Teaching English

At Volunteer Programs Bali our volunteers are teaching English to Balinese children from Monday until Thursday in our extra afternoon classes. All children attend their regular Indonesian classes between 7:30am and 12:30pm and then attend our after school English classes at Volunteer Programs Bali later in the afternoon. The classes of Volunteer Programs Bali are extra classes for the children and an addition to their normal school hours.

In every school we are using the international ESL curriculum which gives a structure that allows for consistency and routine. Most children are in the basic level, followed by the intermediate level and we have small classes at an advanced level. So mostly volunteers will be teaching English on a very basic level (think: words, time, places, names, family etc) and we do this in a creative and FUN way.

In contrast with their regular school, we have a chance to set our own pace and adjust it to the learning process of each individual child. That means we prefer to spend more time on each topic and level to make sure each child gets enough time to grasp the curriculum.

The levels of English knowledge within each class is different, even though we try to divide all the children according to their levels. This is due to the fact that each child has a different learning pace, but also with all the ceremonies in Bali, it is not always possible for the children to attend our extra classes on a regular basis.

Another reason for the difference in level is that for a lot of younger children it is important to stay in class with their friends, and sometimes their language levels are not totally equal. We understand that younger children can easily get emotionally attached to each other and possible reassignment to a different class might have demotivating effects. That is why we devote extra time and attention to some of our children to ensure all of them within one class can learn properly, in their own pace and can eventually achieve the same level of English.

The curriculum we use in the classes includes several translating games and exercises. We see translation exercises as a great aid in learning a new language. For the children learning is easier when they can relate new knowledge to the existing one. For some of the children it is very important to relate the English language to equivalents in their mother tongue in order to understand how the English language operates.

The children are working through the curriculum with various topics and depending on their level of English, specific worksheets and lesson plans of the curriculum are used.

Each class is provided with a folder about the class which includes lesson plans, worksheets and volunteer diaries. In our classes we do co-teaching, so there is always more than one volunteer per class. That way volunteers complement each other in their teaching and help each other out. Our local coordinators and volunteer coordinator are always around to help our volunteers and children in any way necessary. We also keep our classes small, so we can give the students more individual attention. Working with the kids individually allows us to adjust the learning to their personal levels. Adaptive learning improves their understanding and speeds up the learning process.

To keep the classes interesting and fun we ask volunteers to bring their own skills and talents into the classroom as well (think: yoga, music, dance, sports, arts and crafts). We strongly support and motivate volunteers to implement their own creativity and activities into the classes such as games, songs and other creative learning, related to the subject of the curriculum.

This is no boring ‘job’, it’s meant to be easy going, creative and light!

We like to play educational games, and do small competitions. The concept is that children learn best through playing. It may seem ‘slow’ learning, but it will stay with them beyond those hours in school. The longer they join our classes, the more they learn, the better their chances to succeed in life, continue to grow, get good opportunities. At Volunteer Programs Bali we try to ensure that the children grow and expand their knowledge in order to prepare them for the future, be it higher studies, an internship, job, etc.

Everything in Bali is centered around the community rather than the individual. Therefore, we try to include some individual tasks in our exercises to get the children to participate more actively and increase their self-awareness. By bringing the children in front of the class we boost their self-confidence and improve their presentation skills.

The classes change from time to time (depending on school holidays, ceremonies and the like) so it is important for volunteers to be flexible, patient and “in the moment” within these changes. Repetition is very important to help the children learn, but because it is an extra class which they join voluntarily, it needs to stay fun. All children that come are eager to learn, and we keep things interesting by doing regular activities like; monthly recycling events, student of the Month awards, and workshops by professionals (volunteers and local professionals). For more info: “What we do”

Our volunteers come from all over the world. The children are always very excited to meet new volunteers and find out where they are from. They are always very curious and interested in the different countries and cultures. So not only do the volunteers teach the children English, the children also learn about places all over the world. Every volunteer brings a unique personal touch to the lessons and the children love it. Working together with these different kind of people will also benefit the students because a big part of the Balinese economy thrives on tourism. This way the children learn at a young age to interact with people from different countries and cultures and this could benefit them in the future.

Most of our volunteers are not professional teachers and it is often their first time in front of a class. Therefore, Volunteer Programs Bali provides a lot of support to our volunteers which already starts before they arrive. When confirming the placement, each volunteer with receive our Volunteer Prep Kit with lots of information about Volunteer Programs Bali, Bali in general, teaching tips and other useful information. Also, each volunteer will receive access to our open Google Drive folder where we share a lot of our teaching resources, curriculum, online diaries from other volunteers and worksheets. Volunteers can already prepare themselves by screening through the folders so they have a better idea of what to expect. Upon arrival, volunteers are receiving an extensive orientation program where we discuss a lot of Balinese customs, do’s and don’ts, teaching information and helpful tips and tricks.

During the placement, volunteers are supported by our volunteer coordinator who will be in the schools everyday to support the volunteers and assist where necessary. Weekly meetings are organized to evaluate and discuss the classes, lesson plans and the curriculum.
Last but not least there is our local staff who are a great help to our volunteers. They are available in each school, every day, to assist and support our volunteers in the class, help them with teaching, translating to students whenever necessary and making sure all volunteers have a positive experience with their children and their time in Bali.