Quick Facts

Duration: 5.5 Weeks
2012 Dates: July 15 – August 19

• Orientation: Flic en Flac, Mauritius
• Midpoint Break: Chamarel
• Concluding Session: TBD

Number of Volunteers: 10-12
Language Requirement: French proficiency
Village Setting: Rural, Urban, Suburban
Living Conditions: Modern (plumbing, TV, some internet)
For questions not answered on this website, contact the 2011 Program Director, Carly McClelland Contact Carly

Program Structure

Upon arriving in Mauritius you will travel to Flic en Flac, a tourist town on the West coast of the island, for a weeklong orientation session. You will stay with all of the LE Mauritius volunteers in a hotel or apartment in town for the length of the orientation. The orientation will be spent adjusting to Mauritian time, getting to know one another and familiarizing yourself with your surroundings, planning lessons, discussing Mauritian culture and educational system, and starting to develop a classroom plan with your teaching partner. Orientation will also be spent preparing you for the village and host family experience.

You will be staying in the same village for the duration of the program (about 6 weeks). You will be placed in one of six villages, all of which are on the West coast of the island. Three are urban (Bambous, Albion, and Flic en Flac), one is rural (Chamarel), and the other two suburban (Cascavel and Case Noyale). These designations of rural, urban and suburban will probably be much different from your previous understanding of the words, but the reexamination of previous conceptions is a big part of the experience. Mauritius is a small island with good public buses and taxis. It is easy to get from your village to larger cities such as Quatre-Bornes or the capital, Port-Louis and no drive by bus takes longer than 2 1/2 hours. You will not be too far from other volunteers, though some villages are closer than others.

Volunteers have no problem finding ways to spend their free time. On the weekends you will have the opportunity to visit sites around Mauritius, either with your host family, the group, or on your own. You can go to the huge outdoor market at Quatre-Bornes, climb Le Piton, the highest mountain in Mauritius, and eat raw sugar cane. You can also play soccer with your students, visit the sacred Hindu lake of Grand Basin, and see the Chamarel Waterfalls.

I advise volunteers to come to the program with a purpose much deeper than simply teaching English in a rural village on a beautiful tropical island. There is so much to be gained from this experience if you go in with questions, with a desire to really explore and understand and grow. I look forward to a group of inquisitive, motivated, and informed individuals for LE Mauritius 2012.

Your Host Community

In your villages you will live with a Mauritian family. Typically, a normal Mauritian household will have indoor plumbing, TV, and possibly Internet. You will either stay in your own room or share a room with a host sibling. Mauritians are known for their warmth and hospitality and are very excited to make you a part of their village and family. Volunteers always are invited to birthdays, weddings, sporting events, and religious services with their families. Mauritians are generally quite religious, and if your family is particularly religious, it is a great opportunity to learn more about the customs and culture of Mauritius.

Because they are responsible for you, host families are generally extra-protective, which can be difficult if you have been living on your own. Remember that your families are looking out for your best interests – they are experts on what is and is not safe or appropriate in their country. Additionally host families will try to accommodate your needs, provided that they are not too demanding.

The native language of Mauritius is Creole, but nearly everyone speaks French as a second or first language. You will be living in a family that has at least one proficient English speaker, unless you have specified that you are completely comfortable living with exclusively non-English speakers. Most families are in need of your teaching skills, and will be thrilled if you offer to help them with their English. That being said, many Mauritians have a wonderful command of English and want to take advantage of the opportunity to practice it with you.

The program runs during the Mauritian winter break and all your students will be on vacation from school. You will teach Mondays-Fridays, from 9am to noon and will be responsible for planning your own lessons to cater to your students’ needs and interests. Volunteers teach in pairs. Teaching is exciting and challenging, and you are encouraged to incorporate your own skills and interests into the lessons. Past volunteers have also offered afternoon or evening classes for adults and teenagers, which have been rewarding for both volunteers and students.

Teaching

Your students will generally be between the ages of 6 and 12 who have little to no knowledge of English, and whose families cannot afford the extra education required to succeed in the Mauritian education system. As a working knowledge of English is crucial to success in Mauritius, English education is an important part of relieving poverty and lessening social disparities in the regions where we teach.

Our main goal is to make sure that students associate learning English and going to school with having fun. This hopefully ensures that they will continue to study English in the future and perform better in school. 

Most students will speak some level of French; however, some only speak Mauritian Creole. In the rural village, class numbers range in the twenties. In the city and other two villages, classes range from 20 to 60.

Mauritian students are very attentive, and they love to participate in interactive activities like games. Villages will supply a classroom, desks, chairs, and a chalkboard. Volunteers are encouraged to bring children’s books (basic to intermediate), crayons, scissors, paper, etc. 

Be attentive during the first couple of days to the students’ reading and writing abilities.

You may find in some cases that many of your younger students are entirely illiterate, at which point, you may need to think of some more creative teaching methods that do not rely in any way on literacy. Also, it is incredibly important to begin the teaching experience with a very clear understanding of classroom rules and of how discipline will be enacted. The fun, game-oriented method of the volunteers is very different from the formal way the students are used to being taught in school. This being said, it can be difficult to maintain order in the classroom when school time feels like play time. I am not recommending authoritarianism however a clear sense of how you plan to maintain order is very important.

Village Service Component

The Mauritius Program for the summer of 2012 will emphasize service both inside and outside the classroom. Each volunteer should come to the island with a drive to help serve his or her community, family, and students on a daily basis, including holding one-on-one lessons with a student who needs extra assistance, helping out in the family garden, and participating in any activities put on by the community.

Moreover, each volunteer will create his or her own project with the assistance of the students that will help the community in some way. This includes planning, organizing, and implementing an idea during the 4 weeks of teaching. Though this is the first year that a service requirement is being implemented, many volunteers have chosen to provide extra tutoring, music lessons, and assistance at the local orphanages in the past. This summer, I am looking for innovative volunteers that will take advantage of this extra requirement to impact the community outside of the classroom.

Additional Information

Mauritius Addendum PY 2012, a field guide to life in-country.

Mauritius Projected Expenses PY 2012. Please note that all expenses are estimates and can vary depending on personal spending habits.