Teaching - MEXICO Project Information for Teaching in Mexico

English in Mexico

English is becoming more and more useful in Central America, opening up opportunities for further study, jobs in the tourism sector, and jobs with international organizations. English is undoubtedly the international language of commerce and is therefore extremely important for countries such as México especially as one of its main trading partners is the United States.

Education in Mexico

Unfortunately the State Education Department in México doesn't have the human or material resources to provide a consistently high quality of English instruction for Mexican students. With this knowledge Projects Abroad started working with numerous schools in the State of Jalisco in an effort to improve the prospects of a vast number of extremely capable students that are not offered the opportunities of those who attend private schools.

The Role of the Volunteer

Your experience as a volunteer will depend on you as an individual. If you really get involved with your teaching role and make the most of the opportunity, you will find it can be extremely rewarding. As long as you are motivated, try your best and are willing to invest time and energy in the teaching, everything will work out fine and run smoothly.

You will be placed in one of 4 types of educational facility. In primary schools the children are between the ages of 2 and 11, in secondary schools between 11 and 15, in upper secondary between 15 and 18, and in universities between the ages of 18 and 26. The average size of a class is 30, and volunteers are expected to teach for up to 4 hours per day.

Most of the teaching you will be doing will be conversational so interactive activities are essential. It is a good idea to bring some specific resources from home such as postcards of where you live, photos of your family and some songs to sing and teach with. The children will be as interested to learn about your culture and way of life as you are to find out about theirs, and this exchange is both fascinating and rewarding.

If you want to get further involved with the extra-curricular activities at your school this is often possible and much appreciated and you should speak to your school's supervisor when you arrive to arrange the details.

You will be amazed by how keen these children are to improve both their English and their general knowledge and it is extremely satisfying when you personally help them to achieve this and to learn new things.