Volunteer English Teacher

Fields of Expertise: ESL/EFL ,  ESL to Children ,   
Salary: Negotiable

Details: We have excellent volunteer programs in Costa Rica ranging from 3 months to 1 year all over the country. Volunteers will arrive in Costa Rica’s capital, San José, where they will stay and attend a 3-5 day orientation on Costa Rican culture and English Language Teaching. On the last day volunteers will be picked up and sent to their respective teaching communities where they will stay with a Costa Rican host family. Lodging and 3 meals a day are provided for the enitre time the voluteer is here. All of our volunteers are only required to work Monday-Thurday, providing 3 day weekends to travel and explore Costa Rica. Additionally, we allow 10 hours/week for students to provide private paid classes in orfer to supplement their income while volunteering.
We have 3 program options ranging in time and price from 3 months to 1 year, $950-$4,900.
1) Public School Assistance: 6 months, $950 - 1 year, $1,450
This option is excellent for those who prefer to gain experience working with children and/or in public schools. In order to participate in this program, it is mandatory that volunteers have a university degree in education, and a TEFL certificate is preferred. The Costa Rican public school year begins in February and ends in December, with a two-week vacation in July. Volunteers can choose between working in the school for 1 semester or the entire school year. Qualified volunteers will work with the English professor(s) at the school, where he or she will take over and conduct the English classes. This will also serve as a training for the professor, as he or she will be observing the volunteer and learning new techniques to continue in the classroom in the future.
2) Local Development: 6 months, $3,100 - 1 year, $4,900
Commonly referred to as our “traditional program,“ volunteers can choose from communities from all over the country, whether they choose to live on the warm beach or in the lush mountainous regions. Volunteers will work with the local Chamber of Tourism, where they will give free English classes to members of the community in order to support a sustainable tourism industry. Students include airport employees, tour guides, taxi drivers, massueses, etc.
3) Assistant Teacher with INA, National Learning Institute: 3 months, $1,250
This is an excellent option for those who do not want to stay longer than 3 months and to gain firsthand experience before applying for paid teaching positions, whether the volunteer wants to stay in Costa Rica for an extended period of time following the volunteer work, travel to other parts of the world to teach ESL, or gain professional and international experience before applying to jobs in his or her home county. With INA, volunteers will work side by side with certified INA English Professors teaching to adult community members (15+ years old) in areas surrounding the Central Valley. These English classes are provided primarily in urban areas and directed towards populations who suffer from social economic limitations and cannot pay to take regular English classes. The schedule of the volunteers will entirely depend on the schedule of the lead professor, but will likely be full time hours with weekends free to travel.