Updated on: 4/Jun/09

VOLUNTEER PROGRAM DESCRIPTION ENGLISH LANGUAGE

AND CULTURAL EXCHANGE PROGRAM

ECUADOR

BRIEF PROGRAM DESCRIPTION The English Language and Cultural Exchange Program offer participants the chance to immerse themselves in the Ecuadorian culture and explore the country, while teaching conversational English to their host families. Participants will be teaching spoken English to their host families 15 hours a week and use their free time to travel and to get to know the Amazon Jungle, the Andes highlands, the beaches of the Coast and more! This program helps the Ecuadorian families to develop their English skills, a basic requirement for today’s worldwide employment market. It also provides the participant with a broader view of the world and an opportunity to part of the daily life of a typical Latin American family. Teaching at your home, travelling, enjoying the local cuisine and establishing life-lasting friendships is something you should not miss! For participants placed in Quito: Volunteers must arrive to Quito on Sunday. A transfer in service will be waiting for the volunteer at the airport to drive him to the host family. On Monday morning the volunteer’s host family will drive him to Lead Adventures Office for his orientation. Monday afternoon will be free for the volunteer to get familiar with Quito. Tuesday will be his first day of work! For participants placed in Sta. Cruz: Participants must arrive to Quito on Monday, a transfer in service will be waiting for you at the airport to drive you the hostel reserved by Lead Adventures. On Tuesday volunteers will be met by Lead Staff at the hostel and taken to their office. At the office the volunteer will receive a comprehensive orientation about Ecuador and the project itself. On Wednesday morning the participant will de driven by a private transfer to Quito’s airport to catch the flight to Galapagos. On arrival to Baltra airport, the airline will transport all passengers to the Ithabaca Canal. The passengers will cross the canal (5 minutes) and arrive to the north tip of Sta. Cruz Island. In Sta. Cruz participants will be met by their family and will start their program!

For those placed with a family in Isabella Island: The same details as above apply plus the following. Once in the north tip of Sta. Cruz take a taxi or bus and get to the town of Puerto Ayora to the hostel reserved by Lead Adventures. All these instructions will be given to you in detail during your orientation. At the hostel you will meet the hostel representative you will give you information about Puerto Ayora. The hostel rep will give you your speedboat ticket Isabela-Sta.Cruz for the next day and will show you where to go to take the speedboat. Volunteers will have all Wednesday afternoon free to explore Puerto Ayora, dinner will be served at the hostel. On Thursday volunteers eat breakfast at the hostel and will be able to visit the Charles Darwin Research Station or Turtle Bay (a white-sand beach, one of the most beautiful ones in the world) on their own. In the afternoon volunteers will depart to take the speedboat to Isabella Island where they will be met by the their host family. From this point on Isabella will be home and volunteers will start their work on Friday.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS For an extra cost enjoy the beautiful sight seeing spots that Quito has to offer: * The Teleferico takes visitors almost to the top of the Volcano Pichincha. It is worth putting aside a few hours for the trip, and day or nighttime is equally interesting. The cable cars will take you up to almost 14,000 feet and the views are stunning. * Visit the "Middle of the World City" where the monument that divides the Northern Hemisphere from the Southern is located. It was built during the XVII century when a French Expedition defined the precise location of the equatorial line. The Ethnographic Museum can be also be visited. For those placed in the Galapagos Islands, you can enjoy for an extra cost the following activities: * Island Hop! Start at Espanola Island and enjoy natural wonder after natural wonder, from the immense blowhole, to the thousands of nesting blue-footed boobies, to the world's largest waved albatross colony. Continue to Floreana Island and see flamingos! Enjoy Black Tortuga Bay on Sta. Cruz and witness a mangrove maze chock full of sharks, rays and sea turtles *Visit the Charles Darwin Foundation in Sta. Cruz. This is an international non-profit research organization dedicated to providing scientific research, technical assistance and information to ensure conservation success in Galapagos.

A DAY AT THE PROGRAMME HOURS ACTIVITIES

7AM-8AM Breakfast at your host family 8:30AM-1PM Free time to explore the city 1PM-1: 30PM Lunch out

1:30PM-4:30PM Teach English to your host family 5PM-6PM Dinner at your host family 6PM-on Free time to enjoy nightlife

*This is just an exemplary daily itinerary. All activities scheduled above are subject to change.

