Teach English and other subjects - Zambia

Product Details

Zambia encompasses everything magnificent about Africa - wetlands, wildlife, birds, safaris, lakes, rivers, culture and adventure sports! Teaching is available the quaint town of Livingstone, close to the incredible Victoria Falls. You'll have plenty of opportunities to participate in the multitude of activities that surround the Falls, from white-water rafting and canoeing on the magnificent Zambezi River to bungy jumping or game spotting in the Reserve.

You may be asked to teach anything from English to Maths and Sports to children aged between two and 16 years. Your help will form an important part of their educational and social development. Livingstone is a very friendly place and the schools are no exception!

About your work
You will normally assist the teachers to start with, but depending on your ability you may be given complete control of a particular class or group. You will receive a lot of help and support from the teachers and staff at the schools to help you prepare for your lessons and settle you into your role as teacher.

The schools we work with are private schools, but these are very poor schools that need as much support from volunteers as possible. Schools can be both secondary and primary and you will generally be asked to help out with any age groups. You will be able to teach a specific subject of your choice if you wish to, such as Mathematics or Science. In addition, for those of you who enjoy sports, you will be glad to know that sports are also a very popular subject for the children, and they would love for you to help out with the game periods which the schools have. The facilities are poor, but football and volleyball have quite a following. Some sports coaching takes place throughout the day, but most is after 3pm for an hour or two.

The schools themselves are quite small and incredibly basic - you will feel part of the family immediately! School sizes range from 100 to 150 pupils at one given time. This means that class sizes are also fairly small and very manageable, normally ranging from 20 to 30, although occasionally you may have smaller classes.

One particular primary school was established by a UK volunteer and is funded purely by external donations. There are only four qualified Zambian teachers and one assistant teacher employed to teach primary classes. Their dedication and enthusiasm have resulted in fun and lively classrooms full of interest and activity. Your help is most needed to free time for these hard working teachers to dedicate to other important work, and help supplement the education of these children. This school also has a feeding programme in place for needy children and they hope to extend this to all children with the support of donors. They have also helped with funding to build homes for orphaned children. The children here are fantastic and the hard work and attitude of the teachers is heart-warming.

Most of the children are very shy to speak English and it’s in this area that the help of our volunteers is needed – to give the children confidence to speak the language. They ask for your support to help push the children’s’ education forward, and to help improve teaching techniques for the existing teachers, where possible. You will be greeted with huge smiles and a very warm welcome. Usually the children don't want to let you go and may even resort to clinging on to your legs to stop you from leaving. You are sure to enjoy every minute of your teaching experience!

Coaching football
Zambian children love football! If you would like to spend some time coaching football during your teaching placement your help would be appreciated by all. Most schools have only very basic facilities so you will need to be creative, but the children's enthusiasm makes up for this

Teaching Art, Drama and Music 
If you have some know-how, some initiative and lots of enthusiasm, you can also get involved with teaching Drama, Music, Dance or Arts and Crafts lessons. If you enjoy being creative, then you can share your talents and enthusiasm at the various schools we work with.

Teaching Arts subjects is an excellent way of engaging children’s imaginations and encourages them to communicate with few constraints. What’s more, it is very satisfying to watch their confidence grow as they learn and develop new skills.

At some of our schools in our other destinations, volunteers and pupils together have produced plays and concerts, and performances have been put on in the evenings for parents, students and visitors. Because the schools are poor, the volunteers and children have had to be very creative in putting together costumes and sets – but all productions have been a resounding success!

Volunteers have found that producing short plays written by the children that address local social issues has been a successful means in educating the children on issues such as AIDS awareness, cultural relationships, peer pressures, and bullying. It gives the children an informal forum and a means of sharing their concerns and learning to deal with issues.

You can either teach one or more of these subjects for the whole of your placement, or you can combine one of or all of these subjects with teaching conversational English.

Accommodation
You will be accommodated in a small, modern and lively hostel situated in the center of Livingstone. The hostel has a very large private garden shaded with huge mango trees, and a crystal-clear swimming pool. It also has a lively, sociable bar area where many activities are arranged. You will share a room with three or four other volunteers.