In some countries (like Sri Lanka and India) you might be expected to eat with your hands. Sometimes in these countries a knife and fork (or more usually, a fork and spoon) will be provided for you but often, it’s just you and your fingers… and don’t forget – your hosts (and those around you) [...]
VESL Volunteer Blog
Accessing Money While Volunteering Overseas
Getting to your cash is a very important thing when you are travelling. Having reliable access to funds whilst you’re teaching overseas is crucial… whether that’s as trivial as enabling you to travel at weekends or whether it lets you sleep soundly knowing you can get yourself into a safe position if something unexpected occurs. [...]
ESL Teaching Materials To Buy In-Country
It is tempting to take an enormous amount of stuff with you when you go overseas to teach but there are many reasons to not do this. You don’t want to carry a large suitcase with you when you travel. It’s better to see what the school has and what the school needs before you [...]
Gifts For Your Host Family
I’ve stayed with lots of people whilst volunteering in India and in Sri Lanka and I’ve always found it difficult to buy gifts for people. What exactly is an appropriate gift?
Using Art to help teach English
Here is a story of some primary students at a school India from a volunteer who had success using art projects in the classroom. “The students were quite disruptive and could be a handful at times. The school was in a poor fishing community in Kerala and many of the students came from very difficult [...]
Visual Aids for ESL Teaching
When I arrived at my new school, many classrooms didn’t have any visual aids on the walls. I thought it would great to create a few engaging, colourful displays to help stimulate the kids and it proved to be a get way to get them all interacting with me. Here are some ideas for visual [...]
My Volunteer English Teaching Kit
There are two parts to my volunteer teaching kit: what I take to class everyday and what I have at my homestay placement. I buy as many of these things from the village closest to my homestay placement as I can. Sometimes I need to make a trip to a nearby big town or city [...]
Video : Good Morning Teacher
VESL Volunteer (Rachel Cooper) records her class singing ‘Good Morning Teacher’ at her project in Sri Lanka, 2009.
My First Lesson
The first lesson with any group can be a bit scary. Here’s an activity that I’ve found useful when dealing with students from about Grade 3 (Sri Lanka) or 3rd Standard (India) all the way through primary and secondary and on to working with adults. It lasts for about 30 mins but you can make [...]
Volunteer Feedback – Jo Taylor, Volunteer Sri Lanka 2007
“All of the teachers have been enthusiastic and supportive… They understand the benefits the students can receive from a native English speaker and are eager to make the most of this opportunity.” – Jo Taylor, Sri Lanka Volunteer 2007
VESL Volunteer Interview, Student Direct, Feb 2007
“You meet some fantastic people, see a beautiful country and have the opportunity to make a small but measurable difference.” – Anna Watt, Sri Lanka Volunteer, 2004
Volunteer Feedback – Jenny Chalmers, Sri Lanka Volunteer 2005
“The sense of pride and achievement I had was phenomenal… the work I did was rewarding and worthwhile… the memories of teaching and living in such a beautiful rural village, shall stay with me for a long time.” – Jenny Chalmers, Sri Lanka Volunteer 2005
