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GYC3185 - Teaching Conversational English Country: Mexico Cost: £995.00 Cost Includes: The price includes accommodation, food and pickup from airport but does not include flight, insurance, kit or visas     Duration: 1 months Company Rep Nearby: All the time 0845 344 7627 or

 

	This placement would suit... people hoping to become teachers and those who are not who want to do something worthwhile. people hoping to become teachers and those who are not who want to do something worthwhile. We work in both Primary and Secondary schools in Mexico, if you prefer working with either age group then do let us know. Both age groups have formal English lessons as part of their curriculum but most of the English they know will have been from American TV programmes. Therefore, some of their English vocabulary may be surprising! However, with this in mind most of the children's English will be basic, certainly the younger children. With a big industrial super power to the north, English is just as important here to the employment prospects of most Mexicans. With most big business in Mexico sponsored by businesses in the US, it is vitally important that you have a reasonable command of English if you hope to get a good and secure job. You will be working as a language assistant, helping the children improve their conversational English. You will break the classes into smaller groups, working on their pronunciation and listening skills. Part of your job will be to help them understand the meaning of some of the phrases they already know and expanding their vocabulary beyond that needed for watching American TV! The schools here are quite well resourced but perhaps your most useful resource will be the music of pop stars like Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Lopez or Ricky Martin. A lot of popular musicians of Latin American origin have produced songs for the Spanish speaking market. Try and take out some music where they are singing in English, your students will probably be familiar with the Spanish version of the songs and this is a great tool when teaching listening and the phonetics of English (the sounds associated with different letters). Knowing a little Spanish before you join us, although not essential, will certainly be useful. Even if it is nothing more basic than “Be quiet and listen!” Note all projects working with children require a background check. This is an extra cost of about £10 but we will make the necessary arrangements. Note that parking tickets, speeding fines, and some criminal convictions will not prevent you from joining us; we simply check if you have any prior convictions relating to harming children. Accommodation During your time with us in Mexico, you will be staying in hostel type accommodation in Puerto Vallarta. This will be in a house that we have rented from the local people. All the volunteers stay together in the same accommodation which means that you are never far away from someone to socialise with in the evenings or travel with at weekends. Usually, four people will share a room. The standard of the accommodation will good but not quite what you are used to at home so please don’t expect all mod cons, but it will be clean and tidy. The house has hot and cold running water and electricity, but this occasionally fails. There will be someone there to look after the house and they will cook your meals, which means that if you can't quite get used to Mexican food then they can cook something similar to what you are used to at home. Puerto Vallarta is centrally located for all our projects in Mexico. Travelling around this fairly small city is easy whether you are teaching or on a medical project, you placement will be easy to reach by bus or even by walking. Very occasionally, we place volunteers with local families. This is usually during off-peak times when only a handful of volunteers are with us in Mexico. If this is the case we will send you full details of your family accommodation before your departure. Our staff will be on hand during office hours if you have any general queries and only a phone call away outside office hours if there’s something much more urgent. Weekends Part of the cost of the programme in Mexico includes a basic Spanish course and cultural induction. These usually take place on evenings and are completely optional. If you already have reasonable Spanish you may elect to opt out of the lessons. Your weekends are free and volunteers usually get together to travel during this time. Puerto Vallarta has great transport links with the rest of the country and travel by bus is cheap and comfortable. This may be along the coast to visit the turtle project, in to the jungle, climbing dormant volcanoes, visiting Guadalajara (Mexico’s most Mexican city), or travelling to visit temples. Alternatively, you will never be far away from some golden beaches so if you just want to chill out and relax you’re in the right place. Puerto Vallarta is located in the stunning Banderas Bay. Hundreds of tourists flock to the region each year for its golden beaches and lush green tropical forests. This means that there’s plenty to do in the region itself. Alternatively, there are lots of hidden beaches so if you just want to get away from it and chill, a relaxing beach is never too far away. Puerto Vallarta is also home to some stunning restaurants and bars. The nightlife in PV is second to none, especially during the spring break season when the area is inundated with American college students. Feel free to enjoy (at the weekends only please!) but watch your budget as many of these places charge tourist prices. You will find a number of excellent authentic ‘local’ restaurants and bars that don’t stretch the budget quite so much, but they tend to be a little bit off the beaten track. 0845 344 7627 Joining Global Volunteer Projects is as much about learning as it is about giving. Our programmes are designed to incorporate learning the local language and something about the local culture. All our programmes include, where applicable, basic language courses as well as 'culture' courses. This may be drumming in Ghana, yoga in India or learning Swahili in Tanzania. We also offer a wide range of projects, teaching, conservation and orphanage work for those keen to get involved as well as medicine and journalism placements for those looking to gain that all important work experience.