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We have some wonderful opportunities teaching abroad in community schools in Sri Lanka.
As a gap year volunteer you would teach English and additional activities could include teaching maths,
science, sports, cricket, art and football.
Description of Project
If you're interested in educational projects abroad, we have several school based teaching projects
near Galle on the south west coast of Sri Lanka. These locations are stunning, dominated by golden beaches
and the warm waves of the Pacific. The beaches provide the most important nesting sites for Sri Lanka's
giant sea turtles. They are however, the regions that were most seriously damaged by the 2004 tsunami
disaster.
The schools all need volunteer support. Education is taken very seriously and nearly all children up
to the age of fourteen attend school. Sri Lanka's population has a literacy rate of 92%, higher than that
expected for a third world country and the highest literacy rate in South Asia.
Working in one of these schools would give you unusual access to the traditional culture. By undertaking
a teaching project, you would become a central part of the community and would have every opportunity to
make relationships with local people and join in with village activities. Over the course of a three-month
teaching project you could become immersed in the fascinating Sinhalese culture.
Volunteer Responsibilities / Activities
- Support pupils learning and to contribute effectively and with confidence to the classes in which
you are involved. You will be in charge of some classes and assist in others.
- To be familiar with the school curriculum and teaching methods.
- To contribute effectively to teachers' planning and preparation of lessons.
- To help organise and participate in extra-curricular activities in the afternoon such as
music, drama, arts and sports.
- Shadow teachers in school and assist in activity based oral English lessons.
- Incorporate 1 to 1 conversation into the lessons and other activities to ensure that the
children are using the English they are being taught.
- Assist with other areas of the curriculum.
- Work within a framework set with the head and class teacher, to plan your role in lessons
including how to provide feedback on pupils' learning and behaviour.
As part of their pre-departure training volunteers would be expected to familiarise themselves with
the English curriculum and make contact with the school.
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Summary
- Project Code:
S10
- Main Activity of Project:
Teaching English and organising extra curricular
activities such as music, art, sports.
- Minimum Period of Stay:
Three months.
- Cost:
Three months: £2965.
For full details of our prices please see our costs page.
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Articles / Volunteer Evaluations
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I very much enjoyed the teaching experience in Tangalla. It has opened my eyes
up to the world, taught me lessons i didnt know i had to learn. I have also picked
up the batique art after our lessons, and am experimenting with it back here in
London.
The children were a delight to teach-most of the time. It was actually quite
tough as Sri Lankas teachers don't feel art is an important and relevant subject,
and are taught instead to copy copy copy! so infact they arn't used to using there
imagination! some of the activities I tried with them, they seemed shocked at! eg.
bread hangings! ended up that the dogs ate the painted bread that night! yum.
The deaf school really is somewhere special and i found it slightly easier as
they already had a imagination, because of course they have to communicate
visually. It meant that we could just get in there and be totally creative! The
look on there faces when you arrive each day in the tuk tuk, big smiles, a lot of
running with the three wheeler, even clinging on! It really is the most fulfilling
amazing place i have ever been. Both Jessica and i joined there about half a month
in with Lucy, and we never looked back. All they need is love and attention, and
i feel it was so important to have three of us there, it meant they all got some
sort of attention. As well as teaching them, they were so keen to teach us
Singhala sign language, and it turned out to be so easy to relate and communicate
with them. In some ways it is easier than singhala the language. Every child has
this most amazing twinkle and glow to there eyes, even though they have
practically nothing, i did afew portraits of them to try and capture the naive
glow... if you want i can send you a photocopy.
Our host family at the chalet were so welcoming towards us, we really
appreciated there care and generosity. We have definitely made a second family for
life! Not only did they just feed and house us properly but they took us under
there wings and showed us true sri lankan culture, invited us to music nights
with family and friends, all sorts of exciting things. Generally sri lankan people
are extremely friendly and once you get to know them, very loyal to you. we became
close to many people, from the teachers and there familys, our tuk tuk driver,
kumari to the paint shop man!!!
I am planning on returning to sri lanka to visit everyone again next year and
going to do more fundraising for the English teacher, her English books arn't even
written in proper English, so i want to find books that will actually teach these
kids, i want to get group games for the deaf kids, to encourage team work and for
them to have varied activities to do. Sri Lanka will be my other home for life.
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Evaluation by Rebecca Harper
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My school is a wounder full little one, set up a hill along a dirt track with a
peaceful setting. The school only houses 70 children at the most however i have
only seen about 60 children!! The classes are tiny my largest class has ten
children. Every morning i go in i get greeted with big friendly smiles, and a
'good morning miss cat'eee'. The school is very basic it has one main building
which has years 9 to 12, then two smaller buildings one with years 5 and 8 and the
other with the younger years. Theres no divisions between classes so if your doing
something exciting with one class you often get the other classes joining you.
Even though there is a language barrier its easy to communicate with smiles,
gestures and the odd bits of Sinhala you pick uP, its all absolutely fantastic fun
they are so grateful for whatever help you can give them.'
