Teaching English in Nepal

 

In all of the schools that joined this project you can volunteer to teach  English and, more importantly, engage in our efforts to teach the children how to apply those language skills. In fact, many Nepali children can understand spoken English but cannot speak the language themselves, as they do not have the opportunity to practice this at school. You can help the children to get a better grasp of English so they will be able to use what they know in real life situations where communication is core.

Acquiring these skills has huge implications for Nepali people, more that you might think. About 15% of all Nepalis have to work abroad for several years in their lives, mostly in places such as the Middle-East and Malaysia, in order to generate crucial income for the families at home.  Since 2000 it is estimated that about 10,000 Nepalis have died abroad from a range of issues associated with poor conditions. Education is key to empowering the people to make informed decisions about their safety and their future. Especially children from rural areas are far behind in education which, especially in this situation, leaves them uniformed and unable to speak the language in a foreign country,  facing the very real risk of exploitation. In addition, bringing education to rural areas improves alternative career opportunities for these children in urban areas of Nepal (so they may not have to go abroad). Currently, rural people struggle to compete with the better educated people from urban areas for their entire life. As a result of this lack of education in the remote areas, currently all parents able to afford it are sending their children away  to go to school in Kathmandu.

English teaching volunteers do not have to be native English speakers or trained teachers. The school has its own English teachers who are happy to assist our volunteer with teaching methods, offer advice on solving communication barriers, or provide suitable teaching materials. Depending on your skills and willingness, you can either give full lessons or co-teach lessons. Everyone able to speak English can provide the highly appreciated “English speaking” lessons which are a great opportunity for the children to loose their fear of talking in English to a unknown person, practice real life conversations and speak up for them selves in a foreign language. Furthermore, the children will be able to pick up a variety of foreign accents which will help them in internationally oriented jobs in the tourist sector, a major job market in Nepal. During holidays and slow periods, volunteers can also help local teachers create teaching resources and design lesson plans which offers a new opportunity of learning and exchanging ideas on educational practice.

This project currently includes the following schools:

  • Shree Mahendrodaya  secondary school in the village Mulpani
  • Secondary School in Salang village
  • Shree Shradha Women Alternative School in Nagarjun Municipality near Kathmandu

Please kindly understand that we can only accept volunteers for teaching that will be able to stay 1 month minimum.  We have learned that shorter placements can cause more unsettlement than they are actually helpful and that this may not be putting your skills to a good use. That said, please do not be disencouraged from contacting us if you are interested.  We often come across smaller tasks in our schools that may not involve teaching, such as fixing software problems on the school’s computers.