Location
  • Mexico
    • Isla Mujeres
Length
12 - 52 weeks

Program Details

Activities
Scuba Diving Snorkeling Swimming
Timeframe
Academic Year Fall Spring Summer Winter Year Round
Housing
Apartment Host Family Hostel Hotel
Age Min.
18

Pricing

Price Details
5 Month Program: $7,211 USD

10 Month Program: $11,134 USD

6 Month Scholarship Program: ALL FEES WAIVED! Qualifications: Bachelor's degree, Upper-Intermediate Spanish, Experience working with children, 6-month commitment.

*All 10 month participants will be required to take out/pay for a student visa. All participants that stay for less than 6 months are considered non lucrative part time employees/volunteers in the public schools and are not required by the federal government to take out a visa.
What's Included
Accommodation Airport Transfers Equipment Transportation Wifi
What's Included (Extra)

Additionally, we offer customizable accommodation packages that can include meals, excursions, diving certifications, cooking classes, Spanish lessons, transportation rentals and local discounts.

What's Not Included
Airfare Domestic Airfare Meals Travel Insurance Visa
Mar 06, 2019
Oct 02, 2018
23 travelers are looking at this program

About Program

VolunQuest's TEFL Gap Year program is unlike any other opportunity available. We offer our participants the opportunity to not only become fully immersed in the local community and work alongside community stakeholders, but also to gain invaluable experience, a TEFL Teaching certificate accredited by the Mexican Ministry of Education, a letter of recommendation and references to use later when applying for paid TEFL or other jobs at home and abroad.

With VolunQuest’s TEFL Certification Gap Year Program, you will go through orientation, training and an additional 500+ hours of teacher training that has been specifically developed to prepare you for paid TEFL jobs at home and abroad. VolunQuest’s TEFL certification focuses on preparing its students for real world experience in both private and public sectors.

Sound like the opportunity for you? Visit our website to see if you qualify for our TEFL Gap Year Scholarship, where all program fees are waived!

Video and Photos

Program Highlights

  • A fully furnished studio apartment in beautiful Isla Mujeres, Mexico (note: scholarship recipient accommodations are different than Gap Year program)
  • A letter of recommendation upon successful completion of the program
  • Round trip airport transfer, ferry tickets and island tour
  • Continuous teacher training and access to teacher materials and resources including school supplies, a printer/copy machine, printer paper, teaching materials, etc.
  • Optional program add-ons such as meals, excursions, diving certifications, cooking classes or Spanish lessons

Program Reviews

4.50 Rating
based on 2 reviews
  • 5 rating 50%
  • 4 rating 50%
  • 3 rating 0%
  • 2 rating 0%
  • 1 rating 0%
  • Housing 4
  • Support 4.5
  • Fun 5
  • Value 5
  • Safety 5
Showing 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
Default avatar
Maggie
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Scholarship Recipient

Getting to live and work on the beautiful island with the cutest kids was one of the most rewarding experiences I've ever had. Being able to make and create lessons and materials following a national set of guidelines from a curriculum was an invaluable lesson on teamwork, creativity, and collaboration. Teaching twelve classes twice a week was a lot, and definitely an important exercise in independent facilitation of teaching; however, it was really nice to only teach for half days. The rest of our days we spent at the beach, exploring the island, or working on materials for the next days/weeks. Going into the program I was worried about having to come up with lesson ideas out of nowhere without an idea of where to start, but the program and the national curriculum provide the guidelines and support to do so while giving leeway for creativity and innovation. The training for the program is hands-on, not theory based. This helped me ensure that I could actually go in and teach the classrooms rather than just knowing the theories on how to teach. The set-up of the program also helped me learn from my own, but also my other intern-colleagues successes and mistakes.

67 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Jasmine
4/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Unforgettable Experience

I completely regretted not having done a study abroad program while I was in college, so when I received an email from an old professor about VolunQuest I impulsively applied right away. I didn't do much research, mostly because I was in the middle of finals in my first year of grad school...I'm so happy about both those decisions. While there were some logistical downsides in terms of accommodation (bunk beds at 25 years old wasn't ideal) and some communication problems, my entire teaching/living experience on Isla far outweighed the few issues I encountered.

I was a scholarship recipient for the gap year program. I had no teaching experience prior to arriving on the island and I was petrified. However, all my students helped me feel so welcome and my first day jitters quickly disappeared. Working with the PNIEB curriculum was different and interesting, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to challenge myself. While sometimes having to work within the curriculum boundaries felt like our lessons were a little dry, the kids were always receptive and excited to learn. I remember plenty of times when my students would beg for english class on days they didn't have it. It was such a great feeling! I do wish the training part of the program was a little longer and maybe more in depth. However, I came in halfway through the semester and there was a bit of a time crunch so I understand.

Besides the great teaching experience I had, I also made amazing connections with the people of the island. Everyone I met was nothing but friendly and generous. As my final project with my first graders during summer camp, I had them design two murals that we covered in bottle caps that they collected. I knew we wouldn't have enough so I went around town asking bartenders and restaurant owners if they could collect them for me and they were more than happy to help. The Mural Festival was also going on at the same time and a few of the artists were generous enough to work with my students. They taught them how to make their own stamps and how to spray paint their murals. They were so excited and happy to come to camp every day. It was so amazing!

All in all, Isla is an incredibly special place full of warm, kind hearted people. I wish my time there had been longer. It's such a beautiful island with tons of things to do on your downtime (like swimming with whale sharks). I've made some incredible friends through VolunQuest and I know I'll be back in the future.

What would you improve about this program?
More rigorous training since it's only a week long.
Communication between directors could improve.
71 people found this review helpful.

Questions & Answers