Volunteer work for
Cost of Volunteering:
Espaanglisch volunteers pay a one-time administration fee of 200 Nuevos Soles (approximately $70 US) on arrival. The administration fee covers expenses such as rent and electricity for the classrooms, materials and photocopying, advertising, and the salary of occasional paid staff. Detailed information on how the funds are spent is available from David, as our goal is to be completely transparent in the use of the fees that are collected.
Beginning in January 2011, volunteers will also be asked for a 100 Nuevos Soles deposit upon arrival. Volunteers will get this deposit back in full upon successful completion of their previously established time of service. Should a volunteer decide to leave early or not complete his/her time with Espaanglisch, he/she will forfeit this deposit (unless extenuating circumstances such as an emergency are the reason for departure).
Tasks and expectations:
The number of hours a volunteer works depends on the program(s) within which they are teaching. Espaanglisch currently has three programs; Basic English for Children, Basic English for Adults/Youth, and Gringlish Conversation Classes. The following is a description of each to aid in deciding which program is right for you!
Basic English for Children: Espaanglisch partners with a local NGO, USDA (Una Sonrisa de Amor), and another local school, I.E. Simon Bolivar, to provide free English classes to children from the impoverished areas of El Porvenir and El Milagro in Trujillo. Espaanglisch volunteers visit the USDA Preschool and Primary School in El Porvenir and teach each grade level two mornings per week. On the other three mornings, volunteers go to I.E. Simon Bolivar and teach classes to the preschool and primary school (grades 1-6) students.
We encourage volunteers to engage in USDA's non-educational programs as well such as the Sharing Smiles Program which involves Friday night outreach to children and adults who work on the street. Volunteers participate in games and crafts with the children and distribute food to all. Mother's Workshops are another option for volunteers and include the teaching of handicrafts and other skills that they can use to support their families. There is also a similar group for children where they learn handicrafts that offer skills for the future. Finally, USDA's Comedores Comunales Program is a breakfast program where volunteers serve breakfast to families who may otherwise go without. Please note that to participate in these programs at least an Intermediate level of Spanish is required.
Basic English for Adults/Youth: Espaanglisch currently provides free English classes to a small group of 16-19 year old participants from Fairmail, another local NGO partner. These youth come from extremely impoverished areas such as El Milagro, Trujillo´s landfill site. Through Fairmail they are taught photography which they in turn sell for a profit through postcards and cards. Classes take place at Espaanglisch two nights a week for 1 hour. Espaanglisch volunteers are responsible for creating and delivering lesson plans according to a set curriculum.
The Basic English offerings have recently expanded into multiple classes at slightly varied levels, to better accommodate some new students that we have. Peruvians in the greater Trujillo community are now invited to attend the class at a low cost.
Gringlish Conversation Classes: These classes are meant for adults with at least an intermediate level of English and who want to practice their skills. A typical Gringlish student is working in a low income job and is trying to improve their English in order to secure employment in the tourism industry, or is a volunteer with one of our partner NGOs. Volunteers attend for free while non-volunteers pay a low fee. There is no set lesson plan, however classes typically involve a set topic, games and/or activities. Classes are held at Espaanglisch 3 nights a week for 75 minutes each.
Espaanglisch is a small organization that has between 4-6 volunteers each month. However, we are constantly searching for new partners to link us with those who could benefit from free English education. We hope to reach out to increasingly more children, as well as other local NGOs in order to offer classes to their adult volunteers. Our goal is to build on the capacity of volunteers within the helping field and in turn strengthen the NGOs they work for, the larger community, and ultimately Peru as a whole. Thus, the classes we currently offer are likely to change as new programs are anticipated.
Apart from lesson planning and delivering the classes themselves, there is little more in terms of expectations except for prior to leaving. Particularly within the Adult Program, we ask that volunteers leave a summary of what has been covered/accomplished during their time, as well as feedback on each student so that the next volunteer has the information to successfully continue on.
