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Where in the world would you volunteer teach?

 
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VanIslander



Joined: 18 Aug 2003
Location: Geoje, Hadong, Tongyeong,... now in a small coastal island town outside Gyeongsangnamdo!

PostPosted: Sun Aug 24, 2003 2:05 pm    Post subject: Where in the world would you volunteer teach? Reply with quote

Even though you may like your job or the money here in Korea, where have you thought about taking a few months or a year off to teach English as a volunteer? Or, Where have you?

I have this reoccuring dream plan to spend a year traveling AND teaching. Sometimes the details vary, but basically this is it:

Arrow Jan/Feb teach on a rural Thai, Malaysian or Indonesian Isle;
Arrow Mar/Apr teach in Nepal or Tibetian India (meet the Lama in Dharamsala);
Arrow May/June teach in sub-Africa, likely Malawi or Tanzania, perhaps next to Kilimanjaro or on the coast.;
Arrow July teach a summer camp in Morocco or go the orphanage route in Khazakstan;
Arrow Aug/Sept teach in Portugal, Cyprus, a Greek Isle, or venture north to Estonia;
Arrow Oct/Dec teach in volunteer-needy Honduras, Bolivia or Ecuador, maybe the Galapagos Isles.

I'm attracted to those countries which don't pay much for English teachers. I hear you can do the world and get paid for it in countries like Costa Rica, Turkey, Slovakia, Maldives, China-occupied Tibet.

Where'd you go?
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ohahakehte



Joined: 24 Aug 2003
Location: The State of Denial

PostPosted: Sat Aug 30, 2003 11:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

my thoughts on this might disappoint you and probably arent along the lines of what you're thinking, but here goes.

I dont think one should take English teaching anymore seriously than it should be taken. ESL is an industry, teachers are a commodity and students are the consumers, buyers and products. Especially when it comes to teaching in poor countries, I have major problems with the idea that ones fluency in English or experience in teaching it allows one to "travel and teach." Its like English teachers are neo-missionaries. The reason why most people in foreign countries want to learn English is to integrate themselves more into Western "civilization" and increase their employment prospects. Consider too that a lot of the people who take ESL courses have the money to pay for them, and they represent a minority in most countries of the world. I suppose in a way its a win-win situation, because we (mostly white, Westerners) get to travel and they get to learn a means of communication that brings them into the West. But theres just so many power imbalances in these situations and I think its important that one is aware of them and has no illusions about teaching English overseas.

Another concern for me is the fact that most languages of the world are not expected to survive for another century. English is virtually strangling languages to death. If you live in North America, talk to any Native person on a reserve and they'll tell you that most of the Native youth (and probably even the middle-aged and some elders) dont speak their language and might not even want to. They're speaking English. Its a very similar situation throughout the world and something that worries me very much.
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Broccoli



Joined: 28 Jul 2003
Location: Right foot in Limbo, left foot sliding somewhere darker.

PostPosted: Sat Aug 30, 2003 12:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

van islander, i've been planning to do the same thing after repaying student debts and saving a bit of cash, but with longer stops (3-6 months). there are a series of organization that aid ex-prostitutes (many of them small girls) in urban areas of countries such as thailand and nepal. they teach these women/girls to communicate in english because it makes them more employable and thus more independant. these organizations need english teachers but can't afford to pay for them. they don't require any experience or education level in their volunteers, but they would very much appreciate having experienced EFL teachers on board. you can check out www.Idealist.org for opportunities, or pm me for a couple i've been looking at.

while i share ohahakehte's concern about the loss of domestic cultures and languages, learning english can be empowering for a lot of people around the world. knowledge is power, and knowledge of english can give people more opportunities ... i'm thinking now of the opression that indians suffered at the hands of british colonialists... the british set up the legal system in english, which meant that the average indian was unable to navigate local laws without the aid of someone educated (and likely indoctrinated) in the british system. but, some indians learned to navigate the british system without being indoctrinated with its values, and this empowered them to advance their own causes. neocolonialism is a crappy state of affairs, but given that state of affairs, it is often in the best interest of people around the world to learn english as a means for them to defend themselves, their communities and their cultures.
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ohahakehte



Joined: 24 Aug 2003
Location: The State of Denial

PostPosted: Sat Aug 30, 2003 2:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

broccoli i agree that the field of teaching english certainly has its areas that are more altruistic - like the aid programs in nepal and thailand - but again there are questionable underlying assumptions and beliefs at work here. i mean, i could say much the same thing about the multitude of christian missions around the world - many would strongly disagree with their moral, philosophical and religious bases, but it cant be denied that some of the greatest champions of the poor and oppressed were religious organizations. but even that isnt a real comparison, because teaching english in itself is nothing like a religious institution.

