ABCi Volunteer Program

I volunteered with ABCi recently and had a very positive experience. I would highly recommend this program. Ben and Frank are fair and very hard working. The staff thoughtfully listen to concerns and respond appropriately.

The program is great. ABCi is taking Austria by storm and becoming a nationally recognized non-profit. The teaching is fun, active and easy to learn. I am very happy I completed this program.

As one of the youngest teachers ABCi have ever taken on, I feel privileged at having been given the opportunity to teach and volunteer for them. In general, it is an excellent programme, if you don't mind early mornings, and hard work! The opportunity to work with loads of different kids, all of different ages and skill levels, is one that I think will be hugely beneficial to me in the future! The training we got during the first month of the placement was invaluable, and has been really useful in all of the teaching I have done since. What I would say is that following on from the first month, once we had grasped the basics, there was too much time devoted to training, which I think was because the programme that they were teaching was changing-it meant that, with the long days travelling, things did at times become very stressful!
Apart from that, though, there are only good things to be said about ABCi. The staff are really friendly, helpful and make you feel very welcome when you arrive. The country and the people you meet on the job are amazing, and the different places you stay, in Gmunden, Vienna and then roaming around, are at times breathtaking. The teaching itself is really enjoyable, as long as you take some classes with a pinch of salt, and are a fairly confident person! Some days, you get nightmare classes, but that's just to be expected, and my advice would be to do your best while you are there, reflect on it afterwards and then move on! Most of the time, it's not your fault.
Overall, it's a great volunteer programme, where you get to meet lots of lovely people, see lots of great things and gain some incredible experiences along the way!

This offered a chance to see and experience many parts of Austria, promote and teach english in a variety of schools, and lived up to its billing. From unforgettable car journeys over mountains to waking up in a ferienwohning high up and finding there was a lake underneath and mountains across the far side, obscured by the mist the night before, you will experience living in Austria, working in out of the way schools in Alpine Valleys and engaging with excited schoolkids. You will also experience commuting to work in and around Vienna, and have the chance to explore the city and country on weekends. Almost always, you will be warmly welcomed by the director and teachers of the school for the day or week and find that the kids faces light up when you engage them in the activities. It will challenge you but you will also learn much more about Austria.

One of the things I loved most about ABCi's program is the authenticity - real native English speakers immersed in Austrian schools. Since many of the schools at which ABCi teaches (at least, in my experience), are in semi-rural to rural areas, I felt that I was benefiting as much from the local Austrian culture as the students benefited from my American culture and English language abilities. Austrians are so hospitable and welcoming. At the end of my first week with ABCi, a student gave me a jar of his mother's homemade strawberry jam as a thank you!

Frank and Ben were fantastic to work with, providing logistical support, motivation, answers to questions inside and outside the classroom, and fun. Their passion and enthusiasm are contagious for both the volunteers and the students. Who can resist smiling when a burly 6'3" man is dancing like a moose?!?

I particularly liked the team atmosphere that ABCi promoted and the nightly prep meetings to make sure we teachers knew what to expect the next day. I also liked the daily recap with the students to discuss what they enjoyed. It helped me continue to advance my teaching skills.

Austria is beautiful, no matter the season. The snow covered Alps are gorgeous in the winter, and sitting along a river bank enjoying a Radler in the summer is as good as life gets!

I would definitely recommend ABCi as a fantastic place to work abroad!

As an experienced trainer who has been with ABCi for over a year now, I have taught in a variety of schools around Austria, with diverse groups of students, classroom organizational structures and teaching staff. That in itself is extremely valuable for anyone wanting to expand their understanding of and competencies in being an English teacher to non-native speakers.
Being on the move week-to-week is both exciting and challenging. It is exciting because I have worked in completely different settings all over the country - from villages to big cities, and from primary schools to high schools. It is challenging because I have been frequently away from 'home' while moving from place to place and have had to take on a new form of adaptability. The weekly programs are also subject to change even a few days before they begin, so it definitely has required me to remain flexible and accept a certain level of unpredictability in scheduling.
Even though each week is the same in terms of the program and general schedule, I have never had the same experience once. There are plenty of opportunities to give and receive feedback on the program, which has allowed me to improve my own teaching, as well as give my advice on how to adapt activities when I have felt it was necessary. I think you must adopt a particular teaching style with ABCi, but you can still adjust some activities as seems fit.
The best moments are on Friday's, when students present their work of the week to their parents, teachers and peers. Through songs, theater and workshop demonstrations, all in English, I have been consistently surprised by the unique personalities and capabilities of each student. All the hard work of the week pays off on Friday when you see the students up there on stage, glowing with nervousness and excitement, and then radiating with happiness and pride when you give them their certificate of completion at the end.
I think that moment captures the value of the ABCi program for young students throughout Austria. And, if someone truly cares about being a teacher, there is no better confirmation of the value this work has.