In terms of extra duties, at times there may be a need for promotional work such as handing out flyers or painting signs/walls to inform locals about the school. In general, our hope is that volunteers come with the mindset that they will help out wherever they are needed!
Benefits of volunteering with Espaanglisch:
- Gain experience teaching children, youth and/or adults in a country where learning English can be life changing, and with the freedom to experiment and be creative while doing so.
- Within the Basic English for Children Program, support and assistance by way of a co-teaching method and on-site coordinators.
- Particularly with Gringlish Conversation Classes, an opportunity to learn about Peru, the people and culture, and to share about your own.
- An Induction Kit prior to arrival with information on Peru, Trujillo/Huanchaco etc, an in-person induction upon arrival, and ongoing advice and assistance from Founder/Director, David Mercedes and On-Site Program Coordinator Elizabeth Pratt.
- Cheap, long term accomodation in Trujillo where you can learn and practice Spanish.
- Low cost and easy to arrange Spanish lessons with experienced teachers in Trujillo and Huanchaco.
- Special rates on salsa lessons, cooking lessons, and surf lessons/equipment.
What We Are Looking For In A Volunteer:
- Someone with teaching experience (however it is not essential).
- For Gringlish Conversation Classes a Native English speaker.
- For Basic English for Children Program, someone with experience working with children and/or teaching experience.
- Some knowledge of Spanish, especially for the Basic English for Children and Basic English for Adults/Youth Classes.
- A person who can be enthusiastic, lively and creative in the classroom, as well as someone who is confident, independent and responsible.
- A minimum commitment of one full calendar month. However, for the benefit of the students longer stays are preferred. As well, past volunteers have recommended a longer commitment in order to get more out of the experience.
- A willingness to stay on-site, or if living off-site, to commute to classes.
- An ability to arrive a few days before the start of the month in order to get orientated and do some handoff work with the current volunteer.
- Some travel experience is helpful as is an ability to be flexible and adjust to conditions different than those one is used to back home!
Volunteer Application:
Please forward your resume as well as the answers to the following questions to davidmercedes@espaanglisch.com
1. What is your personal motivation to volunteer at Espaanglisch Language School?
2. What program are you interested in? Please include whether you hope to work with children or adults (or both), and which particular class(es) you are interested in i.e. Basic English vs. Conversation.
3. What is your mother tongue, and at what level of Spanish would you rate yourself?
4. Do you have any teaching experience? If you are interested in working within the children's program, do you have experience working with children? (including non-education experience)
5. What are your expectations in terms of volunteering? i.e. how much or how little time do you see yourself working? Please answer this question openly as we want you to have the experience you are expecting!
6. When exactly do you want to come and for how long would you like to stay? Please note that volunteering starts at the beginning of each month rather than at various points during.
Once we have had a chance to review your application and resume we will contact you to set up a Skype call, the last step in our application process. We prefer to not refer to the Skype conversation as an interview, but rather a chance to talk in more detail about our programs, housing etc. as well as to get to know you better in order to determine what Espaanglisch program would be the best fit.
Volunteer Housing Options:
Señora Carmen's Casa. (A family home as well as the Espaanglisch School (Trujillo)
Single room:
* Private room per week s/. 100 Nuevos Soles (approx. $36 US).
* Includes free use of the kitchen, Internet access, (including Wi-Fi) hot water (rare in Peru).
* Food is not included!
Dormitory (for 2 people):
* Per person per week s/. 90 Nuevos Soles (approx. $32 US).
* Includes free use of the kitchen, Internet access (including Wi-Fi).
* Food is not included but hot water is!
There are of course other housing options, particularly in the beachside town, Huanchaco, approximately 45 minutes away from the school by bus. However, we prefer that volunteers stay at Señora Carmen's Casa (also the Espaanglisch School) as it makes for a more fun and cohesive volunteer experience, especially given there are few volunteers at one time. Volunteers who stay at the house are more connected to the Espaanglisch School and are much closer to the USDA site in El Porvenir and the Simon Bolivar site in El Milagro (than if staying in Huanchaco). It is a chance to live as Peruvians do, complete with cuy (guinea pigs) being raised in the home (see our KFC section under Sun and Fun for further details)! And finally, Señora Carmen speaks only Spanish so it's a great opportunity to practice your Spanish skills!
