The teaching of English as a foreign language is important in a country where international tourism is the main source of foreign revenue. This is especially necessary for that part of the population that is directly involved in the tourism trade.
You’ll be working together with other volunteers with children from the communities of Montezuma, Las Delicias and Cabuya, on the Nicoya Peninsula, in the province of Puntarenas. The three communities are substantially different. Montezuma is a tourist area where many services are found, famous for its breathtaking beauty. Backpackers looking for an exotic locale to avoid crowds have visited Montezuma and its beaches for years. Instead, Las Delicias and Cabuya are small rural communities, surrounded by forests, whose inhabitants are involved in agricultural efforts looking to encourage a sustainable agricultural economy.
As a volunteer you are invited to share your knowledge of the English language with the locals to help them acquire a certain degree of fluency and communication skills that they can apply in the future as a way to make a living. You’ll be working with children, mainly in the first and second grade so you need to be passionate about teaching and patient. You don’t need to have previous experience in teaching but you do need to be resourceful.
Your presence by itself will be a great contribution to the children intercultural skills. The most important thing is that you stay open to them, telling them about your culture and where you come from.