Teach English in Middle East

It was very easy to go through the application process, complete all the steps, and be ready to volunteer in Costa Rica. All the support we received throughout the process made sure that we felt safe, prepared, and were making an impact on the local community. I would highly recommend IVHQ, and hope to do future volunteer missions with them.

I had an amazing experience with International Volunteer HQ in Ecuador. Everything was well organized from the beginning, and I felt supported throughout the entire program. The local team was welcoming, helpful, and always available when needed. I especially appreciated the opportunity to immerse myself in the local culture, meet wonderful people, and contribute through volunteering. It was an unforgettable experience, and I would definitely recommend IVHQ to anyone looking for a meaningful experience abroad.

1. *I have experience working with children as a teacher, and I am committed to creating a safe, supportive, and engaging learning environment.* 2. *I have experience teaching children and guiding their academic, social, and personal development.* 3. *With my background working with children as a teacher, I bring patience, communication skills, and a passion for student growth.

My experience in Hua Hin teaching children was truly amazing. From the moment I arrived, I felt welcomed and supported by a wonderful team. Special thanks to Hannah Yule, Tukkie Khudseesai, and Noah, the coordinator of my teaching team, who made the experience even more enjoyable and well organized. Teaching the children was incredibly rewarding, and the environment was positive, friendly, and motivating every day. The accommodation provided was very comfortable, and the food was also excellent throughout my stay. Overall, this was a memorable and enriching experience that I would highly recommend to anyone interested in volunteering and teaching in Hua Hin.

I spent three weeks volunteering at Salariin Kampuchea Learning Center in Siem Reap, where I helped teach English to younger students and supported the development of their social media presence. It was one of the most enriching experiences I’ve ever had. Some days were more challenging than others—adapting to a new environment and finding ways to communicate across cultures. But what I’ll carry with me, more than anything, is the deep sense of connection I felt with the people. I can confidently say I’ve grown and learned so much, and that’s something I’ll always be grateful for. Living and working within the local community gave me a complete perspective shift. I was struck by their warmth and generosity, and the quiet strength with which they face life. From the very beginning, I felt welcomed. The children, the staff, and my host family made me feel included from the start, making it easy to feel at home throughout my time there

The programme insured that whilst getting my teaching experience, I learnt loads about the history of the children in this area. It has been the most eye opening experience and I am so grateful to have been part of it, I will be back!! The team were super supportive and ensured we were safe at all times. This was my first time solo travelling and I felt confident to flourish and be adventurous in the beautiful South Africa!

Since I have just started the course, I cannot really give a complete review yet. So far it's been quite challenging, but in a good way. Lessons are clear and have options for all types of learners. Instructions are thorough and easy to understand. During assessments there are question amplifiers which are a great help in answering the questions. It is easy to focus since you can do it at any time that is convenient for you. I just wish that there were more options for people living in different countries in terms of the time schedules of the Zoom meetings. I live in Asia, and the time schedule of the Zoom meeting are at around 2am in my time, so it will be impossible for me to attend since I also have a full time day job. Other than that, great course! I am excited to continue and get to my goal!

I did the 180 hour TEFL course and a few other little important courses with the TEFL Institute before going on my very interesting internship in Spain. The experience of these courses and the Volunteering contract in a Spanish school was an amazing opportunity and a great experience for me. Since doing these courses, I would like to thank the TEFL team for their serious attitude and professionalism during the course and program. I can only be positif and advise people to use this TEFL Institute to do their work placements or interships or even doing any type of course that they may need for their future. It was amazing, thank you again. I would recommend you anytime to anybody.

Taking the decision to enroll in the TEFL level 5 course with the TEFL Institute was one of the best decisions to take because it not only provided me with the knowledge that I needed but also enabled me to get that knowledge at my own pace while being supported and assisted by the team throughout the course and after it. What I appreciate the most about the TEFL Institute how responsive and supportive the team is; even though my course ended, I still have all my questions answered in no time. Thank you for existing!

