Teach English in Madagascar
| country: | Madagascar |
| departures: | 2010: 19 Jan, 9 Feb, 13 Apr, 4 May, 13 Jul, 3 Aug, 12 Oct, 2 Nov |
| price: | From £595 (14 days) excluding flights |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
the amazing things you'll be doing
This project provides a fantastic opportunity for those looking to develop skills in the area of teaching English as a foreign language to work alongside an award winning NGO’s established English teaching program in a stunning and beautiful region of south-east Madagascar. You may already be TEFL qualified or completely new to teaching and keen to pursue it as a career. Alternatively, this project would suit fully qualified teachers who are looking to make worthwhile use of their skills outside of term time.
Whatever your background, you will be involved in all aspects of the teaching program; from lesson planning to delivering 8 full days teaching during the 2 week placement. Activities and experience gained during this project are varied, giving volunteers the maximum possible benefit from their time in Madagascar.
Madagascar has high levels of poverty and unemployment. Some 70% of people live below the poverty line, on less than $1 a day. The country’s main resources are its people and its unique flora and fauna. In recent times, eco-tourism has become increasingly important for the country’s economic development and as a viable means of advancing the development of sustainable livelihoods among the Malagasy people.
As a result, there has been increased support and demand by locals for the teaching of English as a means of capitalising on the opportunities presented by tourism and the increased presence and activity of international NGOs. The President of Madagascar has recently declared that the country should strive towards becoming trilingual, and the spread of the English language has thus been prioritised.
Whatever your background, you will be involved in all aspects of the teaching program; from lesson planning to delivering 8 full days teaching during the 2 week placement. Activities and experience gained during this project are varied, giving volunteers the maximum possible benefit from their time in Madagascar.
Madagascar has high levels of poverty and unemployment. Some 70% of people live below the poverty line, on less than $1 a day. The country’s main resources are its people and its unique flora and fauna. In recent times, eco-tourism has become increasingly important for the country’s economic development and as a viable means of advancing the development of sustainable livelihoods among the Malagasy people.
As a result, there has been increased support and demand by locals for the teaching of English as a means of capitalising on the opportunities presented by tourism and the increased presence and activity of international NGOs. The President of Madagascar has recently declared that the country should strive towards becoming trilingual, and the spread of the English language has thus been prioritised.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Arrive in Fort Dauphin. Time to settle in to your accommodation before enjoying welcome drinks to allow volunteers and staff to get to know one another. |
| Day 2: | Orientation. You will receive a detailed orientation about Madagascar and local customs as well as a brief of the teaching projects you will be working on for the duration of your time in Madagascar. You will also have a chance to explore the town of Fort Dauphin and its beautiful beaches. |
| Day 3: | Nahampona Reserve. Visit to Nahampona Reserve will allow you to get up close to several species of lemur including Verreaux's sifaka, ring tailed lemurs, and brown lemurs. |
| Day 4-6: | Teaching. Your teaching program begins. Volunteers will initially act as assistants, observing established teachers during 2 or 3 classes, each at different levels. You will participate in lesson planning and then begin to lead your own classes under the supervision of teaching staff. |
| Day 7: | Day off to relax and enjoy an excursion to a local market, forest or beach depending on project location. |
| Day 8-9: | Teaching. These days will be spent teaching at the beautiful lake-side Sustainable Livelihoods Training Centre at Lanirano, in the shadow of the granite-mountains of the Tsitongambarika protected area. Here the feeling is more rural, the site being 3km outside Fort Dauphin. |
| Day 10-13: | Teaching. After two full days teaching at Lanirano, you will move to the public high school where you will teach youth and young adults of varying ages and with different standards of English literacy. |
| Day 14: | Depart. A day at leisure to relax and enjoy the beautiful beaches of Fort Dauphin before catching your flight home. |
volunteer travel - what's it all about?
Are you looking for an adventurous trip with a purpose, or on a gap year or career break? If you want to make a difference in some of the world’s most important conservation areas - and in community projects - then volunteer trips are for you! Volunteers tend to have a sense of adventure, and come from a range of different backgrounds and from all over the world. Edward Abbey said 'sentiment without action is the ruin of the soul'.
how this holiday makes a difference
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This project is run by a registered UK charity and Malagasy NGO that has been working on environmental, humanitarian and sustainable development projects in southeast Madagascar since 1995.
The NGO’s English teaching program began in 2003. The program is threefold, involving the teaching of young people and unemployed adults, the training of teachers and instruction for businesses. Volunteers on this project will support our long term teaching staff in accomplishing the following (1) improving employment prospects of young people and the unemployed through English language teaching (2) assisting in the creation of “sustainable livelihoods” and (3) bringing the standard and availability of English instruction closer to nationally recognised levels. Where possible and practical, we use only locally owned and operated suppliers and employ local people as guides to lead our groups of volunteers. We believe and try to ensure that our suppliers are supplying us with quality goods that have been sourced / grown locally wherever possible (with regard to food products), paying their own staff fairly, not requiring their staff to work excessive hours or requiring their staff to participate in any dangerous practices. We believe and try to ensure that our local guides and staff are in full time employment with clear job descriptions and work contracts, treated as equals: when guides are working with volunteers, we encourage interaction, whilst respecting the individual’s wishes for privacy; given practical support by field and administration coordinators, treated well and paid a fair wage promptly, allowed to receive gifts, tips and other support from volunteers, not given an unreasonable workload: working hours are reasonable and safe within local regulations and not involve dangerous practices in carrying out the job. |
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