Teach English in a Pre-School

The program

This amazing project was created with the goal of helping to improve the English speaking abilities of the impoverished children of Cusco. Those on the teaching English program will work in one of a number of schools or community groups in Cusco. Volunteer teachers are giving local people the real opportunity to improve their skills, and thus their opportunities and lives. As is common in many of the worlds poorer communities, an ability to speak English unlocks a new world of possibilities for children and opens up many professional opportunities for the working-age, often within the service and tourism industries.

By teaching children English language skills, a wealth of opportunities could be opened up for them later, from higher educational opportunities to jobs and a number of other ways to improve their future prospects. Please remember that schools in developing countries may feel disorganized and understaffed. This is the reason why volunteers are so badly needed.

Goals of this Project:

• Provide free English language classes to children aged 4 to 5
• Improve the future prospects of some of Peru’s most impoverished children, and help them to break the poverty cycle
• Expose non-English speakers to native English speakers in order to improve pronunciation and conversational skills
• Enable inter-cultural exchange which benefits both residents and international volunteers alike

How you can help

Volunteers play an integral role in achieving the goals of this project. Volunteers will have the opportunity to teach in pre-schools with younger children who are learning the basic concepts of the English language. The pre-school/nurseries desperately need volunteers and they will have the autonomy of devising their own lessons which could be taught in any sort of space. Lessons will sometimes be on a one-to-one basis or they may be in a small group. It is recommended that volunteers take teaching materials, books and lesson ideas with them. English speaking international volunteers tend to be great English language teachers as they impart a skill they have effectively spent their entire lives developing, and can effectively teach all the nuances that make up the English language. Because volunteers aren’t usually fluent Spanish speakers, local students have no choice but to learn English if they are to communicate and lessons progress quickly, with great results. No prior teaching experience is required, however a basic understanding of Spanish is, and we strongly recommend that volunteers take part in the Spanish courses offered by the team in Peru.

Volunteers on this project provide a valid and effective means of English language tuition. They will contribute in a number of ways and can expect to undertake the following tasks:

• Teach English to classes of 4 and 5 year old children
• Design lesson plans and activities
• Network with local residents and local project staff

A volunteer’s work day on this project will generally last between 4 and 6 hours and while we ask all volunteers to be flexible in this regard, a typical daily schedule is likely to go something like this:

8:00am Breakfast at the host family accommodation

8:30am Walk or bus to project site

9:00am VOLUNTEERING DUTIES START

A tea break and lunch break will be fitted in during the day, but often the timing of breaks will change based on the needs of the local staff and number of volunteers on hand.

1:00pm VOLUNTEERING DUTIES END

1:30pm Walk or bus back to host family accommodation

Evenings Free time to relax and have dinner with your host family or explore the sights and sounds of central Cusco!