If you’ve ever fancied yourself a teacher-type, the red pen of power at-the-ready, but the thought of having to contend with a new language, when your Spanish skills involve pointing and repeating yourself loudly, brings you out in a cold sweat, we’ve got just the ticket! Unlike other programmes, Teach and Travel Chile gives you the opportunity to swot up on your español before you head off on your adventure with a pre-departure e-learning course, and intensive Spanish and TEFL courses during your 12 day arrival orientation in the capital, Santiago.

You can ask for your placement to be in any region of Chile but it will generally be away from places with high levels of tourism since Chilean students living in these areas tend to have good levels of English already. This means you’ll be getting a taste of more authentic Chilean culture- isn’t that what travel is all about?- and making a real difference by helping the people who will benefit most.

During your stay, you will be living with a host family. They will be located close to your school and will provide you with a comfortable and friendly home-from-home where you can enjoy home-cooked food, become part of a new family and the local community, and practise your new language skills first-hand.

And so to your classroom; your temple! Here you’ll be assisting a local EFL (English as a foreign language) teacher before being let loose to take your own classes. You’ll need to prepare interesting lesson plans, motivate students, organise extra curricular activities and, of course, wield that prized red pen! For Chile, mastering English is necessary to succeed in a global community of business, trade and tourism and, as a result, there is new emphasis on English language speaking and listening skills; and that’s where you come in! Volunteers are needed to work with both elementary and secondary school students in public and semi-public schools throughout the country. With the option to be there from 4 to 8 months, you can make a real and tangible difference to the next generation.

Ready to sign on the dotted line? Here’s the fine print. You don’t need to be able to speak Spanish to apply for Teach and Travel Chile, but you do need to have a genuine interest in learning the language; una cerveza por favour will only get you so far! We give you all the resources; you just need to put in the time to help yourself. You do need to be between 21 and 35 to be eligible, and be degree qualified.

BUNAC's first flight is due for take-off on March 4th 2012. To book your place on Teach and Travel Chile or to talk through your options, call 0207-251-3472.