Job Discussion Forums

jski · Joined: 14 Oct 2010 Posts: 9 Location: Seattle

Hey, I have been looking for a way to teach English in SE Asia for 5-6 months and I stumbled upon this program called Volunteer in Cambodia http://www.volunteerincambodia.org/index.php and I was curious if anyone knew anything about it? I know ppl on this board hate on volunteer teaching as it lowers wages for "real" teachers etc. but it doesn't make sense for me to pay to get my TESOL to teach for just 5 months. I've been saving alot of cash and figure 850 for 3 months of room/board is less than I would have paid while looking for work upon arrival anyway. Any comments would be welcome, although what I really want to know is if this program is a big rip off, meaning, anyone familiar with living/working conditions etc? Does it even exist? You get the gist. Thanks.

80daze · Joined: 15 Oct 2008 Posts: 118 Location: China

I don't know about this company but I do know that companies in Thailand that do the same thing also get paid by the schools. In other words you pay them to teach and the school pays them for "YOU" to teach!

So they get paid twice for doing nothing and you pay for the privilege of being exploited!

Again, I don't know about this company!

sirenii · Joined: 20 Oct 2009 Posts: 21

Jski, I haven't participated yet in this program, but I am very impressed with the work of CRDC, and intend to volunteer for one of their rural Cambodia development projects. I have 25+ years in nonprofit administration in the States and I've looked over all CRDC's materials. I believe they're legit or I wouldn't be applying for one of their projects. The Conversations with Foreigners program is a fundraising arm of CRDC and a valuable means to create revenue to continue their development projects in impoverished areas. The students you'll teach in Phnom Penh pay a very nominal fee to the school to cover administration costs. Your accommodation costs are low for a volunteer situation abroad and include some revenue for the nonprofit. It's not like the other volunteer programs you see online which are only profit motivated. As I said, I have no direct experience with them yet, but am favorably impressed with their programs and documentation. Go, enjoy, fall in love with teaching, get certified, and then launch your career in TEFL/TESOL with the rest of us!

calmallamadown · Joined: 08 Jun 2009 Posts: 4

CWF is very legit, and everything sirenii says is accurate. I've been working with them for a number of months. Absolutely no complaints about living or working conditions. It's a great introduction to both Cambodia and ESL. Feel free to send me a message if you have any other questions.

hogiekj · Joined: 12 Dec 2010 Posts: 2

I'm new to teaching ..I've done a TESOL cert with some prac. teaching and I do some occasional stand-in teaching so my experience in limited. The Volunteer in Cambodia scheme suggests an allocation of 25 hours per week of face to face teaching. This strikes me as a fairly full-on workload. Surely with prep time, even on a hour for hour basis, you'd hardly see the light of day from Monday to Friday. Someone tell me I'm wrong..

calmallamadown · Joined: 08 Jun 2009 Posts: 4

At CWF, you're expected to teach 4 hours a day plus one backup hour. You only teach the backup hour if another teacher is sick. Sometimes, if there are a lot of volunteers in a given semester, only 3 hours a day are required. I've observed a lot of volunteers going through this program, and for the most part they find the first week or two very busy and stressful (like you, most have limited or no teaching experience), but once they get to know their students and get used to lesson planning they have a lot of free time.

Hope that clears everything up. Let me know if you have any other questions, although as you can tell I don't use this board very often.

Skyblue2 · Joined: 04 Sep 2007 Posts: 127

Skyblue2 · Joined: 04 Sep 2007 Posts: 127

calmallamadown · Joined: 08 Jun 2009 Posts: 4

Hey, not sure what school you're referring to, Skyblue, but just to clear everything up, CWF only has one location and it's near the Russian Market. If you choose to live at the volunteer house you are a 10 minute walk away from the school. It's also fairly easy to find an affordable apartment close by if you'd rather live on your own.

Skyblue2 · Joined: 04 Sep 2007 Posts: 127

calmallamadown · Joined: 08 Jun 2009 Posts: 4

The only location is on st. 271. Near Sovanna, but closer to the Russian Market. Is that the street you mean?

Skyblue2 · Joined: 04 Sep 2007 Posts: 127

No, I know that one. I thought I saw another one further south, but that was some time ago.