• This is a Pilot Program
• Duration: 6 weeks
  • Orientation: 3 days
  • Post-service wrap-up: 1 day

• 2010 Program Dates 
  
  • Arrival in Istanbul: 6/15
  • Orientation in Istanbul: 6/16-6/18
  • Fly to Adiyaman: 6/19
  • Teaching Begins: 6/21
  • Teaching Ends: 7/30
  • Post-Service Wrap-up: 7/31
  • Departure from Adiyaman: 8/1

• Specifications
  
  • The Country Coordinators are two Turkish English teachers who live in Adiyaman and have been involved with volunteer English-teaching programs in the past
  • No language requirement, though some basic Turkish would be useful
  • Extra seminar discussions on English language teaching
  • Number of volunteers: 4-6
  • Volunteers will likely team-teach large numbers of students, with smaller break out sessions
    
  • Volunteers will be expected to propose and complete a service project
  • Living Conditions: relatively modern (hot water, squat toilets, some AC)
  • Student's Proficiency: all levels and all ages
    

For questions not answered on this website, contact the 2010 Program Director, Lindsay Trice at turkey@learningenterprises.org.

The Turkey Pilot aspires to create a fun, educational, and rewarding experience for both students and volunteers alike.  Volunteers will need to come to Turkey with a commitment to building relationships with host families and students. Each volunteer will be asked to serve as a teacher to his or her students, host families, and school on a daily basis: formal classroom sessions, conducting study groups, offering specialty lessons outside of the curriculum on their days off, and holding brainstorming sessions with local teachers on effective methods for instruction both in and out of the classroom.
 
Volunteers will fly into Istanbul, where we will have our orientation, get to know one another, begin planning lessons, and jump into Turkish culture.  Then we will fly to Adiyaman, meet host families and the country coordinators and get to know the city over the weekend.  Teaching will begin the following Monday.  Volunteers will have the weekends free, but most host families will take the time to show you the local attractions, and picnics and get-togethers with traditional food are common weekend practices.
 
The ideal candidate for the Turkey Pilot Program will have:

• The ability to cope with little structure and the creativity/energy to create lessons with limited supplies
• Experience with teaching
• Enthusiasm for the unknown, and the desire to deal with it
• The understanding of what it actually means to live in a developing country for 2 months - this is work, not a vacation, and will often be frustrating, but fun!
• The understanding that this is an Islamic culture, and recognize that your behavior and dress should be appropriate

Host Community

• Adiyaman is an urban city, but many of the inhabitants were born in the surrounding villages
• There is a mini-bus system that runs throughout the city
• In south-eastern Turkey, claims to be the fastest growing city in the country
• All volunteers will have local cell phones for use in-country
• Climate: Very hot and very dry. 100-115F during the day, little to no rainfall

• Either Turkish English teachers, or those affiliated with schools or the Education Ministry
• Though there is no guarantee that host families will speak English, hospitality and kindness is a universal language. Often, children will act as translators
• All houses will have running water, but most likely squat toilets
• Television is common. Some homes may have internet access, and there are internet cafes in the city
• Connectivity in this region is often less than ideal, with power outages to be expected

Teaching

• Classes will be held during summer break.
• Volunteers will likely team-teach, with large group lessons and then break out sessions according to ability.
• Volunteers will work in local schools and while LE will provide guidance on how to teach, lesson planning will ultimately be up to the volunteers.
• Volunteers will be expected to hold at least 4 hours of lessons per weekday for the younger students (usually aged 8-13), with a focus on interactive activities that encourage students to speak. These lessons might include sports, games, art, drama, music, mini field trips, tea hours etc. We ask that volunteers take attendance and require all students who wish to participate to attend a high percentage of the classes.
• In addition, volunteers will be expected to hold 1-2 hour classes in the afternoons or evenings that will be open to the entire community (possibly the parents of the younger students), and volunteers should encourage older members of the community to attend these sessions.
• The emphasis should be on integrating English language learning with other creative practices.
• Volunteers will be able to find basic teaching supplies in the city (paper, markers, chalk etc), but should expect to bring any other supplies.

• Volunteers will be expected to brainstorm and complete at least one community service project with their students (paint a mural, have a trash pick-up day etc).
• Volunteers will help arrange a culminating performance to be put on for the community at the end of the program, including songs, a skit, and/or speeches.
• Volunteers will be expected to host/moderate small seminars on how to teach English effectively with the Turkish English teachers. The goal will be to share ideas on non-formal instruction methods, as many of the local teachers rely heavily on written assignments, rote memorization, and complex grammar. This will happen once a week in place of the lessons offered to the entire community, and should both help the Turkish English teachers find fresh ideas, as well as provide a support system for the volunteers.

Additional Information

Please note that Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view this document. To download this program, go here.  

Turkey Addendum, a field guide to life in-country.

Projected Expense Sheet. Please note that all expenses are estimates and can vary depending on personal spending habits.