Teach English in India

Since its population passed the one billion landmark, India's economy really started to boom, and its labour market has found itself much in demand from all manner of foreign companies looking to outsource work or benefit from the cheap manpower. But despite the fact that you will find English speakers throughout the country, the standard of conversational English teaching in public schools is usually very poor. The students may know about English literature and are better at grammar than most native-speakers, but they find it hard to make themselves understood and therefore lack the confidence to speak English, missing out on the jobs that will go to those who can afford a private education.

Volunteer English teaching in India is an ideal way to help redress this balance. You can gain invaluable development work experience without any previous experience, and you are not required to have undergone TEFL training. Whether you are coming to volunteering during your gap year, career break or an extended holiday, you will have a role to play on one of our Teaching projects, and you will be able to make a difference. The impact you have on the lives of your students will be obvious and long-lasting, but you will also be part of a much larger volunteer network, which is making a really positive contribution to the wider community.

Volunteers are placed in schools in Tamil Nadu or Kerala in the far south of India. These states contain hundreds of Hindu and Christian towns and villages with respected traditions that stretch back thousand of years. Theirs is a way of life that, to the Western eye, can appear totally relaxed at one moment and then completely frenetic the next. Deeply ingrained in the hearts of the young people of these communities is a desire to speak English, the language that can put them in touch with the rest of the world.As a teaching volunteer, you will play a vital role in improving the spoken skills, and therefore the future options open to the children and teachers in the schools where we work. You can teach younger children or teenagers but whatever the age, you will find that the students are eager to learn all about western culture and your life back home, and taking advantage of this enthusiasm is the first lesson you will learn in your quest to improve their spoken English and comprehension.

Volunteers generally find that teaching practices in South India have remained the same for years - the children usually learning by rote and copying out sections of text. By singing songs, playing games and generally making the lessons more interesting, you will be able to bring the subject alive and you will witness the children growing in confidence and ability.

Although the majority of our Teaching in India projects don't require you to have any teaching experience, we do have one school that is keen to have anyone qualified to teach students aiming to pass the Cambridge Preliminary English test and ESOL certificate. Just tell us if you do have experience or let us know what you're good at and we'll place you accordingly. If you have other extra-curricular interests, such as sports, music, art or drama then please let us know and we'll try to place you in a school that is keen to take advantage of your talents and enthusiasm.

Whatever your skills, as a volunteer in India you will make an important contribution by improving students' spoken English and giving them the confidence that comes from being able to communicate with a native speaker. It is likely to be an experience neither you nor they will ever forget. Classes can vary in size depending on the school and age of the children, but you will usually be teaching between thirty and forty students in a class. You could be teaching children as young as three years old or adults up to their early 20's. Each volunteer is expected to have about four hours of contact-time - in the classroom - from Monday to Friday.

Facilities in the schools are often basic - you may find yourself with little more than a blackboard and a piece of chalk. But with one of the school's English-speaking teachers as your supervisor and the support of our staff, you may be surprised at how quickly you gain confidence and make progress! We are always happy to help you out with extra resources if you have any special requirements; just ask our staff.