“I
am a volunteer in Mejillones, Region II of Chile. I remember
waking up after our overnight bus ride from Santiago, to amazing,
glowing, vibrant, red rolling hills of sand- the Atacama Desert.
When my group of five volunteers arrived in Mejillones, we
were greeted by children from all of the schools holding signs
of welcome and dancing to traditional folk music. The Mayor
welcomed us warmly and we were given an all-access tour of
our new town before enjoying pisco sours over a seafood dinner.
If this was any indicator of what Mejillones was like, I knew
I was in the right place.” Gunjan
in Mejillones - USA (Teach Chile 2006)
The Chilean
Ministry of Education and the United Nations
Development Program (UNDP).
have designed a program to create new opportunities for both
Chilean students and teachers to practice English with native
English speakers. You will work in the public school systems
and be assigned to work with a Chilean English teacher. You
will teach a class of about 25 students for 45-minute periods.
You can expect to have approximately 25 hours of class time
and work an additional 10 hours on lesson plans and extracurricular
activities per week. Extracurricular activities may include
developing English conversation groups, dance classes, art
projects, English fairs, and encouraging school community
participation. You may also work with interested teachers
to develop their oral proficiency and/or to design materials
or activities for use in English classrooms.
While on the program
you will live with a local Chilean family. They will provide you
not only with a nice home and meals, and also invaluable insight
into the Chilean culture. For anyone not interested in living with
a home-stay, please inquire about additional accommodation options.
Married couples are welcome to join the program.
Positions and start dates are limited.
To reserve your placement, click
here.
Eligibility: * 21 - 50 years old
* Be a native English speaker from a country where English
is the official language, or use English in your everyday
language and have received your K-12 or undergraduate education
in English
* Basic level of Spanish
* Hold an undergraduate degree or a two-year Associate's Degree from an accredited Community College
* Previous experience teaching, working with children and/or
traveling is not required but helpful [return
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Location: The stunning Great North Zone, which
includes the following Regions:
Region
de Antofagasta
Placement locations: Antofagasta, Calama, Tal-Tal, San Pedro de
Atacama, Mejillones, Tocopilla, María Elena, Sierra Gorda
The Great
North Zone, which includes the Arica-Parinacota, Tarapaca
and Antofagasta Regions in northern Chile, shares borders
with Peru and Bolivia. The extremely arid climate features
very scant rainfall and spring-like temperatures almost year-round.
The Atacama Desert located here is, in fact, the driest desert
in the world, and this is also where the Tropic of Capricorn
crosses Chile. One particular spot inland - San Pedro de Atacama
- has become a highly sought-out tourist destination because
of its nearby volcanoes, geysers, flamingos and ancient mummies.
The geography
of the desert and the high plateau in this zone are perpetually
fascinating, and include landmarks such as the Valle de la
Luna, the Atacama Salt Flat, and Tatio Geysers, and numerous
thermal springs such as Mamiña.
This zone
also features the once-booming nitrate mining camps, long
abandoned once saltpeter was replaced by the synthetic version.
Some have been restored and are well worth the visit. This
zone is the site of the ALMA (Atacama Large Millimeter Array)
project, thanks to its transparent, unpolluted skies. The
largest urban centers are Arica, Iquique, Tocopilla, Calama
and Antofagasta . [return
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What
you get:
Accommodations: You
will be provided with host family accommodations and meals,
and will be placed near your school.
Salary:
85,000 CLP/ month
Orientation:
You will have two
weeks of orientation training, split between your arrival
orientation in Santiago, and additional training you will
receive in your host Region before you begin your teaching
assignment. Orientation training will review: Chilean education
system and school visits, Chilean culture, Teaching English
as a Foreign Language training (TEFL), and a Spanish language
course. We will also arrange for recreational activities and
cultural events. During orientation you will be provided with
accommodations, food, and transportation.
In country
transportation: You will
be provided with round-trip bus transportation from Santiago to
your teaching site.
Visa
documentation: We
will assist you in obtaining a temporary residence visa.
You also get: * Airport pick-up
* Pre-departure orientation
* Travel medical insurance
* Full-time local representative in Chile
* 24/7 personal support
* Certificate of completion (upon request)
Video footage from
our Teach Chile participants:Click
here to check out a video provided by the Chilean Ministry
of Education, with footage of the 2006 Teach Chile participants
placed in Mejillones, Region II. This is one example of an
extra-curricular activity created by the volunteer teachers
to promote English learning in their community: developing
a weekly, one-hour radio show in Spanish and English at a
local radio station. The radio program created by the Mejillones
group became very popular, and as you can see, they had quite
a lot of fun in the process of implementing this creative
project. [return
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Prices: AIDE is a non-profit
organization. Donations contributed in excess of the fair
market value of services you receive from AIDE may be tax
deductible. Please consult your tax adviser.
Prices
do not include: * airfare
* visa fees
* personal expenses
* Reciprocity fees at Arturo Merino Benitez International
Airport in Santiago, Chile. This is a fee that you must pay
upon entering Chile for the first time. The fees are as follows:
Canada - USD$132, USA - USD$131, Australia - USD $61, Mexico $23 USD, and currently
there are no reciprocity fees for citizens of the UK, Ireland,
South Africa, and New Zealand.
* Certain nationalities will be charged a fee for the 1-year
Temporary Residency visa. The fees are as follows: Canada
$212 USD, UK $1000/ £500, Australia US$154, New Zealand
US$460; and there is NO temporary residence visa fee for citizens
of the US and Ireland. The Ministry of Education in Chile
will provide you with the necessary paperwork and assistance
in applying for this visa once you have arrived in Chile. [return
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