Hi I am Tariq (as the Palestinians would call me), I am from France and have just spent 2 weeks in Hebron (Al Khaleel) with the Excellence center. I participated in the teach English and learn Arabic volunteering program. This program consists on giving some English lessons to children, teenagers or adults of different age groups and levels as well as getting some Arabic lessons on the side with a one-on-one teacher. The lessons were of great quality and I am leaving, although haven spent only 2 weeks, with the full alphabet and how to read it and some conversation. I thank my amazing teacher Marwa for that ,) The center is in a recent building close to the center of town and has all you need to learn and share. I stayed in a shared apartment with other volunteers very close to the city center. It has all you need to stay from 1 week to 3 months. During my stay I had the opportunity to travel to Ramallah and Bethlehem on day trips. Transport is very accessible and cheap. If you are concerned with safety in Palestine, you shouldn't. The whole experience felt an easy ride in Palestinian territory, the local people are extremely welcoming and always up to show or help you around. I leave full of good memories and encounters, the overall experience was wholesome and I plan to come back as soon as possible to keep improving my language skills and discover more about Palestinian history, culture etc... Thanks everyone !! Bashufak !!

I had a great time at the Excellence Center in Hebron! From the very first moment it felt like being part of a family and everyone was very welcoming! I got the chance to teach in various contexts, at the Center, in schools, and in refugee camps. I felt like students were always very eager to learn english and very motivated. I had the chance to stay with a host family, which truly was a great experience. They included my in their everyday lifes and showed me so many things! It was great to learn more about the Palestinian culture this way and to practice my Arabic. The Arabic classes were very helpful. Lessons are giving individually and focus on the most important things to learn. That way I could immediately practice the things I learned. Overall, I can really recommend coming to the Excellence Center in Hebron. People are really welcoming and I felt safe at all times.

My name's Jasmine, from Manchester UK. This is the best course for anyone wanting to study Arabic in Palestine. I can't recommend it highly enough -- immersive, welcoming, a good pace, and in Hebron which is an extremely welcoming city. Thanks so much to my Arabic teacher and now friend Bisaan and the Excellence Center for welcoming me. I felt completely safe all the time and think anyone, any age or gender, would feel completely safe here too. Shukran ktir.

I volunteered along with my girlfriend to teach English at Emerging Voices in Cartagena, Colombia from Nov-Dec of 2019. The experience overall was amazing. We got to work with lots of different groups of people, from young children living in a poor neighborhood to teenagers learning skills related to the hospitality industry, to adults whose English was very good, but they just lacked the confidence to use it. I also enjoyed the ability to visit other projects at Emerging Voices such as the project to feed and spend time with the homeless and the sports development project that worked with kids living in a Drug Rehabilitation Centre. One of the highlights was definitely meeting all of the other volunteers. Programs like these bring out great people and we had a ton of fun hanging out with people coming from all over North America. My other highlight was definitely the food! Sophie was our local Colombian chef and she made the most amazing meals every day. I was always excited for mealtime! She also kept the house impeccably clean and even made our beds every day; what an amazing lady! I also enjoyed working with Monica who is the program owner. She is a very inspiring woman and a kind soul. We happened to be there during a transitional time for Emerging Voice so that meant we had lots of different volunteers, but also lots of different coordinators. We had three different teaching coordinators during our 4-week stay. One consistent throughout though was Lao. He worked with the childcare program, but he was the only constant in the volunteer house for the entire time that we were there and he made our experience that much better with his kindness and light-hearted nature. The last thing that I really enjoyed was the location of the volunteer house. It was located in the safe neighborhood of Crespo; it was only a 5-minute walk to the beach and only a 10-minute cab to downtown so it was truly perfect! All in it was an amazing experience and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking to give back and also push themselves a little out of their comfort zone!

I volunteered in the Teaching Program with IVHQ in Muizenberg, Cape Town, South Africa for 2 weeks with my girlfriend. For the accommodation, I was placed with 4 other boys in the room where I had my own bed and closet space. A girls room was next to us and each of the boys and girls had separate bathrooms. Also a kitchen and common living room were available. On the weekdays, we were given 3 meals per day from breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The food was carbohydrate heavy and sufficient for the stay as enough food was available for everyone with specific diet requirements cooked accordingly upon request. The housekeeper was very polite as well. For a volunteering program, it was really more than you need and a great place to stay. For the volunteering program, we were placed in Steenberg Primary School assisting a teacher with 30 Grade R kids. The kids were very cute and super fun as they are hyper all the time. We would help them with the class assignment, play with them in the playground, and assess them basic color matching and mathematics numbering exercises. The classroom had the basic amenities needed for the school year. We even left our mark with a painting on the classroom wall! It was an amazing experience and one that we will definitely go through again. A driver from the program picked us up and dropped us off back to the accommodation every school day. He was usually always on time. For the city, there are abundant activities to choose from. We were lucky to have done shark cage diving, a safari, and skydiving as main attractions. Other activities were hiking Table Mountain through the Skeleton Gorge trail, visiting the beautiful city of Cape Town and exploring it, surfing, visiting Boulders Beach where penguins are found and the most South Western point of the African continent in Cape of Good Hope as well as many other activities. This experience is truly one that will be missed and I hope to have a similar one next time!