PROGRAM FOCUS LOCATION (Province and Town) Animal Rescue Center ______________ ______________ Education English Language Pichincha, Quito Galapagos, Sta. Cruz or Isabella Adventure ______________ _____________ Environmental ______________ ______________ Construction/Building ______________ ______________ Sports ______________ ______________

PROJECT/ORGANIZATION/INSTITUTION DESCRIPTION Organization Lead Adventures Location of the Organization Quito Non-profit/private/public organization Private Number of employees 10-12 1. DESCRIBE THE POPULATION/COMMUNITY THAT THE INSTITUTION PROVIDES ITS

SERVICES TO. IN CASE OF RESCUE CENTERS OR ENVIRONMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS INCLUDE THE TYPE OF ANIMALS AND ENVIRONMENT IT WORKS WITH.

Volunteers will be working with middle-class Ecuadorian families composed by children and parents. Families have been chosen to be part of this program based on their need to learn conversational English. Ages of the children may range from 8-18 years old. Detailed information about the family will be given once the participant signs up for the program. 2. SERVICES THAT THE ORGANIZATION/INSTITUTION PROVIDES (DESCRIPTION) The English Language and Cultural Exchange program focuses on improving the English language skills of Ecuadorian families. This will help the family members: children and parents to have a better chance in finding better paid employment, travel overseas with a better dominium of the English language; apply for exchange programs and more.

VOLUNTEER INFORMATION 3. How many volunteers can the Project employ monthly? There is not a maximum number of volunteers. We have plenty of families interested in being part of this program and host a volunteer at their homes. It is necessary to check availability with Lead Adventures in order to coordinate program dates with the family in advance. 4. Has the organization received volunteers in the past? Yes. 5. If it has received volunteers in the past, please write since what month and year: Lead Adventures has work with volunteer programs for more than ten years. 6. Are there any special features to which the volunteers has to pay attention to when working

at this project? (Religion, illnesses, extra-vaccination, etc) No.

7. Any requirements to attend this programme? Participants must be English native speakers and must have a TEFL certificate or siginificant experience in the teaching field. Prior to arrival to Ecuador participants will review and sign a contract between them and the family describing in detail duties and responsibilities. Participants must bring their teaching materials, such as books, cds, dvds, etc. Lead Adventures doesn’t provide teaching materials. 8. The project receives volunteers all year round? Yes. 9. Please specify holidays or other dates when the project closes and can not receive

volunteers: The program doesn’t close for holidays. 10. Is there a minimum amount of weeks volunteers can work at the project? Yes, all volunteers must sign up for this program for a minimum of 4 weeks. 11. Is there a maximum amount of weeks volunteers can work at the project? Maximum of 12 weeks. 12. Please give detailed description of tasks and duties of the volunteer: Teaching Method: The volunteer will be in charge of teaching conversational English to the members of the family, based on TEFL methods. The volunteer will first identify the level of conversational English that each students has, based on this the volunteer will focus on using a method that best applies for each level: beginner, intermediate and advanced. The TEFL method for conversational English includes exercises to perfection pronunciation, improve comprehension and understanding, increase vocabulary and more. The TEFL method helps students achieve fluency without memorising, but rather through practicing. 15 Hours per week: The volunteer will be teaching 15 hours a week (weekdays- Monday to Friday) to the members of the family that will be part of the program. The 15 hours a week will be divided for the amount of “students” the participant will have. For example if the dad and son want to learn English, the 15 hours per week will be divided for 2 students, each student- in this case the dad and the son will have 7.5 hours of conversation English per week. Teaching schedule: At the beginning of every week the volunteer is required to create and schedule with his students for the week. The volunteer must work around the schedule of the family members taking into consideration school, work, etc. Keeping track of the hours taught: The participant will keep track of the hours taught per day on a timesheet that will be kept in a visible area in the house. All lessons will focus mostly on conversational English, if the participant is keen of teaching grammar, sentence composition and more it is up to the participant but is not a requirement of the program.

