At a glance
- Work closely with children of many ages as a teaching volunteer in the Galapagos. You'll work alongside teachers and help them teach conversational English.
- In the Galapagos, they need to learn English for better job opportunities because of tourism, so you can help them become more confident in their speech and gain classroom experience.
- You can also teach French, special educational needs, participate in a literacy programme, and work with adults.
- Apart from teaching in this unique place, you'll live with a host family or in a shared accommodation, and there are lots of things to do in your free time.
Is a volunteer Teaching Placement in Ecuador right for me?
This project is perfect for anyone looking for teaching experience. You’ll get practical experience in a different classroom setting, and work with qualified teachers. If you’re interested in becoming a teacher, this is a fantastic addition to your CV. Plus, it will give you plenty to talk about in a job interview or university application.
This project is open to anyone with an excellent command of spoken English. You don’t need any teaching experience, as you will be working alongside local staff. We also run workshops for all our Teaching volunteers, where you can exchange ideas, get advice, and discuss challenges.
If you're interested in teaching other subjects, contact our Project Experts. They'll advise you on what subjects you can teach in Ecuador, and whether you can teach those subjects part-time or full time.
Our volunteer Teaching placements in Ecuador run throughout the year and you can join at any time. We encourage you to stay longer to make a bigger impact on your students.
What will I be doing on this project?
As a volunteer teaching English in Ecuador, your main focus will be to teach conversational English to young children at government schools. You will work alongside local staff and teachers, who will be able to offer you support and advice.
- Help children gain confidence with their English conversation skills
- Assist with other subjects you might be interested in
- Work at a summer camp during school holidays
- Teach conversational English at the Projects Abroad English Centre
At your volunteer Teaching Placement in Ecuador, your work will focus on the following:
Help improve English conversation skills
As a volunteer English teacher, you can help nurture the new generation of young Ecuadorians to be confident speaking the language to anyone they encounter. You will do this by helping improve pronunciation, phonetics, and grammar.
We also set up conversation classes to improve the student’s oral skills and capacity to participate in conversations. You and other volunteers will play an important role in facilitating these.
Assist with other subjects you might be interested in
If you have skills or knowledge about teaching other subjects, you can volunteer to assist local teachers with those too. Some ideas include additional languages (e.g. German or French), IT, maths and science.
Work at a summer camp during school holidays
During the school holidays in March and April, you can get involved at our summer camp and focus on teaching English, art, and sports to local children. Sports lessons may include swimming, basketball, and football, but you can also teach any other sport you're interested in. The children who attend the camp are between the ages of 3 and 11.
Teach conversational English to adults
We also have an English Centre at the Projects Abroad Offices. You can choose to teach conversational English to both adults and children here. You can do this exclusively or combine it with working at a school.
Where will I be working?
San Cristobal
You will be based on the island of San Cristóbal. It forms part of the Galapagos archipelago located about 1,000km from mainland Ecuador in the Pacific Ocean.
With many cobbled streets and an attractive wharf area, Puerto Baquerizo Moreno is a charming village, with much to explore during your evenings off. It’s home to a couple of pristine white beaches, but only two are for humans. The others are all devoted to the protection of the local sea lion population.
We have two placement options. You can teach conversational English at the Projects Abroad English Centre, or work as an assistant teacher in a government school. You can also opt to do both. If you join us doing school holidays, you’ll teach at a summer camp for local children.
If you enjoy spending time outdoors, you may consider taking weekend trips to other parts of the island.
What will my typical day be like working as volunteer English teacher in Ecuador?
The exact details of your day will depend on your placement.
If you teach conversational English at the Projects Abroad Office, your working day will normally start around 12pm and run until the early evening. During these lessons, you will focus on your student’s spoken English and help improve their capacity to have conversations. You can do this by creating possible scenarios and start a casual conversation in this context. The key is to help the student feel as comfortable as possible.
If you opt to teach English at a local public school, you will normally work from about 7:30am till 2pm. While these lessons will include conversational English, you will also help children improve punctuation and grammar.
You also have the option of doing both, which means you can work at the school in the morning and at our offices in the afternoon.
Evenings and weekends are your free time to explore the island with your fellow volunteers.
Also, be sure to make the most of mealtimes with your host family to learn more about Ecuador’s cultural and life on Galapagos islands.
What are the aims and impact of this Teaching Project?
The main aim of this project is to provide educational support within disadvantaged schools and communities. This will help us reduce inequality in education.
Over the past few years, Ecuador has made great progress toward providing primary school education for all. The youth literacy rate currently stands at 99%. However, a huge gap remains between the quality of education provided in public and private schools. Rural schools lack of resources, and the students to teacher ratio is high. Teachers desperately need support with classroom management.
In addition, tourism is a massive industry in the Galapagos Islands because of its incredible biodiversity. This means that people need to understand and speak English to get access to more job opportunities.
We need your help to improve English and support local teachers. By teaching conversational English, you’ll give children the skills they need, and give them more confidence with speaking.
We’ve identified two long-term, sustainable goals for our Teaching Project in Ecuador:
- Improve English
- Improve classroom support
Experience a teaching volunteer opportunity in Ecuador and help us achieve these goals.
Management plans
We set out the aims and objectives of our projects in documents called Management Plans. We use them to properly plan the work you’ll do. They also help us measure and evaluate our achievements and impact each year.
Ultimately, our Management Plans help us make our projects better. This in turn means you get to be part of something that makes a real impact where it’s needed. Read more about our Management Plans.
Measuring our impact
Our projects work towards clear long-term goals, with specific annual objectives. Every volunteer and intern we send to these projects helps us work towards these goals, no matter how long they spend on our projects.
Every year we take a step back and look at how much progress we've made towards these goals. We put together a Global Impact Report, which documents our achievements. Find out more about the impact our global community of volunteers, interns and staff make, and read the latest report.
Food and accommodation
You'll share accommodation with other Projects Abroad volunteers and interns during your stay in San Cristóbal. This is a great way to get to know your fellow volunteers and interns, share experiences, and explore your surroundings in your free time together. You can also request to stay with a host family in San Cristóbal.
The accommodation is safe, clean, and comfortable. Your programme fees include three meals a day.
Find out more about our accommodation.
Leisure activities and free time
Our projects in Ecuador are based in the Galapagos Islands. This region is famed for the research Charles Darwin did here with its many unique animal species. It’s the ideal location to explore the natural beauty of Ecuador.
While you’re volunteering here, it’s worth checking out the beautiful beaches where seabirds circle above and sea lions laze about on the sand. You can also go snorkelling or scuba diving along the coast.
Hiking around the base of one of the many volcanoes that make up the Galapagos is spectacular and thrilling! You can also follow the Darwin trail or trek through the Punta Pitt.
There are plenty of museums and art galleries for you to learn more about the culture and history. You can also chat to locals and buy souvenirs at bustling markets.
What’s great about joining our projects is the chance to connect with other volunteers. So you can choose to explore the Galapagos independently or you can travel with the new friends you make along the way.
Safety and staff support
Your safety and security is our prime concern. We have many procedures and systems to ensure you have the support you need to enjoy your trip with peace of mind. Our Projects Abroad staff are available 24 hours a day to help, and will be on hand to make sure you settle in well at your accommodation and placement. If you encounter any problems, they will be available to help at any time.
Find out more about safety and backup.
This placement is fully researched, safety audited, and risk assessed in accordance with the British Standard BS8848 for the Adventure Travel Sector.
Meet the team in Ecuador
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