Unique Teaching opportunity in Chiapas, Mexico

Basically the way the program is run, is we hire 4 TEFL certified teachers to participate in teaching English to children and adults and in return they receive Spanish lessons and free home stay with local families. The TEFL certificate must be 120 hours long, on –site with teaching practice with real students. There is no salary for this job. So, in more detail:

We hire 4 foreign teachers per semester. These 4 teachers all receive housing with a local family. There you will have your own room and in most cases your own bathroom with maid service. You will have full use of the family kitchen, and be responsible for your own meals. You will be given a key to the house and expected to follow the rules of the house. The houses as a general rule are non- smoking and the family considers it a courtesy if you let them know that you will be out late or gone for the weekend. You are not responsible for asking for permission to go anywhere, but if you are going to be going and coming late they need to know, so you won’t be mistaken for a burglar! All the families have years of experience housing teachers and have gone through interviews and screening processes by us. In any case, if there is a problem, or if you are not comfortable, we are always willing to listen and make the necessary changes.

Your Spanish classes are held in the morning, usually from 8-10 am. You will have Spanish classes on the same days that you teach. If we have a day off from English, you will also have the day off from Spanish. Our Spanish teachers are university educated with over 5 years experience teaching with us. The classes are dynamic, efficient, and geared to your level as much as we can. All 4 English teachers have to be in the same class, so we try to hire teachers that are all more or less on the same level.

Your English classes are from 4-7:30 in the afternoon, you will teach from 4-5, 5-6, and from 6-7:30. You will have to teach children and adults. All students and teachers will have student books, work books, and CDs. We expect you to make use of all the supplemental material (posters, flashcards, photocopiable activities, grammar games,etc.) for all your classes. In some cases you will have to cover only 6 units per semester, so it will be necessary to make use of these extra materials to cover the 5 months. In any case, your TEFL course would have prepared you to make use of resources, and I am always around to give suggestions.

Depending on the semester, you will have 2 weeks off at Christmas and Easter, and all the official holidays as well. Again, there will be no Spanish class during those days off. The most important things for us in hiring a teacher is their willingness to make the 5 month commitment, and their ability to adapt to the town and to teaching. Sometimes if you have little or no experience teaching, 3.5 hours a day is a lot to prepare for, and may take a few weeks to get the hang of it. But we hope that you will see that the advantages of living, working and studying in Chiapa de Corzo, far outweigh the small hurdles.

If you are still interested in coming please fill out our language exchange program application at the following link http://www.dunhaminstitute.com/language_enroll.php Please also attach a resume and the photo page of your passport in a separate e mail.

In short, it’s a great program, a fantastic experience for you and the people of Chiapa, and we welcome any questions you may have.