Teaching

Product Details

Known as 'the Tibet of the Americas', Bolivia is a superb country set amongst the magnificent Andean Landscapes, with traditional and caring inhabitants. Bolivians are extremely welcoming and you will instantly be drawn in by the friendly locals. This will truly be a unique experience.

Teaching takes place in Cochabamba, the capital of the valleys. This delightful town is surrounded by fields of cultivations and valuable pre-Inca vestiges. It occupies a fertile green bowl in a landscape of fields and low hills, and was founded in 1574. It is also Bolivia’s largest market town which makes it extremely entertaining and lively.

Here, volunteers help teach and guide students from seven to 16+ years of age, and your help is an important part of their development. The schools we work with are private schools, but these are poor schools that need as much support from volunteers as possible.

About your teaching
Volunteers help teach and guide students from seven to 16+ years of age, in private but poor schools. The children’s understanding of English is very basic and you will generally be asked to help out with any age groups. The schools themselves are quite small and incredibly basic - you will feel part of the family immediately! School sizes range from 60 to 150 pupils at one given time. This means that class sizes are also fairly small and very manageable, normally ranging from five to 10, although occasionally you may have smaller classes.

One particular school only has nine teachers, who encourage the children to use English throughout the school. They deal with a small and tight-knit student community, and 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 exceptional children. The children here are fantastic and the hard work and attitude of the teachers is heart warming. They really appreciate the extra efforts that volunteers give and you will be immediately welcomed into their group.

The level of education of the children in Bolivia does vary from very basic to advanced, and it will be up to you and the principal to explore how best to use your skills.

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 to 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 normally assist the Bolivian 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 Bolivian teachers and staff at the schools to help you prepare for your lessons and settle you into your role as teacher; and, like all Bolivians, they are very friendly and patient and are always willing to help.

The children and teachers that we work with in Bolivia are tremendous - you are sure to enjoy every minute of your teaching experience!

Sports
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 are after 3pm for an hour or two

It is possible for volunteers to coach at various schools, orphanages, and with special arrangements it will also be possible to coach a local team. Although for the vast majority coaching won’t have a direct impact on their lives; indirectly it has immeasurable effects. Personality changes, health awareness, increased confidence and social skills are all benefits from the coaching they might otherwise fail to receive.

Children in Bolivia really are a joy to teach and the lack of facilities and opportunities means that their enthusiasm for sports really knows no bounds

Spanish courses
If you would also like to learn Spanish, then we can arrange a combination placement for you. The combination course will integrate your teaching placement and your Spanish course during your stay. This is normally in groups with a private teacher.

The extra Spanish course costs £395 for 20 hours (two weeks) at the same time as your project, or £795 for 40 hours (two weeks).

Accommodation
You will live with a local family and they will look after you extremely well. They are always friendly and will accept you into their family immediately. Most host accommodation is centrally located, which gives you ample opportunity to explore this wondrous town.

Bolivians are renowned for their hospitality and possibly the most enduring thing our volunteers take with them from Bolivia is a feeling of warmth and friendship for the local people. Many develop very close friendships with our Bolivia manager, and almost everyone stays in contact with their family for many years! Some volunteers have even returned just to visit their 'family'.

There are plenty of opportunities to socialise with other volunteers, and there will more than likely be a group of you out there at any one time.

Food
Local dishes, such as the empanadas salteñas (a type of meat pie), the plato paceño and a big variety of tuberous vegetables and sauces are a few examples of true Bolivian cuisine. You will get a variety of Western and local delicacies.