WorldTeach
Programs and Reviews
WorldTeach partners with Ministries of Education and well-established NGOs in countries around the world to provide volunteer teachers with opportunities to teach in developing countries. Established by a group of Harvard students, WorldTeach has placed thousands of teachers overseas since its inception in 1986.
Programs Abroad
Reviews
20%Overall
Rating
90%Overall
Rating
WorldTeach Colombia was exactly what I was looking for when I volunteered in 2010. It began in January, giving me time to make some money after graduating college; It provided teacher and language training; and placed me in a country where not a lot of foreigners care to go. Very few people spoke English, so it was a great country to learn Spanish in.
I was placed in Barranquilla, Colombia, perhaps my favorite city of all time. While it is not beautiful by any means, it has an energy that you can't find anywhere else. Plus it has the biggest Carnaval in the world, outside of Rio.
Teaching was amazing. I co-taught at a local elementary school in a very poor neighborhood, teaching with local teachers. I can easily say that I felt I made a huge difference. The local teachers had a lot of heart, but could barely speak English and had no idea how to structure a class (like assigning homework that relates to what you do in class). So I had the opportunity to influence 200 students, but also improve the skills of the local teachers.
I loved my WorldTeach experience so much that I stayed in Barranquilla 2 more years and kept in touch with all my students and my school. If you want to help people, experience a new culture, practice your Spanish, and find adventure, this is definitely the program for you.
Critical Feedback:
I agree, clarity in contracts and a wider base of living situations to place people (making it easier to tailor living situations to people's personal preferences)
90%Overall
Rating
Although my experience in Colombia was not perfect, it was still a life changing experience. The staff of WorldTeach and Volunteers Colombia were amazing, helpful and supportive every step of the way. I had no idea what to expect from the program or the country. We started out with a 3 week orientation with the whole group and that was an experience I will never forget. We learned a lot about the program, the other volunteers and ourselves. I felt very prepared for the adventure I was about to embark on.
WorldTeach does an amazing job of choosing diverse but similiar volunteers with the same goals. Helping the citizens of Colombia to learn English and succeed in their lives.
The memories and friendships with both the volunteers, the program field directors, the students and the other teachers at my school will last a lifetime.
Critical Feedback:
I would never take back any part of my experience. My only regret is not staying longer when times got tough at my school. I would definitely recommend this program to anyone who asked and would do it again in a heart beat.
My school was a different situation because they lost government funding and had no way to support our group halfway through the year. In this case it was very frustrating and sad. WorldTeach Colombia and Volunteers Colombia gave us options to transfer to other cities or even to Panama to continue volunteering at no cost to us. After a long time of thinking, I decided to come back to the States. I still often wonder what would've been if I went to a new program but no matter what happened, the 6 months I had in Colombia were amazing.
I even went back down for 2.5 weeks after to visit other volunteers and friends. I would go back to visit anytime I have the opportunity and this had led to me to other opportunities abroad. I am moving to Belgium in April and credit WorldTeach Colombia for this opportunity. This program inspired me and I will eventually be going to Graduate school to become an ESL Teacher and hopefully someday a porgram director.
100%Overall
Rating
I had no idea what to expect coming to Colombia...and looking back, it's no wonder. I was a full-time English teacher to about 125 high school students for an entire academic year. I never once felt like I was volunteering - teaching was certainly the hardest job I've ever had. That being said, it was also incredibly rewarding from a personal and professional standpoint. I developed very strong bonds with students, fellow teachers, community members and friends that I will carry with me forever.
WorldTeach was extremely supportive and professional, keeping things as structured and smooth as possible in the Colombian context. Staff in the home and Colombia offices were exceptional. Entering a totally new profession in a foreign environment is just plain difficult, but was worth every moment.
