English Teacher

Most NPH homes operate a preschool, primary school, secondary school, high school and/or vocational workshops program on or near the property. English is offered at many, if not all of these levels. It is likely that a teacher will be responsible for 5 or 6 classes of various ages. Most classes range from 15 to 24 students. Classes average between 30 and 45 minutes long and the schools usually operate from 7:30 in the morning to about 1:00 or 4:00 in the afternoon (this varies home to home). In this time you will have, on average, four-six short classes to teach as well as time to prepare for future classes.

While textbooks may not be available, in most of the homes many resources have been collected and donated over the years: flashcards, songbooks and tapes, some CDs and hundreds of books. There may also be notebooks with previous plans for lesson preparation. Some of the homes have defined goals for each grade. Hopefully new teachers will be able to fulfill goals that have been developed and adapt or create a curriculum to meet them.

We do require that volunteers in this role do have teaching experience and want to be in the classroom. While occasionally we get professional teachers, most of our volunteers have had only limited teaching experiences. In these instances, volunteers work more as teaching assistants or tutors.

While the workload may not appear strenuous, the job is one of the more challenging volunteer positions. What it lacks in time it makes up for in intensity. Many of our children have not had English before coming to NPH, and the English teachers usually have higher standards for students’ behavior and learning, students frequently feel particularly agitated about English. It pays to be very well prepared with a variety of engaging activities every day, to be energetic, to have strong classroom management skills, and to be sensitive and alert to the kids.

Each volunteer chooses an hogar (group of children of the same age living together) at the beginning of their year. Each home’s Volunteer Coordinator will communicate the expectations for hogar time. Usually, it is six days a week, 6 to 8 p.m., but this might vary per home. This has been described as the most fulfilling part of volunteering, the bond and relationships formed with their hogar of children.

Volunteers have every other weekend off, as well as up to 22 days of vacation time after four months of service. Vacation must be arranged according to the specific home’s policies.

All NPH volunteers receive room and board, access to medical care, international health insurance, and a monthly stipend. Volunteers pay for their transportation to and from the home and domestic (USA) medical insurance. Volunteers must serve for at least one year.

For more information, please write to the NPH USA Director of International Engagement, Dr. Jennifer Foster, at jafoster@nphusa.org.