I completed my month-long voluntary training period with ABCi in February 2013, and was then offered a full-time position with the organisation, until July 2013. I only ever intended to stay for a month, and then to look for jobs at home in England. However, 6 months down the line, I am still here and still loving every single day! I have recently been able to extend my time at ABCi for another year, and I am incredibly excited about the further opportunities and experiences that are waiting around the corner!
I am a trained primary school teacher from England, and originally applied to ABCi because I wanted experience teaching abroad. During my initial voluntary training period, I was given the opportunity to observe other teachers, and when teaching, feedback on a daily basis in my first week. The support I received from senior teachers during this time and throughout my experience has been to the highest standard; positive, constructive feedback and encouragement goes a long way! During this time I saw my confidence in my own classroom skills develop massively.
When I returned to the organisation as a full-time teacher, they offered me full room and board, lessons to improve my German, lessons to improve my driving, opportunities to contribute towards their programme development, and opportunities to observe and give feedback to newer members of staff. My experience and qualifications as a primary school teacher were acknowledged, and as a result, I have been able to use my training to help develop the school programmes.
ABCi is a great community to be a part of. The teachers are positive, friendly and sociable, which makes the occasional early morning starts a lot easier to get through! In the past we have had many ABCi social events, including a BIERZELT CHALLENGE, an end of term dinner, a very interesting ski tour experience and a team mountain hike! The standard of accommodation and board provided is very high, and I know a great deal of thought and care is put into making these arrangements for teachers. The office apartment in Gmunden is an ideal base for experiencing Austria during the volunteer period; close by there is a beautiful lake (5 minutes’ walk), shops, restaurants, cafes, swimming, hiking, skiing, mountaineering, and numerous weekly community festivals!
My time so far at ABCi has been a truly rewarding experience, and I’m incredibly grateful to Ben and Frank for the opportunities they have given me to develop my career and confidence. I’ve had quite a few jobs since leaving school, but in none of them have I laughed so much, or felt so valued as a teacher, as at ABCi!

I have worked on and off as a volunteer at ABCi numerous times throughout the last 6 months and I generally find it to be a very rewarding experience. I was really struck by the reactions of the teachers at the schools where I gave free English lessons. They always initially thought it was too good to be true - how could a whole group of people possibly want to help kids so much without there being something in it for them. Eventually the truth sinks in that we genuinely are interested in being charitable and helping them. This makes me think ABCi is definitely doing something right.

There are a range of different schools in both built-up areas and more remote areas, both with young and old children, gifted and the not-so-gifted. I've really enjoyed travelling around and seeing new towns and the countryside which is so utterly beautiful and varied in this small country.

The suggested programme is refined down to a precise art to give the kids a true English cultural experience in just a single lesson, but you still have the time to develop and implement your own ideas. The teaching keeps you on your toes. Every class is different from the next. Kids are after all individuals and what works for some may not work for others.

On the whole, I have had the advantage of working with very dedicated, passionate fellow volunteers and it was real pleasure to get to know people from other walks of life and learn from each other. I particularly learned a lot from observing one of the full-time teachers who expertly uses hand motions and signals to get even the youngest Austrian children to understand her, which I have tried to incorporate into my own teaching.

There is a range of other stuff a volunteer gets experience in besides the English teaching like creating programming, chatting with kids on the virtual classroom and various other admin tasks.

I really appreciate all the small touches that the two managers (Frank and Ben) implement to make the experience at ABCi fun for us volunteers, and not just the kids. The office in Gmunden is fully kitted out to make living there for any prolonged period of time totally comfortable (a double-bed each, kitchen, bathroom, washing machine, top of the line coffee maker, etc.) and we have enjoyed several really fun team-building events together (a beer fest with surprise fun games and the end of year dinner to mention a few).

With regards to the previous reviewer who left such a negative review:
This young woman completely failed to mention the large personal loan she took from myself and my husband, which was supposed to tide her over until her citizenship application came through that she never paid back. The fact that we are by no means rich wasn't important to her. Instead, she demanded to receive yet another large loan from us or she wouldn't be joining the other volunteers a few days later, despite the fact that schools were expecting to receive her. I think this says a lot about her character and how much you can trust any "review" she has written. Particularly since I have talked to so many other volunteers and they have all been so positive about the organisation and its mission.

If you're looking for experience in teaching, particularly using active learning techniques, and you also want to explore one of the most beautiful countries in the world (and practise your skiing), then this is a great programme that won't disappoint.

In case you haven't noticed, every review says how you are working for free. Sadly, ABCi absolutely takes advantage of their volunteers.Their goal, of "making English fun" and increasing language communication between students is a great idea, but with a poor curriculum at best. Their curriculum is filled with camp games and songs, many of which do not meaningfully advance language capacities in foreign students whatsoever. The traveling around Austria is quite nice, but most locations are middle-of-nowhere towns and you wake up around 5:30 am to travel an hour to get there everyday. If you like camp games, I would strongly suggest working at a language camp instead.

ABCi will tell you that you need to volunteer for a full month, only to follow an extremely simplistic set of kids games and activities every day/week. And if ABCi DOES offer to pay you after the month, beware! They offer their employees very different rates and thus never publicly advertise their salary rates since they pay what they feel like. If they think you will volunteer longer, they will absolutely try to get you to. In addition, they like to have their volunteers work on weekends preparing for the next week or for other employees.

If you have any teaching experience whatsoever, this won't really help you develop as a teacher. You're following a scripted set of camp games, and you can go on autopilot quite easily. If you are looking to play around with kids and not have to think very much, while working for free, then this is the program for you.