noise or physical surroundings may be distracting, but conditions are generally not unpleasant.

Nature and Purpose of Relationships: Contacts are primarily with co-workers and the public, involving frequent explanation, discussion or interpretation of practices, procedures, regulations or guidelines in order to render service, plan or coordinate work efforts, or resolve operating problems.  

Occupational Risk: Duties of the job present little potential for injury to the employee.

Essential Functions:

1. Teaches formal and engaging ESOL classes that promote English language literacy for multiple learning levels. Prepares lesson plans that utilize library resources with a civics-based instructional approach that motivates and engages students. 
2. Assist students in developing effective language learning strategies and understanding English language conventions. 
3. Reviews curriculum on a regular basis, updates curriculum based on feedback from students. 
4. Develops customized lesson plans based on individual student needs and language proficiency levels. 
5. Facilitates at least 4 ESOL classes per week.
6. Maintains existing language assessment tools and processes for program placement and student progression. Implements new assessments as necessary. 
7. Researches and prepares appropriate instructional materials, and provides quotes for purchasing items when needed. 
8. Integrates digital literacy into instruction and engages students in using the library’s online language learning programs. Utilizes library material and online resources to provide students with a well-rounded learning experience. 
9. Provides constructive feedback to students to support their learning progress. 
10. Promotes a learning community that fosters trust and engagement as well as retention and literary gains. 
11. Assists the Language Librarian with the library’s conversational language learning group.
12. Works collaboratively with Language Librarian to ensure that student needs are being met through available courses as well as library material.  
13. Represents the Danbury Library at community events both in house and offsite. 
14. Manages class setup and breakdown.
15. Maintains accurate student attendance records and metrics, and evaluates class offerings on a regular basis. 
16. Manages enrollment process to recruit students and maintain student records. 
17. Monitors student progress throughout the length of the course. 
18. Follows state and federal requirements/guidelines for adult education

Qualifications:

Minimum Qualifications (Required):

 Education and Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree 
• Certificate in TESOL 
• 1-3 years experience teaching ESL to adults
• 1-3 years experience working in a public library

Special Requirements:   None required.

Knowledge, Abilities and Skill

Knowledge:

• Current knowledge of adult education instruction, theory, and practice
• Demonstrated knowledge of specific teaching skills to effectively serve adult basic education learners.
• Knowledge of current ESL teaching methods and practices 

Abilities: 

• Ability to work effectively in a diverse population, in a multicultural setting
• Ability to collaborate effectively with the Language Librarian to ensure learners needs are being met with library materials, and to resolve any barriers to learning
• Ability to maintain accurate records and compile statistics and information for reporting purposes. 
• Ability to function effectively in a classroom setting; ability to think and act appropriately under pressure.
• Ability to build effective relationships with learners, community members, and staff. 

     Skills:

• Organizing, prioritizing, and multitasking 
• Excellent verbal, written, and presentation communication skills
• Works effectively as a team member, organize daily work and meet deadlines

Physical and Mental Requirements 

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the position’s essential functions.

Physical Demands: Little or no physical demands are required to perform the work. Work effort principally involves sitting to perform work tasks, with frequent periods of stooping, walking, and standing. The employee may occasionally be required to lift, push or pull objects such as books, department equipment and paper.

Motor Skills: Duties may involve assignments requiring application of hand and eye coordination with finger dexterity and motor coordination. Examples include using a personal computer or climbing a ladder in order to retrieve books or materials from shelves.

Visual Demands: The employee is routinely required to read documents for general understanding and analytical purposes. The employee is rarely required to determine color differences.

Salary : $69,761 - $73,437