International Volunteer HQ [IVHQ] responded to this reviewMay 09, 2019

Hi Ralph, it is great to hear from you and that you really enjoyed your time in South Africa. It is always pleasing to hear that you got along with the children so well and took part on some awesome tourist activities! Thanks for volunteering with IVHQ! Acacia - IVHQ Program Manager.

I've had an amazing time volunteering with IVHQ (and the green lion) for two weeks in the Philippines. The location is remote (2h from Puerto Princess City), but that adds to the experience of disconnecting completely and helping the local community of Tigman Village. There are a few different programs, and therefore quite some other volunteers - nice to meet people for sure. I've taught English, Maths and Science at the local school in Tigman Village, at grades between 2 - 6. The kids are great; they love your attention and are eager to learn.

International Volunteer HQ [IVHQ] responded to this reviewNovember 21, 2018

Hey Colin, thanks for taking the time to provide your review of the Philippines program. It's awesome to hear you embraced the remoteness of the program and enjoyed disconnecting from the world. I hope you can volunteer with IVHQ again in the future. Sean - IVHQ Program Manager.

I was super nervous before going on my solo adventure to Antigua, Guatemala. However, as soon as I arrived I felt anxiously excited and yet still very peaceful. Everyone involved in the program was nice and welcoming. They set me up in a great home with great people and I really enjoyed my project. I learned so much about myself and really grew as an independent person. I can't wait to go on another trip with IVHQ!

International Volunteer HQ [IVHQ] responded to this reviewJune 25, 2018

We very much appreciate you sharing this review about your time in Guatemala. It was nice to read that you felt so welcomed on your solo adventure and that you were set up in a great homestay with friendly people! Also, thank you for your suggestions on how we could improve the program, we certainly do our best but love volunteer's insights as this helps us make our programs even better! Once again thank you for the awesome review and just as you can't wait to go on another IVHQ volunteer trip, we can't wait to have you join us again! ^Aydan - IVHQ Guatemala Program Manager

As I finish my Tefl class, I can say that I am happy I finally signed up and am very excited to see what will become of it. I think the classes will prove to be beneficial. Many of the assignments dealt with creating lesson plans. I am able to use these lesson plans once I get a job abroad. I found that aspect of the class to be quite useful. I will already be somewhat prepared for the jobs I aspire to get.

I can not say enough about this experience. The Green Lion organization that I worked with through IVHQ were incredible. The placement was great, small village that was very accepting of foreigners, students that were hard to leave, and our residence was relaxing with incredible food. I would highly recommend both IVHQ and The Green Lion!

International Volunteer HQ [IVHQ] responded to this reviewApril 09, 2018

Hi Karin, it's great to hear you enjoyed your time in Laos and the true Laotian experience you receive there! We're looking forward to having you return to Laos or maybe one of our other destinations! ^Will - IVHQ Laos Program Manager

During my time in Palestine I participated both in the TESA programme and the intensive Arabic programme. As a qualified teacher of English as a foreign language. I wanted to put my skills to good use, whilst at the same time using the opportunity to experience Palestinian culture and receive tuition in the local dialect. As a native English speaker I found helping to develop the student’s understanding of such useful and global language extremely rewarding. It makes such a difference to their future prospects and careers. I’ve developed close bonds with many of the students, found them eager to learn, and will really miss my time spent teaching in Palestine. I taught both regular and conversational classes at the Excellence Centre, at the local University, at a local girls schools and in a village just outside of Hebron. Overall I loved my time in Palestine and at the Excellence Center in Hebron

My experience in Palestine has been just awesome. The guys at the Excellence Center are ready to welcome you warmly and make you feel part of their own family. Food is awesome and Palestine is an Amazing country to visit and to live in. No particular issues about safety and security, the city of Hebron is completely safe and secure, just like any other city. I strongly encourage everyone to be part of this experience, it will make you new and better people.

The Excellence Center in Palestine responded to this reviewDecember 23, 2016

Dear Alessandro, <br/><br/>Thank you so much for your great work at the Excellence Center. We hope to see you soon in Palestine and at the Excellence Center. We wish you all the best <br/><br/>Wallah menhibak ya Habibina <br/><br/>With kind regards,