Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL)
English UK
English UK is one of Great Britain's leading TEFL charities. Since its establishment in 2004, this charitable organisation has endeavoured to raise the standards of language teaching at national and international level. This charity is comprised of nearly 500 member organisations, which are all accredited English teaching centres operating in both the public and the private sector. Membership is only awarded after an organisation passes a strict inspection and demonstrates its commitment to maintaining the highest teaching standards. English UK also devotes much of its efforts to lobbying, as the charity works with the Home Office and with all-party groups to promote student mobility and to lift barriers that may prevent international students from achieving their full English language potential.
Membership is required in order to get involved in the projects run by this organisation, which include inward missions, English language fairs, and training days. Information is available at www.englishuk.com/en/about-us.
Naturally Africa Volunteers
Naturally Africa Volunteers is a registered UK charity that was set up with the objective of providing poverty relief in various African countries through a series of educational projects run by volunteers. Naturally Africa aims to make education freely available to African youths regardless of their socio-economic status, and the charity does so by raising funds for African schools and by supporting their needs with the placement of volunteer teachers. Over the years, Naturally Africa has helped primary schools with teaching materials and learning resources that would have otherwise been out of their reach.
TEFL programmes are available in primary and secondary schools, orphanages, nurseries, street children's centres, and other educational institutions. No prior teaching experience is required in order to volunteer with Naturally Africa, as the charity offers short training courses (both face-to-face and online) for approved volunteers. Typical destinations include Malawi, Namibia, Kenya, Ghana, and Tanzania. Further information on the projects available and on how to apply can be found at www.volunteerafrica.com/our-projects/volunteer-teaching.
TEFL UK
TEFL UK is one of the largest English language training organisations in the UK. This organisation is set up as a limited company, but the scope of its work is comparable to that of other TEFL charities. TEFL UK plays a key role in promoting English language teaching and in raising teaching quality standards in England, Scotland, and Wales, but it also runs projects in foreign countries. The training courses offered by TEFL UK are usually the first stepping stone for prospective TEFL volunteers who want to earn a recognised qualification while helping others learn English.
TEFL UK places high importance on teacher development and on providing volunteer teachers with solid skills, just so that they can embark in their life-changing teaching adventure with confidence. Five-month long teaching internships are available in various Chinese cities and in the Inner Mongolia region. More information on these volunteer opportunities is available from www.tefl.org.uk/tefl-internships/china.
Project Mongolia
Project Mongolia is a Scottish charitable organisation based at Edinburgh University. The organisation's main objective is to provide support to partner charities who work with children from disadvantaged backgrounds in Mongolia. Some of their most popular fundraising events include music concerts, film nights, clothes swap projects, and pub quiz nights. Recently, Project Mongolia entered into a partnership with TEFL Org UK in order to expand its reach and to better equip its volunteer teachers.
Volunteers who sign up to teach English with Project Mongolia can expect to teach at summer camps through placements that last approximately one month. Volunteers are given freedom to design the teaching programmes, the schedules, and other educational activities that they may deem appropriate. Applications from prospective TEFL volunteers are accepted during the first three months of the year. More information on the programmes available can be found at www.projectmongolia.org/about.
i-to-i
Although i-to-i is not registered as a charitable organisation, this Brighton-based travel organisation deserves to be mentioned due to the large number of TEFL volunteer programs that it runs all over the world. This organisation aims to facilitate genuine cultural exchange experiences and to turn foreign travel into a positive and inspiring experience for all parties involved. As an organisation, i-to-i is strongly against any practices that may promote foreign aid reliance, and instead focusses on helping communities in need help themselves by offering support and enthusiastic volunteers instead of direct funding.
Over the past 18 years, this organisation has trained more than 127,000 volunteer English teachers. i-to-i places TEFL volunteers with local partners in Brazil, China, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Fiji, India, Kenya, Malawi, Nepal, Peru, Swaziland, Tanzania, and Thailand. TEFL volunteers are not required to have teaching experience, and placement length varies between 1 week and 12 weeks. Teaching internships are also available in countries like China, Poland, Thailand, and Vietnam. For more information, you can get in touch with i-to-i's volunteering department using the contact details listed in this page.
