Description:
To increase second language learning around the country's schools, in 1994 the Ministerio de Educacion Publica (MEP) in Costa Rica instituted a foreign language and development program named PROLED (Programa de Lenguas Extranjeras para el Desarollo), which now affects approximately 75,000 students throughout 400 primary schools. Now in its fifteenth year of service within the country, WorldTeach continues to collaborate with the MEP in this well-established, popular program.
Highlights:
Volunteers serve as English resource teachers at public primary schools, most placements are in rural areas throughout the country. Responsibilities will likely include teaching classes, co-teaching with a Costa Rican counterpart, developing language and teaching skills, attending monthly meetings with a regional supervisor, reviewing lesson plans and curriculum development, organizing adult classes and forming English clubs in host communities.
Qualifications / Skills Needed:
* Bachelor's degree required
* Native English speaker
* Comfortable working in cross-cultural environments
* Independent worker
* Good people skills and organizational skills
* Flexibility and creativity in problem solving
* Teaching experience, volunteer experience
* Interest in international education and development
* Willingness to live with a family
* 25 hours ESL service required before departure (after acceptance to the program)
Minimum Education: Bachelors
Language:
English
Language Used As A Medium of Teaching:
English
Cost in US$: 4,990
Cost Includes:
Emergency evacuation services,
Food,
Housing,
In-country orientation/Training,
In-country staff support,
International travel,
Language instruction,
Living stipend,
Medical insurance,
Pre-departure orientation/Training
and Written materials pre-departure
Because WorldTeach receives no government or significant outside funding, we must ask volunteers themselves to cover most of the expenses associated with their placement, travel, training and support. Your fee enables us to provide a variety of important services, not the least of which is finding someone like you who is qualified and willing to serve as a teacher in an under-resourced school in a developing country. Aside from that one all-important service to our partner countries, however, WorldTeach services are primarily designed to support you, the volunteer. Whether it is pre-departure preparation, in-training, support, or help in the case of an emergency, all of these services are provided in an effort to enhance your safety and security while enabling you to be the most effective teacher that you can be.
Salary / Pay: Room and board; living stipend of about 100 USD per month.
Experience Required: no
Typical Volunteer Projects:
education,
English teaching,
primary education
and teaching
Age Range: Must have a BA degree
This Program is open to
Couples and Individuals.
Typical Living Arrangement:
Home-stays
Participants Travel to Costa Rica
in Groups
Typically Participants Work
Independently
Application Process Involves:
- In-Person Interview when Feasible
- Letters of Reference
- Physical Exam/Health Records
- Resume
- Transcript
- Written Application
Typically The Application Process Time Is 1-2 weeks
Post Services Include:
- Alumni Network
- Exit Debriefing Abroad
WorldTeach's Mission Statement: WorldTeach is a non-profit, non-governmental organization based at the Center for International Development at Harvard University that provides opportunities for individuals to make a meaningful contribution to international education by living and working as volunteer teachers in developing countries. WorldTeach offers summer and year-long programs in American Samoa, Bulgaria, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guyana, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Namibia, Poland, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania and Thailand.
Year Founded: 1986