Espaanglisch
Experience of past volunteers
Elizabeth Meadows, USA glub_glub5_5@hotmail.com
I had a wonderful experience while volunteering with Espaanglisch in Trujillo. All of the students are amazing, and they’ll make you feel like you’re the best teacher on the planet, even if you’re like me and have had little experience before. You learn with them about what works and what doesn’t. David Mercedes really helps you feel at home from the moment you get there; he does a very good job of getting you acclimated quickly and of getting you immersed in Peruvian culture. On our first day, he took my friend Anna and I to “Gringolandia” (a mall) where we played air-hockey, and later that night we had an amazing Peruvian dinner in Huanchaco and danced all night. The living arrangements in Trujillo are very convenient and comfortable, though there are, understandably, some cultural differences that may take a while to get used to. With communication, though, everything should work out wonderfully. My month with Espaanglisch struck a nice balance between work and free time. There are a lot of things to do when you’re not teaching, but you definitely have to take the initiative to fill your free time. I would recommend taking advantage of all of the options, such as taking cooking lessons with Maria, volunteering with SKIP, or taking surf lessons in Huanchaco. Living in Trujillo is pretty laid-back, though the city is large enough to offer whatever services you may need, and the beach (Huanchaco) is only about 25 minutes away. I promise that you’ll find that it all gets into your heart; my only regret is that I didn’t stay longer! Also, let David win at air-hockey
Sebastian Hartzell, England sebhartzell@googlemail.com
If you’re looking to find out what happens when you put an English speaker into a class full of eager Peruvian students, this is a good opportunity. The prospect of this seems a little daunting at first. But you´ll like it. The attitude towards what is taught in the classes is far from strict. There are work sheets that you can use but how you teach them is up to you. The class room is your oyster. Teaching here is a real adventure. You´ll ride a steep learning curve along with your students as you help each other to break the language barrier. David is a bit wacky but nonetheless interesting. And he´ll do his best to make you feel at home and enjoy yourself. There´s a good cinema here and lots of night life if you’re into that sort of thing. Bla bla bla. Anyway. Most importantly. There´s coffee and bread. And if you’re lucky you might get lunch as well.
Neil Lawson, USA hooodooman@yahoo.com
My time in the Espaanglisch volunteer program was a very fulfilling experince. When I first got to Huanchaco I met the head of the program named David Mercedes. Through all my time in Huanchaco he became a great friend and teacher. The first month in Huanchaco we began to paint a language school that would make way for several English classes in the upcoming months. The first month was a great time for me personally. Many days of the week David, I, and two other girls painted the language school to make it a more comfortable environment for the students to learn. In the afternoons I taught English at Espaanglisch School in Trujillo. For 3 months I continued to teach English there and in the newly refurbished language school as well. When I arrived here I had my resentments about teaching English. However, that quickly changed when I met some students in a fellow friend´s class one afternoon. I had this epiphany that we as volunteers have been given the chance to come here and learn Spanish, and that the least I could do in return was to excersise my patience and help others learn a second language. After I let go of all my qualms of teaching English I started to really enjoy the experience fully. I also noticed tremendous progress in some of the students as well, which is of course an incredible feeling. I actually visited a few of them at their homes, and even took a trip with one of them to a small lovely town in Ancash, Peru.
