Program Description

Colombia is fast becoming a major international tourism and trade center.  The Colombian national Ministry of Education, as well as various private educational organizations, have targeted English language instruction and interaction with foreign teachers as keys to enabling the people of Colombia to become self-sufficient participants in a changing environment.  WorldTeach is the first major international volunteer organization to partner to join the effort.

In the Fall of 2008 WorldTeach was invited by the Colombian NGO, Volunteers Colombia, in coordination with the Colombian Ministry of Education and other regional partners, to bring native-English speakers into schools on Isla Baru, near Cartagena on the Caribbean coast.  There, new ocean-front homes and beautiful tourist attractions stand in stark contrast to the poverty and underdeveloped facilities that characterize most residents' daily lives.  Although English is already on the local school curriculum, students have little chance to interact with native speakers. During the 2009 calendar year, the first group of five volunteers worked in coordination with local teachers to bring listening and speaking comprehension activities into English classroom instruction.

The response to the WorldTeach program within Colombia has been overwhelming, with requests for volunteer teachers coming from all corners of the country.  With the help of partner organization Volunteers Colombia the program has expanded to schools in Cartagena and Barranquilla on the Caribbean coast, as well as to Manizales, Quimbaya, and Montenegro in the beautiful coffee growing region.

Volunteer Role

The program in Colombia begins in January with a 3-4 week intensive orientation run by WorldTeach staff and our in-country partners.  Orientation includes TEFL training, Spanish language instruction, a range of guest speakers, and discussions about Colombian culture, politics, health, safety issues, and cross-cultural adjustment. During the last week of orientation many volunteers will participate in on-site staff meetings and training sessions alongside their Colombian teaching colleagues before classes begin.  

Volunteer assignments range from early elementary school team teaching with local educators, to single-handedly leading ESL classes for low-income technical college students.  Volunteers are usually responsible for teaching 20-25 hours a week, in addition to allotting time for planning lessons, developing new language instruction materials, and coordinating some activities, such as providing introductory English instruction to younger students at the schools.

In addition to their teaching responsibilities, volunteers are encouraged to actively participate in community life and engage in additional activities or projects of interest. 

Placement Sites, Housing, Food

Volunteer housing arrangements vary from site to site.  The program will likely expand significantly for the 2011 year, and housing arrangements may change.  Currently, in the 2010 program year, volunteers are placed at six sites. 

On Isla Baru, near Cartagena, volunteers live in double rooms in a staff dormitory on the campus of the Instituto Ecologico de Barbacoas. They split their time co-teaching elementary and middle school aged students at Barbacoas and the public elementary school, which is five minutes away by foot. The host school, Barbacoas, provides several meals a day, though volunteers supplement this diet with their own purchases from the living stipend. 

In Cartagena, volunteers share a private apartment and commute by bus or taxi to the Universidad Tecnologica de Bolivar, where they lead their own ESL classes.  Volunteers do their own shopping and cooking.

In Barranquilla, a group of volunteers lives in a large house owned and inhabited by one host family.  They communute on foot to the nearby Fundacion Pies Descalzos school in the La Playa neighborhood where they teach first through sixth grades, as well as a few high school classes.  Volunteers do their own shopping and cooking.

In the Zona Cafetera, volunteers are placed in Manizales, Quimbaya, and Montenegro in homestay situations.  Most shop for and cook their own food, though some hosts offer to provide food and laundry service in exchange for a monthly contribution from volunteers.  Volunteers team teach with local educators at various schools to a range elementary grades. 

Length of Program

11-12 months.  After in-country orientation in January, volunteers are contracted to work at the host schools for a full academic year and attend an End of Service conference with the entire WorldTeach group in early December. 

 
Cost of Program

USD$1,500, plus USD$500 deposit to be refunded upon successful completion of the program. This includes pre-departure information and preparation, round-trip international airfare, health insurance for volunteers aged 18-49, in-country orientation, transportation to your site, a modest living stipend for food and incidentals, housing during orientation and throughout your teaching service, and field support. Volunteers will receive a monthly stipend to cover daily living expenses.

Please read more about costs and services.

Requirements

Volunteers must be native English speakers with a Bachelor's degree. Volunteers must also be between the ages of 18 and 74 and have a desire to teach children and young adults and become immersed in a rural Colombian coastal community. Spanish language knowledge is helpful but not required.

Supplemental Insurance Information

While abroad, WorldTeach requires its volunteers to possess supplemental insurance. WorldTeach fully covers the price of this supplemental insurance for volunteers between the ages 18-49. Volunteers aged 50-64 should plan to pay an extra $100 per month for this supplemental insurance. Volunteers aged 65-74 should plan to pay an extra $300 per month for this supplemental insurance.

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