World Learning partners with Language Corps to promote citizen diplomacy
Monday, June 4, 2007
By: Jed Willard and Justin Trullinger

Work Abroad programs established in Ecuador and Mexico

SIT, The Experiment, and LanguageCorps partnered last year to establish work-abroad programs for recent college graduates in Mexico and Ecuador.

While the Mexico program was delayed by local events in Oaxaca (and will re-open this summer), the Ecuador program has so far created 18 young, citizen diplomats working in the Andean highlands.  An additional 18 are set to go in the second half of the year.

Participants take their mission seriously.  "Good faith has far reaching ramifications," writes Quito participant and military veteran Jed Davis,

If we can change a few perceptions, this change just might impede future terrorist acts against Americans. Perception is tough to measure, however it would be interesting to see studies observing foreign perceptions of Americans before and after working with us. Though we would never know for sure, possibly stopping terrorist acts and changing opinions is worth more than any CIA operation or psychological maneuvering by the government.

SIT, EIL, and LanguageCorps share a mission to promote international and intercultural understanding through education, and to prepare young people to be interculturally effective leaders, professionals, and citizens. In Ecuador, World Learning combines SIT's TESOL Certificate training with EIL Ecuador's long standing knowledge of Quito and LanguageCorps’ year-long support and job-placement program.

Support begins long before participants depart.  "I wanted to thank you for all of your efforts in helping me get my visa and application processed so quickly" writes UVA graduate Sarah Sloan,

I know how difficult it must have been for you, and everyone else involved, especially over the holidays. Anyway, I am really enjoying the program so far and I feel as if I made the right choice in coming down here. Carrie is absolutely wonderful and I could not ask for a better program coordinator!  Thank you again for everything Linda, I really appreciate all of your extra help in making this opportunity a reality for me.

Once in-country and through a week of acculturation and language training, participants enter the SIT TESOL course: an intensive, 130-hour experience designed by SIT faculty and based on humanistic, experiential, and progressive teaching. The course provides practical training through teaching demonstrations, lesson planning and analysis, and practice teaching and feedback.

Following their month of TESOL training, participants are helped into paid teaching assignments with select, quality schools and organizations and provided with an array of support services -- from health insurance to contract negotiations to cell phones -- through LanguageCorps’ local staff.

Davis reports of the placement process:

Everyone in the course has graduated today and most of us have positions lined up that start in the near future. We've kind of settled into our routines and are assimilating somewhat. I also have had a great experience with every part of the program so far… Carrie and Justin have both been very helpful and everyone has been getting along really well.

World Leaning and LanguageCorps share the goal of helping to mitigate the risk often associated with living and working in new places, far from home - empowering teachers to serve as "citizen diplomats" who build connections and understanding among the peoples of the world.  Quito participant Dave Streib writes of his own realizations:

I am so incredibly grateful for all of the freedoms the United States has granted me. I am so lucky to be from a country founded on the principles of equality, justice, and protection for all. I love America, and being here has made me appreciate that. I visit people in prison here in Quito who have no idea why they are there, or how long they'll sit in prison without a trial (after two years of waiting for one already); and I feel gratitude for our justice system. I also can't ignore the fact that America has its faults.... Our government has supported oppressive regimes throughout Latin America.... And for this reason, I am eternally grateful to every Ecuadorian who has invited me into their home... who realizes that I am not my government.

Meanwhile, participants earn a good living providing top-quality teaching for their hosts.  "Things here are good", reports Meghan Parker Johnson from southern Ecuador,

I really like the school where I'm teaching. The staff at our school is a great group of people and our students are pretty wonderful. Loja as a city is really relaxing and it’s a beautiful place to live.

While participants’ main contact following training is the LanguageCorps staff, EIL Ecuador continues to benefit from the constant good publicity generated by having graduates of their SIT TESOL course in the community; teaching, volunteering, and making cross-cultural contacts that bring them closer to their host country and its people.  Plus employers in Quito can't seem to get enough of them!

While the programs in Ecuador are nearly full through 2007, applications for Mexico in the summer and fall of 2007 and Ecuador in 2008 are still being accepted.  Study Abroad experience with SIT is considered a major plus in applications.

"The program has exceeded my expectations in every aspect that I could have possibly imagined", concludes Streib, "I came here planning to stay a year...now, it's going to be at least three.... Thank you for such an amazing experience."

EIL Ecuador, the Ecuadorian Experiment in International Living, has been working 30 years in the promotion of intercultural understanding in Ecuador and the world, through exchange programs, language education, cultural education, and much more. We have been pleased to offer the SIT TESOL certificate for the past year, and are extremely pleased with the many ways that this program, aided by our budding partnership with LanguageCorps, has helped us to further our mission of creating and fostering understanding in Ecuador, in the world, and in ourselves.

LanguageCorps is a comprehensive training, placement and support service for talented people interested in travel, adventure, and teaching abroad. It provides TESOL training and certification, local language training, guaranteed placement into paid teaching assignments with select partner schools, and a wide array of services, including support from local Corps Advocates.

Learn more about the programs in Latin America
(Or call LanguageCorps Admissions at 877-216-3267)
Find details on SIT’s TESOL course