Students Progress: On arrival to the home, the participant will identify the English conversational level of the students based on their TEFL previous knowledge and will mark it on an Initial Conversation Form. At the end of the program, the volunteer will mark the level were the students were left on a Final Conversation Form. This will help- in case a second volunteer works with the same family, the new volunteer will know what level the participant was left off. The participant will also be required to fill out a Weekly Planning Form. These forms will be provided by Lead Adventures and will be used to keep track of the progress of the student. 13. Indicate the times and days the volunteer will be working in the week: The times of the classes will depend on the family’s schedule. The volunteer is required to build a schedule around the families activities: school, university, work etc. The classes must take place during the weekdays, Monday thru Friday. Volunteers will have the weekends free to travel and explore other parts of the country.

LOCATION OF THE PROJECT 14. PLEASE INDICATE THE CLOSEST CITY OR TOWN TO THE PROJECT. The program takes place in Quito (Mainland Ecuador), Sta. Cruz and Isabella (Galapagos Islands). 15. INDICATE WHAT TYPES OF TRANSPORTATION THERE IS FROM THE CENTER OF

THIS CITY TO THE PROJECT, ITS COSTS AND APPROXIMATELY TIME THAT WILL TAKE:

TYPE COST

Quito Bus 0.25 Taxi $1 (minimum fare) *Bus costs and taxi fares depend on the location of the home stay.

Sta. Cruz/ In both Islands most of the transportation is done by bikes or walking. It is Isabella recommend to rent a bike during the participant’s stay to use it in the island. 16. DESCRIBE THE SORROUNDINGS OF THE PROJECT (country side, urban, town) All home stays are located in good residential areas of Quito, Sta. Cruz and Isabella.

ACCOMODATIONS AND MEALS 17. Type of Accommodation? Volunteers will stay at home stays. Home stays have been picked and chosen after an application process to make sure they have everything participants need. Families who participate in this program have been screen from a bigger group of families, who have the need to learn conversational English. All families have a great interest in been part of the program.

18. Meals included? During your stay with your family- breakfast, lunch and dinner are included. If travelling to Isabella Island dinner and breakfast are included in Sta. Cruz.

WHAT IS INCLUDED? Volunteers placed in Quito Transfer in on arrival on international flight to Quito Airport to host family in Quito Comprehensive Orientation in Quito at Lead Adventures Office 3 meals at your home stay 7 days a week 2 weeks of traveler’s insurance (for direct bookings with Lead Adventures-not through agencies) 24-hour emergency contact number

Volunteers placed in Sta. Cruz Transfer on arrival on international flight to Quito Airport to shared accommodation hostel in Quito Comprehensive Orientation in Quito at Lead Adventures Office Monday and Tuesday shared accommodation in Quito Transfers from hostel in Quito to airport for the Galapagos flight Flight from Quito to Sta. Cruz (if purchased through Lead Adventures for extra charge) 3 meals at your home stay 7 days a week 2 weeks of traveler’s insurance (for direct bookings with Lead Adventures-not through agencies) 24-hour emergency contact number Volunteers placed in Isabella All of the details described as for the participants place in Sta. Cruz plus the following: Shared volunteer accommodation in Santa Cruz (one day on arrival) Food- two meals (dinner and breakfast) in Sta. Cruz Speed boat transfer Santa Cruz-Isabella

WHAT IS NOT INCLUDED? International flights Return transfers from the Islands back to Quito Personal travel insurance for the duration of your placement (for volunteers who registered for this program through an agency) Personal travel insurance for volunteers who register directly with Lead Adventures after the second week Airfare, or taxes, and National Parks entrance fee ($110) to enter the Galapagos All items of a personal nature Soft drinks, beer, wine, spirits Tours to other protected islands Any activities beyond your planned itinerary

EXTRA SERVICES TO ENSURE YOUR TRAVELING WILL BE EASIER Lead Adventures provides to our participants all the following extra services for an extra cost to ensure you they travel in an easier and faster way to their destination: • Meet and Greet Hostel Reception at the airport in Sta. Cruz (this includes tourists stops to

the Ranchos Primisias where volunteers will have their first experience with the tortoises.

Volunteers will also get to go to Los Gemelos, a pair of craters approximately 30 meters deep.)

• Extra nights in Isabella or Sta. Cruz in a hostel • Transfer from hostel in Quito to airport for international departure at the end of the program • Traveler’s insurance for those registering directly with Lead Adventures for extra weeks not

covered by the program • For those participants who will be in Quito prior to their program in Galapagos, they have

the option to travel to Galapagos earlier than Wednesday for an extra cost

PICTURES