English Teaching in Armenia

Background

Armenian is the official language of Armenia. The second most spoken language is Russian. In the rural part of the country there are only 4% proficient english speakers in Armenia.  

Challenge

Due to the few job opportunities and education barriers in the villages, most of the rural Armenian population don’t get a chance and opportunity to learn English.

SBB Intervention 

The English Teaching program is delivered in the Armenian villages in cooperation with our partner NGO which implements educational programs as an after school club for a group of students in the schools or community centers where students learn English free of cost. English Teaching project is for native English speakers only and requires teaching knowledge or practice.

  • Prepare topic based sessions to enhance student’s speaking skills
  • Organise interactive speaking and listening sessions
  • Design games and activities
  • Support the local teacher and do workshops on holidays in the US or UK, culture, etc.
  • Prepare and help students to learn how to make PPT presentations in English on various topics
  • Do sessions on soft skills, public speaking, motivation letters, etc
  • Other teaching related tasks

  1. Program Base: Armenia

  2. Project duration: 1 week-month

  3. Joining dates: Throughout the year 

  4. Arrival date: Saturday or Sunday are preferable, if not weekdays will be managed 

  5. Arrival airport : Zvartnots International Airport

  6. Drop to Hostel in Yerevan for two night to take rest and then be shifted to the project location

  7. Working days: Monday to Friday, Weekends are off 

  8. Weekends: Free to do sightseeing or travel

  9. Requirements: Basic English

  • Pre-arrival assistance
  • Detailed pre-arrival orientation and cultural awareness info
  • Pick-up from Zvartnots International Airport
  • A detailed orientation about Armenia, project, cultural responsibility and things to remember in India, SIM card assistance
  • Accommodation with host family (single or dual occupancy) or volunteer house
  • All meals (Authentic Armenian meals) Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
  • Resource materials to use on project
  • Weekly market visit to shop for your necessities
  • Cultural workshops
  • Airport drop at Zvartnots International Airport
  • Logistics & program assistance if required
  • Emergency support

Host family: Armenian local family which is ready to receive you like a family member, share food and space with you is considered host family. Chances of having single or dual occupancy are there as we don’t keep more than 3 people in one room in host families. Host family accommodation is best to discover the local culture and to enjoy home-made Armenian food. Food includes breakfast, lunch and dinner made by the host and includes vegetarian authentic dishes and from time to time non-veg food. Each family is carefully chosen to ensure the family has the basic standards of living required for our participants. All participants need to know that in rural Armenia living standards are lower and chances of now having a shower but a bucket of hot water are there. Similarly in rural Armenia toilets are not always within the house but outside and it’s more a squat rather than a toilet with seat. As each village is different and we send volunteers based on the demand of the specific time, we inform our participants in advance which village they will visit and if there is western bathroom standard available or no. It’s important to mention your readiness to cooperate with the rural conditions as based on that we can select the village you will work with. We work in more than 50 villages of Armenia and we usually don’t send more than 2 volunteers at a time to the same village as we want more villages to benefit of the volunteering program.

Facilities include:

  • Shared bedroom (max 3 people-chances of single room available)
  • Western or rural toilet (if you are not ready for a squat which is most common toilet type in the villages out of the house, then this may not fit you as a volunteer option)
  • Drinking water
  • Hot & cold water (possibly heated on gas)
  • Common Fridge
  • Common washing machine
  • Kitchen access to cook food if wished so
  • Family environment
  • Comfortable & safe stay option
  • Celebration of festivals together

MEALS:

During the program we provide breakfast, lunch and dinner in the village (in Yerevan you are free to choose your food as there are so many restaurants and cafes). All the volunteers in the villages will have Armenian meals as we believe food is a part of cultural immersion. Armenian food is not spicy but it will definitely be different from what you may be used to. Breakfast is usually tea or coffee, bread, cheese, jam, egg, etc. Lunch and Dinner are similar as it may include one vegetable fried or cooked, some lentils or rice, some Armenian soup or salad. We realize that from time to time participants would like to eat non-Armenian food so it is possible to cook your preferred food in host family upon availability of the ingredients. You may need to know that rural Armenian dishes are simple so you can’t expect mushroom, avocado or any similar ingredient to be available. Besides, many vegetables are seasonal so you may discuss the food details with our coordinator staff prior or during your stay. We will do our best to accommodate vegetarian diet (Armenians are mostly non-vegetarian and it’s sometimes even culturally difficult for rural Armenians to understand how it’s possible to survive without meat).

  • Air fare
  • Visa
  • Insurance
  • Local transportation (mostly on walking distance or support from coordinators)
  • Personal expenses

For costs and further details please contact us on info@stepbeyondborders.org