Spanish for Teachers Program

Program Description

This is a Spanish for Teachers course that will train participants to teach Spanish. The course runs from January to September and follows the Guatemalan school year. Keep in mind that there is a mid-year break for one week at the end of June when schools are closed. Four weeks is the minimum time commitment for this program.

This course features a daily intensive one-on-one session on technical vocabulary as well as a daily hands-on practical teaching experience in a rural or urban classroom beginning in the second week of the program. Participants will learn how to evaluate students, plans activities, design lessons, and other methods for teaching. One of the best aspects of this course is our section on local culture and themes from Latin American and Guatemala.

The fees from this program go to the costs of scheduling with local schools, materials, and conferences while the remainder goes into a fund that supports Pop Wuj’s Scholarship Program.

Highlights

Spanish one-on-one focused on technical education 20 hours a week
The opportunity to work in local schools in the Guatemalan public system 20 hours a week
Cultural awareness week: A week of lectures on the Guatemalan culture, economy, public system of education, etc.
Cultural Immersion, by living with a Guatemalan host family
Spanish school activities and materials

What`s Included

Includes:

Cultural immersion through a Homestay with a Guatemalan family in a private room with three meals a day, safe drinking water, a warm shower and constant practice of the language
20 hours a week of intensive one-on-one Spanish classes
4 hours Daily - intensive One-on-One Spanish focused on technical education vocabulary with a teacher specialized in the language
4 hours Daily - observation and/or hands-on practice in an urban or rural classroom starting the second week
Techniques and methods of teaching, lesson planning, objectives, activities, and evaluations
Lectures targeting cultural competencies for one week that include themes about Guatemala and Latin America, issues pertaining to the culture, economy, education, and history of the country; planning and evaluation
Spanish School Activities (except transportation / entrance fees)

Opportunity to work in a school in the Guatemalan School System:

Generally, student teaching in the public school system starts in the second week of the program, after the first week of cultural competency, however there can be certain exceptions: When the level of Spanish of the student is basic and they need to concentrate more time on their language study to improve their level of communication. When, for reasons of space, the student has to wait until the school where they will work is able to offer them a position When the student decides, for whatever reason, not to participate in the student teaching portion and decides instead only to focus on the theory of the education systems in Guatemala