The head of the Espaanglisch program, whom I’ve already mentioned is named David Mercedes, gave me Spanish lessions at least once a week, which were extremely helpful and beneficial in the development of my current ability to speak Spanish. He is a fantastically patient person and understands the rules, structure, and grammar of many languages. The only thing that could be viewed as a downside of these lessons is that he sometimes comes late. However, I came just as late sometimes as well. As long as you get rid of the concept of your time as being extremely important, individual, and like a commodity you will be fine and will take much from the lessons. Besides the concept of puncuality is not practiced a lot in Peru, and whether a person likes that or not they should learn, adapt, and live with it as they are a guest in another land with its particular customs. Other than just being my teacher, I also normally had dinner at David´s house once a week where volunteers would rotate cooking bi weekly.
The best overall part of my experience in Huanchaco might have been the conclusion. I had been having some personal problems in my life, and when I talked to David it helped me very much. This combined with the genuine sencerity and friendship of some of my students helped me very much. I finished my classes and some of my goodbyes to my studnets were very difficult. Overall I rate the experience as very good volunteer work. I actually plan on coming back within a year´s time to teach for a couple more months.
Michelle Stoner,
My volunteer experience as an English teacher with
And fun brings me to the second terrific part of my time with Espaanglisch. Huanchaco is paradise.
Amy Cronin, USA cronin.m.amy@gmail.com
It's hard to write only a small paragraph about my experience with Espaanglisch Language School because it was filled with so many wonderful experiences. I learned about the program Espaanglisch from a good family friend and the idea of teaching in Peru sounded ideal. My twin sister Laura and I decided to teach together and wow, it was a great experience. We arrived December 4th and we lived with David and his darling aunt Carmen for the first month. During my time there she was more like a mother to me than a "señora". She cooked the most amazing meals, always greeted me with a warm smile, and had a great sense of humor. My home in Trujillo was attached to the school, so it was very convenient to teach classes. My sister and I taught two classes in the morning for children. Our kids could not have been cuter. Many of the children commuted over an hour to learn English, so it was very special to teach them. Laura and I had lots of fun preparing for the classes as well. It was so fun creating activities and it was important to all of us to always try to make the lessons enjoyable. In the afternoon we taught a basic grammar class and during the night we taught a conversation class called "Gringlish". I especially enjoyed Gringlish! Gringlish is a conversation class where we got our students to try to only speak English. We organized different activities to make it interesting and it was especially fun for me because I learned so much about the Peruvian culture from my students. We sure had lots of laughs in this class!
David was so helpful getting me adjusted not only with living in a new country, but teaching as well. I really liked living in Trujillo for the first month because it gave me the opportunity to see first hand a typical day in Peru. Huanchacho is the little beach town just 30 minutes away on a bus from Trujillo, so it was so great being able to spend our weekends hanging on the beach. I met people from all over the world in this little town and friendships that I will hold on to forever. It was great to take some surf lessons and the cuisine in Peru is unbelievable. Just delicious! I truly feel that I could not have chosen a better place to volunteer and my students will always have a place in my heart.
I must say that I would never change living in Trujillo for the first month. The second part of our experience we moved to Huanchaco and it was awesome living there as well. Huanchacho is an amazing little town and I must say there's nothing better than waking up a block from the ocean.
Thanks David for allowing me such an amazing opportunity. I will also never forget last Christmas with your amazing family.
Annick Oerlemans, the Netherlands. annickoerlemans@hotmail.com
A perfect mixture between teaching, developing teaching materials, promoting the school and painting a new school. This combined with lovely students, loads of fun, inspiring chats, pie de manzana and dancing salsa in the kitchen of the aunt of David made it for me an unforgettable experience. For me this project was exactly the depth I was looking for during my travels. Getting to know a country and its culture better by actually living and working in it instead of just travelling by. Contributing something to the society here, getting to know my students and getting a look in their everyday life, culture, dreams and beliefs where precious gifts that were given to me. I loved my job from the first till the last day. From the combi I had to take every day to get into Trujillo for my classes till the smiles on the faces of my students when they had pronounced another english word correctly. From buying the paint till opening the new language school and having an open house with popcorn and soda. From developing teaching materials till the last lesson when my students bought cocacola and sodacrackers from their own money to give me a going away party. How sweet is that?!