Responsible volunteering

Teaching abroad

Education is often identified as the number one need in developing countries – and volunteers are stepping up to share their skills, language and knowledge with those who may not be fortunate enough to have access to the same levels of education. However, academic placements that were once reserved for long term, skilled volunteers (think VSO) are now being opened up to pretty much anyone from aged 17 upwards, with or without qualifications, and for as little as a few days – or even hours. In many cases, the only requirement is that you can speak English.

There is a common perception that speaking fluent English qualifies you to teach it, but unless you’ve learned about basic classroom management and different teaching techniques (which vary widely depending on culture and age) – not to mention the tricky difference between the present perfect and the past simple – then your contribution will be limited. That’s not to say your native English can’t be of any use; classroom assistants are incredibly valuable in helping with group exercises, correct pronunciation and conversation sessions. But you shouldn’t be preparing lesson plans or leading a class alone unless you are qualified to do so. Less experienced volunteers can also lead after school clubs, help with homework and organise activities such as art and sports sessions, as these are in addition to – not in place of – their school curriculum.

Short term placements can lead to a revolving door of volunteer teachers which is highly disruptive for children’s education. Pupils have to constantly adapt to new teaching styles – whereas in longer placements of a month or more, it is the volunteer who learns to adapt to the class and culture. There is a consistency in the curriculum; topics and activities aren’t repeated; and – crucially – the volunteer has chance to build relationships with the pupils, members of staff, and the wider community. However, teaching assistants can attend for shorter durations.

What you can do: If you are a qualified teacher, then you will be welcomed as a volunteer. But be sure you are working alongside local staff – the worst case scenario is that a teacher could end up being replaced by volunteers. If you are experienced, ask if you can set up skills-sharing sessions with local teachers; you can suggest new classroom ideas or improve their language skills, while they can give insights into the local culture and share teaching tips of their own. This has a longer term impact than teaching the students – and supports local staff, rather than competing with them. It’s also vital that pupils look to members of their own community for education and skills – rather than assuming these are best learned from foreigners. If you are not qualified and have no teaching experience, you should never be left to teach alone. Ask the organisation what the placement involves to ensure you won’t be doing something you are not equipped to do. Many organisations are claim volunteer teachers are needed as local teachers are “inexperienced”; if you’re not qualified either, this will only exacerbate the problem. Some organisations offer TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) courses at the start of the placement. It’s a great way to gain a professional qualification – and put your new skills to use immediately in the classroom. Learning as much as you can of the local language before you go will also greatly benefit you and the students. Good organisations will offer language lessons during the placement. All organisations offering placements working with children (or vulnerable adults) should request a DBS check or local equivalent.

Day visits to schools
Some operators include the option to visit a local school for a day in their itineraries. Please note that we do not promote day volunteering trips and will only promote a day visit to a school which takes place during term time if there is clear benefit to the children in terms of education and resources, and where disruption to class time is kept to an absolute minimum.

We would expect that visits of this nature should not occur more frequently than once a month, especially for smaller schools with fewer separate classes. Where schools are larger with more classes, we would expect them to be visited on rotation to avoid repeat visits to any one class more than the minimum of once a month.

Tourists must be accompanied at all times by a teacher or representative of the school and we would expect any gifts to be approved by the school and tour company prior to arrival.

The elephant in the room

Following Thailand’s ban on commercial logging, hundreds of elephants – once used to haul logs –effectively became “unemployed”. Sanctuaries have since spring up across the country and many offer volunteer placements for those who wish to help out by preparing food, cleaning enclosures and bathing the elephants in rivers. However, in a bid to entice both volunteers and tourists, many sanctuaries also offer elephant rides and performances – neither of which is ethical, as the elephant must be brutally treated in order to perform. Worse, as captive elephants become an increasingly popular tourist attraction (it is extremely hard to breed them in captivity) young elephants are being taken from the wild – which often involves killing their mothers and other adults in the herd, decimating the remaining wild populations.

What you can do
Our elephant volunteer placements do not visit any sanctuaries which permit elephant rides or performances – and we only permit elephant rides in exceptional circumstances, where it supports wider conservation efforts. See our Elephant trekking vacations guide for more information.

A number of us at Responsible Travel have volunteered abroad at some point in our lives, with mixed results. However, this has made us more knowledgeable about the types of experiences out there, the questions to ask the organisation and anything that should set alarm bells ringing.