English Teacher in Mountain Village

Otra Cosa Network is a well-established UK Registered Charity and Peruvian registered not for profit (NGO), addressing the educational needs of children and vulnerable adults in an extremely impoverished area of Northern Peru. We work in informal settlements where many community members have been displaced by climate change, disaster and political instability. They live in precarious circumstances, few have running water, sewage provision and there is only sporadic electricity. Additionally, many children are forced to work instead of continuing their education, in order to boost family finances and there are no community-based facilities for learning and developing new skills in a safe environment.

Our dynamic range of activities address language skills, environmental awareness, women’s entrepreneurship, youth, employability and gender empowerment. we are seeking volunteers to work in project implementation in our new Recreation and Education Centre as well as our field office. Projects will restart as soon as the community is safely able to come out of isolation, post coronavirus. Our range of activities are implemented by national and international volunteers, allowing them to express solidarity whilst boosting their field experience. We also partner with several institutions like the primary and secondary schools in the mountain town of Yanasara.

This opportunity is ideal for those who wish to practice their English teaching skills in a remote mountain town, five hours away from Huanchaco. The school doesn’t have enough money to employ well qualified teachers and there is also a problem of finding teachers who are willing to work in the mountains. As a result the primary and secondary schools in the village are understaffed and the children do not receive much English language education.

The role of the volunteer is to give English classes at the school, however you  can also teach Arts, Physical Education or any other subject. In the summer 2009 Otra Cosa donated to the secondary school some new musical equipment (a keyboard, guitars, flutes, clarinet, trumpets, horns, bass drum, small drums). If you play an instrument and you would like to teach the children feel free to organize lessons. 

English is not only important for the children of Yanasara but also for adults, who hope to be able to welcome tourists visiting the hot springs. It is possible to teach them too. 

In the near future we hope to offer teaching opportunities in schools within the informal settlements around Huanchaco. Stay tuned for further info!

Please note that all volunteer positions are also available as Internships. With this add-on you will receive an extra level of mentorship and where necessary all appropriate liaison with your academic institution to ensure compliance with internship placement requirements. 

• Planning and implementing lessons in English language skills and a variety of other topics. 

• Delivering lessons and liaising with school teachers

• Setting and marking homework and exams

• Teaching other subjects as Arts, Music and Physical Education at the secondary school

• Preparing all of your lesson plans based on very minimal resources.

• Communicate weekly with the assistant manager via phone to check in and give an update of how things are going

• Personal pick-up upon arriving and walking tour through Huanchaco.

• Accommodation and food from the community included.

• Thorough introduction to the organization 

• Certified training in First Aid and Child Safeguarding.

• 24/7 emergency support 

• The satisfying feeling of committing your work to a good cause whilst gaining insight into a new culture.

• Certificate of completion detailing your role, the project(s) you participated in and the dates you volunteered in.

• Current background check from your home country.

• Native English speaker or advanced English fluency

• Intermediate Spanish.

• Time commitment: Minimum 2 months

* We can arrange Spanish classes for you in advance (by Skype) or during your stay, if you have no/minimum Spanish or want to improve your language skills.

• Generally, 20-25 per week, Mon-Fri

• Please note that there will be no classes during summer vacation here (mid-Dec. to early March.)

• Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL)

• Primary Education

• Secondary Education

• Education in Development

• English language and literature