Teaching with LE
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Volunteer Requirements
You will be required to teach conversation-based English language classes for between three and six hours per day (depending on location), with the weekends off. You are required to create your own lesson plans, tailored to both your skills and interests and also to the abilities and interests of your classes. Beyond that you are free to spend your time as you wish, and we encourage you to do so with your host family and host community. Your host family will receive no money for hosting you, so, in essence, you are their personal guest and should act as such.
To qualify for a position we ask that you be: - Independent: there is little in-country oversight, and villages are often in isolated areas with limited outside communication
- Resourceful: teaching and living abroad always provides unexpected challenges
- Adaptable: living conditions are often considered uncomfortable by US and UK standards.
- Service oriented: being an LE volunteer is hard work!
- A current undergraduate or graduate student, or a recent college graduate (at least 18 years old)
- Available for the whole duration of the teaching assignment
- A native (or equivalent level) English speaker
- Competent to the required level in the host community’s language, if applicable (see Our Programs)
- Teaching experience is helpful, but IS NOT required
- Regional or travel experience is helpful, but IS NOT required
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Health and Safety
Traveling in developing countries involves risks. Depending on the program, you may be placed in a rural village that is far from modern health services and other volunteers, however, all villages will have a local doctor. Making sure that you prepare yourself both mentally and physically, and stay safe and healthy in country is your responsibility. It will be up to you to exercise good judgment, behave responsibly, and use local resource to solve minor problems that arise during your stay.
Before the summer, we will inform you about country-specific health information and provide you with information to purchase travel insurance, which you must do if you do not already have coverage. Additionally, our in-Country Coordinators and Program Directors are there to ensure you get needed medical care in the event of an emergency and are safe and comfortable in your host village.
Please visit the State Department Travel website for further information about health and safety in the countries we teach in.
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Preparation and Training
Previous teaching experience is not required to teach with Learning Enterprises. As long as you are creative and are willing to make learning English fun and interactive, we will provide you with basic teaching skills.
In late spring you will be required to participate in a training day at one of our hub campuses (see Contact Us). If you are not located near one of these campuses you will have the opportunity to participate in a “virtual training day.” During this time we will provide you with basic information on ESL teaching, classroom management techniques, and lesson planning.
The crux of your training will take place in your host country, just prior to your teaching assignment. This orientation will provide you with information regarding country-specific teaching challenges and strategies. During the orientation you will also have the opportunity to get to know other volunteers on your team and start discovering your new surroundings.
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Volunteer Expenses & Fundraising
All food and lodging will be taken care of by your hosts while you are teaching. Beyond that expenses vary by program, but a typical volunteer spends:
Application Fee: $15
Airfare: $500 - $2000 (view Which Program is Right for Me? for further comparisons)
Orientation: $100 - $200
Incidental summer expenses (not including travel): $100+
In addition, Learning Enterprises requires each volunteer to submit a $400 security deposit check which we will ONLY cash if you drop out of the program after committing. Otherwise, the money will never leave your bank account.
Finally, to keep the tradition alive of providing teaching placements for college students and young adults without a program fee, volunteers are required to write ten (or more!) letters to family members and friends inviting them to participate in the Village Sponsorship Project.
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Testimonials
“It was like no other experience I had ever had – that first day I stepped into the classroom in Indonesia. I instantly had forty pairs of eyes staring back at me, eagerly waiting for me to teach them English.”
Tori Martin, Indonesia 2005
“One must possess a sense of adventure, a desire to learn as well as teach, and a willingness to break out of her comfort zone. The ideal LE volunteer is someone who has all these qualities and is able to manage them into a productive balance.”
Teresa Tarn, Indonesia 2007
“I remember sitting down for dinner with my new-found family, tagging along to their weddings, and feeling so comfortably meshed into their daily lives. I remember crying like a little kid when I said goodbye to my host grandmama and laughing at myself that a month earlier I thought I couldn’t do this.”
Aminah Teachout, Mauritius 2007
“The ideal LE volunteer has to not only like to teach, but love to learn.”
Lisa Sferrazza, Hungary/Slovakia 2005
“It is important that the volunteer can act as a good ambassador. Volunteers should present themselves well in the classroom and be prepared to have fun with their students”
Elaine Su, China 2007
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