Teaching English—Volunteer in Guatemala!

I had an amazing time working with the children and teaching English. Maximo Nivel was awesome at organizing and communicating! I felt like I was able to make a real difference interacting with the kids even for only one week.

Maximo was great and the staff was very friendly and helpful! I was part of the volunteer teaching program and the students I worked with were so amazing. They were patient when we came across small language barriers and I rarely ever saw anyone without a smile on their faces. Along with this Guatemala is a beautiful place to visit and is filled with so many great things to do and a plethora of lovely and friendly people. Through Maximo I met such great people and formed friendships that I know will last a lifetime!

This was my first experience as a volunteer abroad so I wasn´t certain what to expect. I was thrilled to be assigned to teach English twice a week at Lumanires, a home for 15 teenage girls, located near Antigua. The girls attend a local school, so these classes are for enrichment purposes. They are very kind and helpful in addition to being a lot of fun. The biggest challenge for me (a certified TEFL instructor with no practical teaching experience) was the girls are at various levels on the English speaking scale, from very little English to high basic. I tried to encourage them to work in groups and help each other. The Lumanaires staff also want to learn English so I taught them three mornings a week. Ofcourse, their maturity made this a different experience from teaching teenagers! They all are very appreciative and take the opportunity to learn English seriously.