Program Reviews

Although it was a very challenging year, I don't regret it. The highs are really high but the lows are extremely low. As long as you lose your expectations and ego, you will have a rewarding experience - even if it is in retrospect (it was hard for me to appreciate everything I learned and the people I met until I left). That year has affected every choice I've made since.

I highly recommend the worldteach marshall islands program. If you're looking to have a completely different experience from anything else in this life, do this program. Though your experience will be challenging, you will learn so much.

As a World Teach volunteer in Costa Rica, I learned so much. I felt incredibly supported by World Teach and learned so much from the other volunteers throughout the year. I miss the challenges and excitement of living and teaching in a different country.

I work in Barranquilla, Colombia. More or less, I work as a teacher's assistant, but my role varies from class to class. I teach mostly 6th, 8th, and 9th grade. In one class I am the main teacher, in another class I help out where needed, and in another class I trade off on lessons with my co-teacher. Coastal Colombia has been very kind to me, but it can take some getting used to. Generally, the culture isn't a very progressive one, but the people are very friendly. It's also very hot here.

I did the World teach program in 2011/12 on a remote Marshallese atoll. I taught English to five classes daily and lived with a lovely family on a paradise of an island. WT is well run and this is a fantastic choice for people keen to teach ESL OS.

My time in Costa Rica was wonderful, I cannot say enough good things about the program. Prior to leaving, WorldTeach has a comprehensive survey that helps with placement so you get an experience that meets your expectations. For example, in my case I knew that although I wanted an adventure, I didn't quite want to live the whole year without running water. My mother also had me request a telephone in the house, she couldn't go a year without being able to contact me haha. Both requests were accommodated. I had worked with children in the past but had no official training experience so the first month of training was extremely helpful as far as coming up with a curriculum for the year. I was placed with a wonderful host family who was picked by the volunteer the year previous. I still keep in touch with them! I also want to add a comment about the in country support. Our field director was always available and went above and beyond. She was able to help with big things like doctors and bank accounts as well as small things like, the best way to send and receive care packages. Overall, I felt that WorldTeach was organized and supportive. Costa Rica is a beautiful country and the people are excited and eager to learn English. Besides teaching in a small rural elementary school (my official assignment) I was also asked to tutor high school students and start an adult class. I participated in the town's all girls soccer team and was welcomed by the community. As a last note, as a young woman traveling on my own I also felt safe in Costa Rica. I often traveled to visit other volunteers or to go to the beach since I lived in the mountains. I was able to navigate the public transportation and quickly learned the dos and don'ts. I highly recommend the program and especially Costa Rica!

WorldTeach Tanzania maintains the perfect balance of supporting their volunteers while providing them with opportunities to craft their own experience. I treasured my full immersion, a real adventure!

I spent a year living in rural Costa Rica, teaching English, learning Spanish and enjoying what I could of the famously relaxed and friendly culture. Day to day I would teach English in the morning, plan classes and relax in the afternoon and have a hearty dinner with my host family before turning in at 8 PM - yes you read that right! Did I mention we woke up almost every day at 5 AM? Yes, it was early to bed and early to rise, but I was never better rested than when I lived in Costa Rica - that's still 9 hours of sleep an evening.

Highlights of my year were tasting Costa Rican food, journeying into San Jose for breaks from the slow country life, visiting other teachers at their sites for mini-breaks, learning Spanish, having fun with my students and pushing them to make breakthroughs with their English.

I absolutely loved the laid-back atmosphere of Costa Rica. It was a great change of pace to have so much free time and to be able to revel in that by relaxing and watching the grass grow. There wasn't so much pressure to fill my every waking moment with activity and it was a great change of pace. I also really loved the food! Now some people may tell you that Costa Rican cuisine isn't that distinctive, but I really loved the millions of ways I ate rice and beans, fresh fruits and veggies and farm fresh eggs. It was delicious. And, my students were amazing. They were fun, funny, warm and genuine. Maybe we weren't setting the world on fire with our English classes but we had fun and I feel like it was a great growth experience for everyone involved.

I will say it was really challenging to live with some of my students. To be honest I should have been more cognizant of the fact that I am an introvert and need some alone time everyday to unwind and recharge, but I didn't factor that in when I was in the process of placement. It was hard for me to spend all day in class with the kids and then have to go home with them when all I wanted was some alone time to digest what had happened that day. There was also the added pressure of living with parents of my students. Costa Rican parents may have a reputation of being very laissez faire, but my host mom was super involved and I felt a lot of pressure to live up to previous teachers and a lot of self-doubt that I wasn't quite meeting her expectations. I think it's really important to think about these matters when you are getting placed. In hindsight, I realized that part of what I loved about my work before and after Costa Rica was being able to leave work at work and keep good boundaries about not bringing it home - that was something I should have considered and perhaps requested living with a family without such close ties to the school.

All in all though I would highly recommend WorldTeach Costa Rica to any and all - it's a great experience that will change you forever!

This is a great program, but it's best suited for those who don't need much support once they arrive in country, in my opinion.
Not only do you pay for the opportunity (and receive that amount in monthly stipends), but so do the schools that you are placed with, leaving the volunteer in an awkward position where the schools request more and more of your time not understanding why you aren't willing to work full-time.

As for the WorldTeach office itself, they do their best, but having one or two people that are in charge of supporting 20-40 in-country volunteers is taxing and (if you require more "hand-holding") can leave the volunteer feeling forgotten and frustrated.

Overall, you get what you put in, just make sure you don't overtax yourself with all of the requirements (from the office and/or from the school).

Ideologically, I believe in education for everyone. In my heart, I know every human is entitled to meaningful, useful, quality education. But ideals need to be tempered with reality. The reality of this programme, in my opinion, is that it tries very hard, but does not produce quantifiable changes. I do not feel that with the wee bit of English most of the students knew/know, their future will be impacted.
If you want to feel good about trying, & you want a more global perspective of education, politics, econonomics, & their interplay, WorldTeach Colombia is a great experience. But if you want to know that after your year, students will accomplish more than had you not come, you may be disappointed.