again though, its also worth considering that many aid programs and organizations that originiate in Western countries (namely the US and Britain) directly tie their funding and support to the requirement that all of their activities and literature be in English. thats a pretty powerful statement, because having English spoken is not all that that entails, it often brings along with it all of the questionable and very destructive cultural assumptions of the West.

when we say that learning English can be empowering for people around the world, we must be clear that its not like all of the world is lining up to learn the langauge. as i said in my previous response, the ones who will be taking these ESL courses in countries like China, Indonesia, Peru, etc, will be the ones who can afford it, and represent the minority in their respective cultures. in the end there will be the same old pattern: a well-educated and affluent elite lording Western values over a mostly poor, unemployed and culturally unassimilated population. so im not sure that the knowledge of English in such countries makes any significant difference in the end towards strengthening of culture and self-determination. If anything it would destroy such initiatives, because it would reorient their development along Western and English lines, and we see this happening already in most third world countries. ive seen from experience with native people in canada that the attempt to "preserve culture" through an English and Western framework achieves disturbing results. it might bolster certain civil rights and give poor people more jobs and better living conditions, but its at the expense of culture and language. the health and living conditions of natives are better than they were 20 years ago but the number of speakers of Canada's native languages has plummetted dramatically to the point where only 3 of 60 languages have a good chance of survival into the 21st century. theres a great book that deals with all of the issues of the politics of English and ESL: Linguistic Imperialism by Robert Phillipson.

my point isnt to slam any and all ESL and English teaching programs as being hopelessly ethnocentric and therefore wrong (though in certain respects definitely is) because ultimately im a hypocrite as a participant in the world of ESL. but i think its crucial that we recognize the cultural, political and economic implications of English teaching and not dive into it with attitudes and motivations comparable to European missionaries during the colonial age who sought to convert the heathen and bring them all the benefits of civilization.
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justagirl



Joined: 17 Jan 2003
Location: Cheonan/Portland

PostPosted: Sun Aug 31, 2003 2:03 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

In response to the question posted:

I'd love to volunteer in Central America. I spent 10 weeks in Guatemala when I was in college, and I loved the people, the culture, the language, the music, the food--I know, probably not enough time for culture shock to hit for all you critics out there. Smile

That is my long term goal--go get my MA in teaching, my endorsements in Spanish and ESL, and spend my summers away from school in other countries offering what I can to those in need.

justagirl
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schwa



Joined: 18 Jan 2003
Location: Yap

PostPosted: Sun Aug 31, 2003 2:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thoughtful responses above about the big picture.

On the practical level, your scheme sounds selfserving & probably unworkable. A selfrespecting teacher needs to learn something about the culture & needs of his students, which requires commitment a good bit beyond 2 months. You'd just be starting to settle in & it would be bye now. No organization is going to trouble themselves accommodating a weak commitment like that & the immigration boys would just be shaking their heads.

Nice fantasy. Needs a rethink.
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Mr. Literal



Joined: 03 Jul 2003
Location: Third rock from the Sun.

PostPosted: Sun Aug 31, 2003 5:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Volunteer teach? No where. My labor is always worth something.
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William Beckerson
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 31, 2003 6:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Maybe the Playboy Mansion, but that's it.
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Mr. Literal



Joined: 03 Jul 2003
Location: Third rock from the Sun.

PostPosted: Sun Aug 31, 2003 6:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

William Beckerson wrote:
Maybe the Playboy Mansion, but that's it.


Okay, Beckerson's changed my mind (and my attitude). I WOULD volunteer to teach at the Playboy Mansion.
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waterbaby



Joined: 01 Feb 2003
Location: Baking Gord a Cheescake pie

PostPosted: Sun Aug 31, 2003 6:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

justagirl wrote:
That is my long term goal--go get my MA in teaching, my endorsements in Spanish and ESL, and spend my summers away from school in other countries offering what I can to those in need.


Sounds like a grand plan to me, justagirl Very Happy Go for it!
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Medic



Joined: 11 Mar 2003

PostPosted: Sun Aug 31, 2003 7:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

In Korea you've got the orphanages, and there are also the YMCA's. Did both, and found them very well organized. Orphange work was posted on another thread somewhere, but the YMCA's offer free camps for children of parents who can't afford the more expensive camps. I went to a YMCA camp out of Taegu during a winter break for a week, and we stayed in a community center just South of the Muju ski resort. There were volunteer Korean teachers as well as Native English speakers, and the camp was very laid back. A plesure after the hectic pace of the more expensive camps.

The children in both the orphanage and the YMCA camps we found were somewhat disadvantaged. The orphange kids for obvious reasons, and the YMCA kids because most of them were from solo parent families. At the YMCA camp they brought in a guy who organized one evening where the kids participated in many Korean indoor group activities. They are standard routine activities, but the guy they brought in had a few extra ones up his sleeve. The kids and even us teachers still enjoyed his activities even though we had seen a lot of them before.
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