Working in Latin America
Tuesday, 7th April 2009
Latin America is a geographical and cultural region in the Americas where “Romance” languages, or Latin-derived languages are spoken; generally the areas where Spain and Portugal colonized the Americas.
Latin America is comprised of 18 countries from Mexico in North America extending into Central and South America and including some Caribbean islands. They are countries of statistical extremes - a small percentage of the population owns a large percentage of the wealth. The majority of the population lives below the poverty line.
Because of the high level of poverty, there are many opportunities for Americans, Canadians and Europeans to volunteer in Latin America while developing Spanish or Portuguese skills. There are also a number of work opportunities as well as internships.
Working abroad in Latin America includes teaching English. While some companies need a commitment of about 2 years, others find shorter periods acceptable and even hire those seeking part-time work. Furthermore, some companies require teachers who hold a Bachelor of Arts degree in teaching from a US University, while others look for teachers who simply have a good command of English, regardless of the accent. The requirements differ so greatly from area to area because some of the nations in Latin America are so poor that they have to take in account that the more qualified teachers will mostly be sent to Europeanized cities like Santiago and Rio. Here teachers can expect to be paid $10-$30 an hour. Wages in La Paz and Quito can pay merely $3 an hour.
Some Latin American nations do have bilingual colleges where American or British English is taught alongside Spanish or Portuguese. Although state-accredited teachers are usually the ones who receive these teaching positions, some university graduates looking for short periods of work may be hired as classroom assistants.
If you are looking to expand your Spanish or Portuguese, nothing will help you more than by directly becoming immersed in the language and culture. Teaching English in Latin America will provide you with better language skills including local colloquialisms as well as the rewarding experience of giving something back to the community.
More about teaching in Colombia
More about teaching in Costa Rica
More about teaching in Ecuador
Tags: english, spanish, culture, tefl, spain, mexico, languages, language, tesol
Posted by Jessica Wingate under Experience Cultures,
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