Teach English on the Coast of Chile

JOIN THE PICHILEMU INSTITUTE OF LANGUAGE STUDIES TEAM 
#PILSteachers

We are currently looking for a team member to help support us with teaching English and thusly growing our ESL department starting in March of 2018 for a year. We are ideally looking for someone who loves teaching, is very proactive and is truly interested in joining a unique and rewarding coastal academic community.

Teachers in our team love facilitating learning and want to provide a great experience to everyone. We are a small but close team who love what we do.

ABOUT OUR ESL PROGRAM

The ESL program at Pichilemu Institute of Language Studies (PILS) is a community-based project that has been offering quality and accessible English classes to the residents of Pichilemu and surrounding areas since 2005. We believe ESL teaching is more than language proficiency at our school, we strive to support our students learn much more than grammar and vocabulary. ESL teaching can be a great tool to explore our local and international world, develop confidence and communication skills. We are looking for a teacher who will guide our students in this journey of discovery and possibilities.

The school also functions as a multicultural space since we offer both ESL to locals and Spanish language classes to foreigners from around the world, and for this reason our school is a wonderful atmosphere for exchange of cultures and languages.

ABOUT OUR STUDENTS

Our students’ ages and levels are very diverse. Most of them are beginners in the English language and range in age between 15 to 35 years old. Class sizes are small (one to seven students maximum). Students come to classes twice a week for one hour each time. 
Our learners of English come to the school with many different goals, but one common thread is to be able to speak confidently. We aim to provide a safe space for all our students to have as many opportunities as possible to develop their communication skills.

A GLIMPSE INTO OUR COMMUNITY

Pichilemu is a word from the language of the Mapuche that means small forest. It is an oasis of rural and coastal living in the center of Chile. Nature, countryside and history come together in this enchanting tourist town in Central Chile. Pichilemu holds on to many cultural traditions rarely seen in other parts of Chile. Despite the deep campesino traditions, modern life is rapidly coming to Pichilemu.

Pichilemu offers a variety of activities all year round. There are many opportunities for nautical activities, surfing being the most talked about.

ESL DEPARTMENT GOALS

We have still not yet reached our registration goals. We are looking for someone who can creatively help with promoting our program in both the short and long term. We believe our greatest marketing asset is the experience our students gain inside and outside the classroom. Their references are invaluable to our school. 
Since the program offers very affordable classes, we rely on registration numbers to keep the program going smoothly. We were able to increase our numbers in 2017 (from 7 students to 35), but we are hoping to double this number by the end of the year.

Besides increasing the amount of students who benefit from our program, we want to work to create a more organized pathway of learning for our students. We want to develop a stronger curriculum for current and future teachers and students to work from. Currently, we organize our levels and classes based on the Common European framework and each teacher has the freedom to organize their courses based on each group’s needs.

Throughout the year we have the following type of groups of students:

Summer learners (January and February) 
School year learners (March to December) 
Year round learners

OUR NEW TEACHER

We are interested in continuing to develop our diverse team of cultures, languages and ideas.

Our new team member can demonstrate skills in the following areas:

Proactiveness 
Knowledge or experience developing teaching materials 
Interested in curriculum development 
Love for teaching and community work 
Leadership 
Creativity 
Great communication skills 
Excellent collaboration skills

REQUIREMENTS

ESL certified or experience teaching English 
Proficiency in Spanish 
Able to start training on February 26th, 2018 *preferred 
Able to start teaching on March 5th, 2018 * a must

THE ROLE

Contribute to maintaining an inclusive, safe, professional and friendly environment for everyone.

Teaching inside the classroom up to 30 hours per week in the school (Monday to Friday, 6 hours inside the classroom per day maximum).

Teaching small groups, all ages and levels.

Planning, organizing and delivering lesson plans that use appropriate teaching techniques and strategies to meet students’ needs and interests.

Providing a supportive learning environment where students are encouraged to take an active role in learning and incorporate a challenging and enriching space for growth.

Developing fun, creative and interesting learning materials and activities that increase students’ opportunities to speak English and gain confidence in their language skills.

Collaborating to organize learning in short and long term for all students.

Assist with daily administrative tasks at the school such as registration of new students, provide information to parents and help with special events hosted by the school.

WHAT WE OFFER

A one year contract.

$350,000 CLP (around 600 USD) take home pay. Full salary is around $400,000 CLP with health insurance and retirement plan (obligatory) once visa is issued.

An opportunity to be part of a team working to provide students in the community with a great experience of learning a foreign language.

An opportunity to immerse in the Pichilemu community.

The best view in downtown Pichilemu, minutes away from the beach.

Assistance finding housing and accommodation.

INFORMATION ABOUT WORK VISA

Our school can offer the selected candidate guidance applying for a temporary work visa (1 year duration). Check the following link to see prices for temporary work visas (Link: ver tablas de aranceles). Costs vary among countries. Processing times varies, but it is between two to three months. A tourist visa is 90 days. By paying an extra fee of 50% of the visa cost when submitting the work visa application, you can obtain a temporary permit while waiting for their visa to be issued (recommended).

COST OF LIVING

These are approximate costs of living in Chile for your reference.

Housing: $150,000 CLP - $200,000 CLP monthly for a one bedroom cabin. Some or all utilities are included in most cases.

Food cost is very similar to North American prices. It depends on each person, but a budget for a month is around $150,000 CLP to $180,000 CLP

Transportation is very affordable. $500 CLP day rate for a one way local colectivo cab (short distances and fixed routes). A taxi is $3,000 CLP for one trip. Trips to Santiago (capital) are $6000 CLP approximately for a one way trip (3.5 hours).

Entertainment and restaurants prices vary, but a beer is around $2,500 CLP to $3,000 CLP and a meal is typically $5,000 CLP to $7,000 CLP.

HOW TO APPLY

We will prioritize applications that include the following:

1. A one or two page cover letter. Tell us about you, why you want to teach and what motivates you to join our community.

2. A one or two page resume. Includes relevant experience for this position.

3. Criminal background check (no older than six months).

Applications should be sent to our school director, Maria Paz Miranda at mariapaz@studyspanishchile.com before February 9th, 2017. Interviews via Skype will be scheduled until February 15th, 2018.

We receive a significant amount of e-mais and inquiries about employment. We really appreciate your time and interest in our school, but we may not be able to respond to all applications.

We look forward to meeting you soon!

PILS team