Join us to teach English in Comuna Trece Medellín, Colombia

Informationen

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  Beschreibung

  We strongly believe that learning other languages at a young age is valuable for the development of its personality and offers interesting chances for life. That’s why we organize English classes (A1 A2) for the children of “La divisa” (a slum neighbourhood in Medellín, Colombia). Most of our students are between 8-14 years old. We are an accredited non-profit organization run by a team of volunteers who have all been on the project. The English classes are part of a bigger program to prevent children to get into prostitution and drugs. Besides this we want to prepare the children for jobs in tourism and studying abroad (obtaining scholarships).
  
  We would like to host volunteers who can help us with the English classes. Your mission as an English teaching volunteer will be teaching English to students with a basic level of English, and organizing activities which promote the use of the language (cinema club, cultural exchange, book club,…). We are looking for an open-minded volunteer with a good level of English, with good communication skills and at least a basic level of Spanish.
  
  You are expected to be in the classroom three hours per day. We’ll offer you a private room in a furnished apartment with internet access in the modern neighbourhood of Laureles (lots of leisure possibilities nearby).
  
  Medellín is the second largest city of Colombia and is known as the city of eternal spring because of its pleasant warm weather all year round. There are tons of possible activities in the city: you can visit some of the museums, go for hikes with amazing views over the city, go clubbing, hop on one of the chivas (party bus), enjoy a local football match in El Estadio, and many more.
  
  The “Divisa” neighbourhood is part of “Comuna 13”, which used to be one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the world. It was run by violent drug trafficking organizations, who used the poor barrio as a transit route in and out of the city, and served as a stronghold for guerrillas, gangs and paramilitaries. In 2004 the Colombian government started building electric stairs and a metro cable connecting Comuna 13 to the city below, making it easier for people to come in and out of the neighbourhood. Thanks to this the neighbourhood evolved in a place of flourishing culture, of art, music, sport, and dancing.
  
  To reach Comuna 13 from Laureles you can take the metro and metro cable which will take you about 30 minutes in total.

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  Arten von Hilfe und Lernmöglichkeiten

  Karitative Arbeit

  Sprachpraxis

  Unterrichten

  Tourismus / Gastgewerbe

  Hilfe mit Computer /Internet
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  Kultureller Austausch und Lernmöglichkeiten

  You’ll have the opportunity to share your culture with the Paisas (inhabitants Antioquia) who are truly the most genuine friendly people of Colombia. Besides this, not so many people speak English in La Divisa, so you’ll have to use your Spanish during the time you spend in this neighbourhood.
  
  Every week we invite one foreign guest (traveler, expat,…) to present his/her country. As of the experiences we’ve had so far these are very popular and enriching classes. For the children it’s a nice way to learn about other countries and present their own country to the guest. We’ll ask you to be the facilitator during this process.
  
  In a way to strengthen your competences we’ll organize a workshop for you once a month. Possible topics are: culture shock, design games, organize fund raising, …

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  Projekte mit Kindern

  Dieses Projekt schließt möglicherweise den Umgang mit Kindern ein. Mehr Informationen findest du in unseren Verhaltensregeln und Tipps hier.

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  Arbeit

  You are expected to be in the classroom three hours per day from Monday through Friday. We will ask you to prepare each class thoroughly, which should take two hours a day maximum, so in total you’ll be working 25 hours a week. We work with three different groups of children: group 1: 8-11 year olds, group 2: 12-15 year olds level 1, group 3: 12-15 year olds level 2.
  
  Besides the classes we’ll ask you to think about ways to expand the project, to organize a fund raising, design games, social media, … (these activities are voluntarily, but we strongly encourage our volunteers to join, this to get the most out of your volunteering experience).
  
  To organize the classes, you’ll have the following material at your disposal: a whiteboard with markers, notebooks, computers and a teaching manual which includes the standard practices of teaching + lots of games + tips and activities to make the classes interactive.
  
  One of the most important conditions for working with teenagers is building a relationship of trust which takes time. Therefore, we prefer somebody who can stay at least for two months.

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  Gesprochene Sprachen

  Englisch: Fließend
  Spanisch: Fließend
  Niederländisch: Fließend
  Französisch: Gute Kenntnisse
  Deutsch: Grundkenntnisse

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  Unterkunft

  A private room in a furnished shared apartment. The room is furnished (bed, closet, desk) and bed/linen + towels are provided. In the apartment there is a furnished kitchen (with items to cook, microwave), two shared bathrooms, living room with television, refrigerator + freezer and a washing machine. There is internet access as well.
  
  Once a week the landlady comes to clean the bathroom, kitchen and living room. However, we do expect volunteers to keep this place clean during their stay, as it’s a form of respect for the people who you’ll be living with.
  
  Please be aware that drugs and prostitution in the apartment aren’t allowed. For us this is an important condition, because you are going to work into a program that focuses on the prevention for children getting into these sectors.

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  Was noch ...

  First of all you can take part in the other activities that are organized for the teenagers in Divisa: dancing classes, football training, trips, …
  
  You’ll be able to practice your Spanish and meet international people in the Wandering Paisa (a hostel nearby) which organizes every Thursday evening a language exchange. We can also organize private Spanish classes at a very affordable price if you would like that.
  
  In Medellín you can go hiking, swimming, cycling, playing volleyball, clubbing, dancing, bouldering, playing basket, go out dining, paragliding, working out in open air gyms, wandering around in one of the museums, …
  
  There are a lot of nice places to visit in the Antioquia region that are close by: Guatapé, San Carlos, Jardin, Jericho, … We have an extensive network of friends/contact so we can organize some nice trips for you.
  
  Metro/bus ticket: 0,8 euros; coffee: 0,5 euros; Uber 15min: 2 euros ; most sports: for free

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  Etwas mehr Information

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    Internet Zugang

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    Eingeschränkter Internet Zugang

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    Wir besitzen Tiere

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    Wir sind Raucher

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    Familien möglich

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  Kapazität - wie viele Workawayer maximal

  mehr als zwei

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  Arbeitszeiten

  Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week