Are first weekend in Unawatuna was brilliant and left us with the taste if
wanting to see more but so far has been unfulfilled. The weather is still
fantastic my project is amazing and have settled in really well, it seems mad
there's only 2 months left !! I don't think i'll want to come home!!
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Evaluation by Katie Birchmore
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Many thanks for your email. The English weather sounds surprisingly fantastic,
I think we would all like a short break from the heat! Only for a day though, we
are all enjoying the sunshine far too much! Sri Lanka is a truly fantastic country
and I can honestly say that this is the most trying but infinitely the best
experience of my life.
Honestly, I wish I had the capacity to describe to you everything we are doing
and seeing... it is truly unbelievable. Everyone here is so welcoming and friendly
I feel like a local already. It is truly strange, even though I have spent such a
short time here I still don't bat an eyelid when someone offers me curry for
breakfast or we pass herds of goats, cows and horses just munching the grass
and/or local posters at the side of the road! The beach that we are living near is
absolutely stunning. It is also such a upsetting place as well because the
devastation of the tsunami is still horribly present! You walk along the long
beach to see broken boats crushed between palm trees or sitting in the middle of
houses, left just where the tsunami deposited them.
The poverty here is also heart breaking. The school I am working in, Seenimodara
K. V., has approximately 350 children ranging from year 1 to year 11, in class
sizes of 30 and upwards. The facilities are extremely limited. The majority of
classes take place in one long building which has groups of chairs and tables
circling blackboards all the way down (probably best to practise writing with
chalk before you go, it took several attempts before my writing was legible!).
There is also a 'library' with a scattered collection of books, which seem to
basically be a couple of English-Sinhala dictionaries and a few Enid Blyton
novels, and one computer with no printer or programmes.
On my first day of school the English teacher Mrs Nolanti did not arrive, and
as the rest of the staff seemed not to speak a word of English I was shoved into a
classroom and let loose on teaching!! The chucked-in-at-the-deep-end approach
actually seemed to be the best way to get me started and I haven't looked back
since. Though the combination of hot weather, appalling textbooks, and naughty
children can sometimes prove a test for anyone, I generally come back from the
school day with a huge grin on my face. The children who attend the school are
mainly fishermen's children who have generally suffered loss through the tsunami,
so it is best to tread carefully when you are studying family, though they seem
more than happy to share their experiences with you. They are truly keen to learn
English though, which is much supported through the Junior Achievement association
in Sri Lanka which helps the school put on an English Drama Day where all the
children do English role plays. This was fantastic to get involved in, and has
provided some truly hilarious memories! Having done a lot of drama and speaking in
my classes instead of the traditional sinhalese "read the textbook then do
the questions" approach, I was so proud when my children were particularly
congratulated by the representatives of Junior Achievement on their confidence and
fluency in English! The children are also keen, as well as learning from you, for
you to learn Sinhala from them. In fact i think their teaching is probably of a
more superior standard to the real Sinhala lessons we have received!! In my few
free periods I have off a week the year 6s gather in the library to teaching me
basic essentials such as "Stand Up", "Be Quiet", and
"The only reason I came to Sri Lanka was to drink tea"! Also fun was
trying to teach netball with 40 children and one ball!
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Evaluation by Laura Stuckey
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Ihalagadu School
This is a small school teaching 100 children aged 11-17 (grades 6-13) situated in a small village 20 minutes
from Galle. The school is non-governmental and has 19 staff teaching children from the poorest of families. It
lacks basic equipment but boasts a beautiful music and arts classroom. It has a strong link with a secondary
school based in the midlands which has had a great influence on the school's arts, sports and music.
Volunteer Role
Volunteers would assist with the teaching of English (there are currently six staff who speak English to a
high standard), help with the sports, art and music programmes whilst strengthening the link with a UK secondary
school. School hours are from 7.30am – 1.30pm which caters for the teaching of a full syllabus. It would be of
great benefit to provide extracurricular activities such as dance, music or sports in the afternoon. Athletics,
netball, football and cricket are particularly encouraged.
Sumundala School
The school is situated in a small village about a half hour bus ride from Galle with 65 staff teaching 1300
pupils aged between 5 - 16. The school is non-governmental and the pupil intake is mainly from the poorest of
families. As such it lacks funding leaving pupils short of text books and other basic resources. There are some
very old computers but no internet access. The school itself, despite its lack of basic equipment, is alive and
vibrant with the pupils demonstrating a real passion for learning.
Volunteer Role
Volunteers would be expected to help teach English to all pupils and assist with other areas of the curriculum.
Depending on the interests and skills of the volunteer they can teach Maths, Science and Sport in addition to their
daily activities. The school day starts at 7.30am finishing at 1.30pm however many pupils stay for the afternoon
when volunteers are given the opportunity to assist with the extracurricular activities such as music, dance,
cricket etc.
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