Students planning to apply for an English Teaching Assistant (ETA) Award can boost the competitiveness of their application by gaining teaching or tutoring experience. The links below can help connect students with possible volunteer positions in English tutoring, both locally and internationally.

Please note that changes lingering after the pandemic continue to impact many of these programs and their ability to accept volunteers.

On Campus

English Language Center

MSU's English Language Center, which provides English instruction to international students, may be able to match prospective Fulbright applicants with language learners for tutoring or conversation partnerships. 

Volunteer English Tutoring Program

The Volunteer English Tutoring Program, based at MSU, matches native English speakers with learners of English. Volunteer tutors help international students and scholars learn about American culture and practice conversational English.

Greater Lansing Area

Capital Area District Libraries

The library system serving the Greater Lansing area offers English as a Second Language classes and also maintains a list of local ESL resources. More information can be found on the Capital Area District Libraries website.

Capital Area Literacy Coalition

The Capital Area Literacy Coalition matches volunteers to community members needing assistance with literacy, GED preparation, and English as a Second Language tutoring. Basic volunteer training is provided by this local nonprofit organization. 

Language Exchange Program

The Language Exchange Program is facilitated by the Refugee Outreach Collective, which has a chapter at MSU. Volunteer tutors are paired with a Swahili speaker from the Dzaleka Refugee Camp in Malawi, and the partners exchange English and Swahili lessons and conversations via Whatsapp. 

Lansing Area English as a Second Language Classes

This list of Lansing Area ESL Classes is maintained by a Second Language Studies professor at MSU. Students interested in local opportunities for ESL tutoring can contact the various organizations listed to see if they are in need of tutors.

Refugee Development Center

This Lansing-area nonprofit organization assists refugees through education and various other support programs. Volunteers can assist in adult English as a Second Language classrooms or provide after-school tutoring for younger students. Learn more at the Refugee Development Center's website. 

Other Locations

Learning Enterprises

Learning Enterprises is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, DC. Their program connects volunteers and host communities around the world; volunteers go abroad for several weeks to teach during the summer. Volunteers pay their own airfare and stay with host families.

Curated Lists

There are excellent lists of teaching opportunities curated by the Oberlin College Career Development Center and the University of Washington Department of English. Though they list some resources that are location-specific, many of the opportunities would apply to MSU students seeking teaching positions.

• Oberlin College: Teaching Fellow and Post-Graduate Internship Experiences
• University of Washington: Teaching English Abroad

Courses in English Language Teaching

MSU Online TESOL Certificate

This self-paced and fully online certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages is available for individuals who wish to learn more about English language teaching. The program is a collaboration of MSU's English Language Center and Second Language Studies Program.

MSU TESOL Programs

MSU offers a variety of in-depth work in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). Students can minor in TESOL, obtain an MA in TESOL, or take just a few classes. The English Partners in Communication (EPIC) program allows MSU students to teach in a short-term classroom setting after prerequisite work. Undergraduates complete LLT 306 and graduate students take LLT 895, then work on the EPIC program in LLT 496/896 respectively.

If you have no experience with language teaching and hope to be an ETA, consider the class in Methods of Teaching Adult and Community English to Speakers of Other Languages (LLT 306). This course provides a methods foundation for teaching English to teens and adults and is well-suited for those hoping to teach overseas.