english teaching volunteer

Dedicating your time, energy and skills as a volunteer teacher in Nepal is a great way to spend your gap year or holiday vacation. You can gain valuable work experience without any previous teaching experience, while helping create a better future for those less off than yourself. Your English speaking abilities and enthusiasm are all that is needed to make a big difference in these school

The impact you will have on your students will be obvious as they start to develop their language abilities, but you will also be part of a much larger network of volunteers, which is making a positive and ongoing contribution to the wider community.

In Nepal we work with different schools in Kathmandu. You can choose between teaching in primary schools or in secondary schools. The schools have very basic facilities and the main resources you will have in your classroom are a white board and a marker, or even just a black board and a piece of chalk. In spite of this, the eagerness of the children and the appreciation of your time and effort are sure to make volunteer teaching in Nepal a highly rewarding experience.

Class sizes are generally around 20-30 pupils, depending on which level you wish to teach. If you already have teaching experience you may be able to teach as a “solo teacher”, otherwise you will teach alongside other volunteers or local teachers. Most of our teaching placements require you to work between 4-6 hours per day from Sunday to Friday.

The children will often have some English language skills but there is always lots of room for improvement. Although your main role will be to teach English, you will also teach additional subjects such as math, general hygiene practices, and life skills. Local staff will also be eager for you to organize extra-curricular activities such as art, drama, music, and sports. Participating in these activities will give your students a creative outlet, as well as helping to boost their self-esteem. As a teaching volunteer, you will:

• Observe the class in the first couple of days, to help you to figure out students’ English level and prepare your classes.

• Assist a teacher during class or lead your own classes. You will teach 3-5 classes, 6 days per from Sunday to Friday; each class will be 30-45 minutes long. Classes can be primary or secondary, depending on your interests.

• Organize extra activities like art, drawing, sports, drama or any other extra-curricular activities. Your ideas must be discussed with the school principle or school coordinator beforehand.

When you arrive in Nepal, you will be picked up at the airport and dropped to our HQ where most volunteers stay for 2 days of volunteer induction. After your orientation you will stay with a local host family or continue to stay at our HQ if you prefer. Most volunteers stay close to the school they teach at, possibly even with a teacher or the school principal. Living in such a close-knit community will allow you to learn a great deal about typical Nepali life and will greatly enhance your experience of the country.

Once you arrive in Nepal, you will be provided with a training orientation program. This will usually last for 2 days. The program includes:

• Introduction and orientation
• Language lessons
• Cultural and safety advice
• Sightseeing in Kathmandu
• Detailed briefing on your placement

 In most cases volunteers are expected to teach basic English. Advancing their vocabulary is particularly important at this stage of their learning and teachers are encouraged to use songs, dances and other activities to make the experience as fun as possible. A friendly, outgoing personality is a plus, as it will help the kids get over their initial shyness.

Though teaching class will be the mainstay of your duties as a volunteer in Nepal, you may also find yourself drafted in for other work at the school. For example, if your students are preparing for exams you may be asked to help out with the preparations. Nepali teachers are friendly and welcoming, and will be open to trying out new and innovative teaching methods.

 As an English teacher in Nepal your top priority will be to advance the children’s language skills as much as possible during the duration of your stay. This will be both challenging and rewarding, and will enrich the lives of both you and your students. For the children the mere exposure to a western or native speaker of English is of huge benefit, while the progress made through new teaching methods is also a major plus.

The ability to speak, read and write in English is becoming more and more important in Nepal and is fast becoming a required skill for job placement and educational advancement. Anything the children learn in your class will benefit them significantly in years to come.

Not only can you enrich the students’ lives during your time in Nepal, you can also help the teachers. Repetitive learning is still common practice in Nepal. For our volunteers, this is an opportunity to bring new and fun teaching practices to the classroom and exchange thoughts and ideas with Nepalese teachers.

 The minimum age requirement for volunteers in this project is 18. No formal teaching qualifications are required to teach English at a Nepali school. We do, however, ask for our volunteers to be fluent in both written and spoken English and have plenty of enthusiasm, initiative and patience.

Participation in the Teaching English Volunteer Project starts at $799 for two weeks, with each additional week is $99.

Program Fee Includes:  Airport pick up and drop off, accommodation during orientation and entire project time, 2 day orientation, 10 hours of basic Nepalese language lessons, all meals during project placement, 24/7 assistance support.

Program Fee Does Not Include: Plane tickets, international medical insurance, cost of transportation to and from work location.

The 1st and 15th of every month are the start / arrival dates for this program. An orientation is provided in the days after arrival, and prior to actual start in one’s service program.

Please visit our Additional Project Info page for more information on this and all of our other Nepal volunteer programs.