Critical Feedback:
Clearer contracts with the partner schools
100%Overall
Rating
One of the best experiences of our life, full of laughter, challenge, new friendships, hardship, and joys. Living in rural Guyana was definitely challenging! But you can't beat fresh pineapple and mangos overflowing from your porch (as thank yous from the community). We'll never forget the dissection frogs coming alive in the middle of the night (if kids brought them to our house "dead" they could get out of a written test). We learnt to be flexible (the water pump that was supposed to run each day sometimes when 12+ days without working, we didn't get our first paycheck until 6 months into the programme), innovative (teaching computers with no electricity!), and creative (trying to teach science lessons with just a few beakers and no running water. It wasn't easy but it was one of the best years of our lives! We were really remote (no electricity in the village at the time although it was promised to arrive any time) up a river 10 hrs by boat. Sharing 3 phones with the whole village was interesting. It really was a year of appreciating the simple things (lots of book-reading!) and realising that life is more than modern conveniences and each day truly is a gift!
Critical Feedback:
Just realising that many Amerindian villages are quite reserved, so you don't fully connect with the community until near the end of the stay. We signed up to return for a second year too late and our position was filled. So, choose carefully in May if you want to come back or not. The actual programme was great and provided much more support than other programmes in the area.
Alumni Interviews
Staff Interview
Meet Thanh Nguyen and Katrina Deutsch from WorldTeach
What involvement in TEFL and sending native English speakers to foreign countries does World Teach have?
WorldTeach: WorldTeach sends native English speakers to developing countries to teach mainly English, as well as math, science, information technology, and other subjects. The countries in which WorldTeach primarily focuses on Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) are China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, Thailand and Tanzania. We also teach TEFL courses in Namibia and the Marshall Islands.
What countries get the most TEFL teachers?
WorldTeach: Our largest TEFL programs are Ecuador, China, and Colombia, with over 35 volunteers in each program.
What trends have you noticed in the TEFL industry?
WorldTeach: The demand for TEFL-certified instructors is increasing, especially in countries that are growing (or have grown) economically. These countries want their students and civil servants to speak English to better compete in the global market. This is especially the case for countries in the Middle East and Asia, such as the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, South Korea, China, Thailand and Japan.
What are some reasons you have seen for the growth of the TEFL industry?
WorldTeach: English is the global language, and the language of international business. For people, and countries, to be able to compete globally, they need to have a strong command of the English language.
What are the benefits/downfalls of governments recruiting foreigners to teach English?
WorldTeach: One of the benefits of governments recruiting foreigners to teach English is that the students not only receive English language instruction from native English speakers, they are also exposed to the culture of that native English speaker. In turn, the increased demand for English teachers has created more opportunities for English speakers to take the leap and immerse themselves in another culture. Intercultural exchange between locals and the teacher is a huge benefit to the promotion of global citizenship and to the WorldTeach mission. One downfall is that most foreigners teaching English abroad are working directly with students, but not with native teachers. In order to truly improve the quality of language instruction of a country, foreigners need to train the local teachers in both the English language and teaching methodologies, so that those native teachers can use what they learn and teach their own population.
What are some outcomes (positive and/or negative) of an increase in recruiting English teachers abroad?
WorldTeach: The increase in recruiting English teachers abroad has created a greater global understanding for both the teachers and the students. It has opened doors for native English speakers to travel internationally while learning about and helping a country. In some ways, the increase in recruiting English teachers abroad helps to improve the quality of ESL instruction in the U.S. and the U.K., as these teachers do return home eventually, and can use their skills (both teaching and cross-cultural) to work with the increasing immigrant population in their own country.
Do you have any statistics (at least just for World Teach) about how many people go abroad to teach English, where they go, why the go, etc.?
WorldTeach: The number of volunteers we send abroad has been increasing in the last decade. In the early 2000s, we sent about 100 volunteers annually. Currently, we send about 500 volunteers each year. WorldTeach is currently in seventeen different countries, but we believe that the demand for English teachers has risen in all corners of the globe. This is apparent through the frequent request for partnership that we receive daily from ministries of education and local organizations all over the world.
There are many hidden costs that WorldTeach does not tell you about. Expect to spend thousands of your own money. You will receive zero support from field staff once you are in county. Additionally, the Marshallese people do not want Americans in their country, they will not make you feel welcome.