Going International English For Tourism Cdbg
ENGLISH FOR TOURISM topic: CUSTOMS/IMMIGRATION - Questions and answers 1 Choose the correct QUESTION for the ANSWER that's given. What did the customs officer/immigration officer ask to get this answer?
This location takes you to the stunning Costa Rican Pacific Coast, and to the doorstep of the stunning and diverse Manuel Antonio National Park, only a 3-4 hour bus journey from San Jose. Surrounded by palm plantations and rainforest, the town contains a stunning array of wildlife with monkeys and toucans in plain sight most days. In and around the national park, the whole area is famed for its beautiful beaches and hiking trails, making this location an exceptional place to volunteer, intern, teach, learn a new language, relax and enjoy the casual way of life. Overview Join a team of like-minded volunteers, living and working in the resort town of Quepos in Costa Rica, teaching English to local children, teenagers, women, and other community members.Quepos is known as the gateway to Manuel Antonio National Park, a popular destination for tourists. In addition the town features many popular beaches.
English For Tourism Books
Tourism brings in many business opportunities for locals, however, in order to access these opportunities, locals must fulfill the requirements of employers who are looking to cater to English-speaking travellers. Therefore, the requests from local schools is often for more English educational support. In supporting English education volunteers not only contribute to UN SDG #4, Quality Education, but also UN SDG #8, Decent Work and Economic Growth.Volunteers on this program will work with GVI staff, interns, and other volunteers to provide free individual English education classes to children, teenagers and adults from the local community. We work with ongoing curriculums to introduce English vocabulary and discuss sustainable development topics like environmental awareness. We also offer conversational classes so students can practice real situations and feel more confident speaking English. Our work is based on the needs of the community, which means that the specifics of the classes, such as the time schedules, ages, and levels of English language competency change over time. Participants on a one week program will be teaching adults only.HIGHLIGHTS.
Improve your English teaching skills and develop transferable skills like teamwork and leadership. Immerse yourself in the pura vida lifestyle of Costa Rican. Explore Manuel Antonio National Park.
Surf, swim, or relax on the many beaches. Learn Spanish.Program Details. You will work with other volunteers in a group or in pairs to run group activities and sometimes provide one-to-one attention. In addition to teaching English, you may also assist young adults with conversational classes. Learn to live the pura vida or ‘simple life’ in the coastal town of Quepos on Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast, only a few minutes away from the entrance to the popular protected natural reserve, Manuel Antonio National Park.
Spend your weekdays on community development initiatives in a diverse Latin American community with locals from Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Cuba, and Panama. Share a traditional Costa Rican style house including meals and tidying duties with like-minded individuals from all over the world who are there for the same reason you are — to learn about the local culture and help out where they can. On the weekends, explore the jungles of Manuel Antonio Park, surf on the nearby beach, or just relax and share stories with other participants in the rooftop hammocks at your accommodation. Accommodation Tour.
ACCOMMODATIONParticipants share bedroom and bathroom facilities.MEALSLunches are served on the community project and are a great choice for those looking to experience Costa Rican cuisine like Gallo Pinto, a rice and bean mix, or fried plantains. Breakfasts and dinners are cooked together with GVI staff and other participants. Breakfasts include cereal, toast, and lots of tropical fresh fruit, while dinner could be anything from your own attempt at Gallo Pinto to a stir fry or pasta bake.COMMUNICATIONYou will have daily access to long-distance communications whilst on the project, but bear in mind that the connection may not be as reliable as yours back home.TRANSPORTWe are located at walking distance from project sites in Quepos, and a very short boat ride is necessary to get to El Cocal community where we work.CLIMATEQuepos has a tropical climate and it is warm and humid year round. This means that those from cooler climates might find they need to take things slowly the first few days to acclimate to their new tropical setting. The warmest month is March, while September is the most temperate. Rainy season starts in May and ends in November. There is less rainfall from December to April.
If you’d like to find out what the experience of joining a GVI project is really like, simply contact us and we’ll put you in touch with one of our many Alumni.We’ll try to match you to an Alum based on your location, nationality, age, stage of academic career, gender, and program interests. This allows you to gain insights into the experience that is most relevant to you.Depending on your location you might be able to speak to an Alum over the phone or online, or meet up with them face-to-face at a coffee shop nearby. We also run a series of small events around the world where you can speak to GVI Alumni, Ambassadors and staff members. When it comes to support, we ensure that each participant is provided with unparalleled, 360 degree support, from your initial contact with the GVI Family, all the way through your program, and even after, as you become part of the GVI Alumni Team.As part of this promise, we will ensure, whenever possible, that one of our dedicated staff will be available to meet you at the airport. In most locations, we also set up a Whatsapp group to help with managing airport arrivals. We will arrange with you prior to your departure that, should you arrive in the agreed upon pick up window, a member of our staff will be there to welcome you, easily identifiable in a GVI t-shirt or holding a GVI sign and wearing a friendly smile.
This means there will be someone there to greet you as you land, and from there you will be transported to your GVI base to start your adventure and meet the rest of your team. Your ImpactAll of our programs have short, mid and long-term objectives that fit with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals or UN SDGs.
This enables us to report on our collaborative impact across the world in a streamlined manner, measuring which UN SDGs we are making a substantial contribution to. Furthermore, this will help our local partners and communities measure and visualise their contribution to the UN SDGs.Upon arrival to base, you will be educated about the history of the UN SDGs. You will learn about the specific goals of your location, the long-, mid- and short-term objectives, and also clarification of how your personal, shorter-term involvement contributes to these goals on a global level.Our aim is to educate you on local and global issues, so that you continue to act as active global citizens after your program, helping to fulfil our mission of building a global network of people united by their passion to make a difference. Costa Rica was the first country in the world to make primary education both free and obligatory in 1869, funding the education program through the state’s share of the great coffee wealth. In those days only one in ten Costa Ricans could read and write.
By 1920, 50% of the population was literate. In 1948, the country abolished its national army and shifted the portion of its national budget allocated to armed forces to the education system.
By the 1970s 89% were able to read and write. Costa Rica now boasts a literacy rate of 93% for those ten years or older.
In addition, in 1994, a policy to place a computer in each of the nation’s 4,000 schools, plus obligatory English classes, was implemented.Despite this, education is not readily available to everyone. Elementary and high schools can be found in every community, but many cannot afford the required uniforms, and rural schools often lack books for students. Children often spend as little as three hours in school as the class schedule is divided into two sessions in order to accommodate the number of students.Quepos, home to our volunteer community project, is a small Pacific town just outside Manuel Antonio which is home to some of the best tourist attractions in the country hosts thousands of foreign and local visitors every year.GVI has been working in local communities around Quepos since 2011 and aims to support those communities in developing themselves and particularly in developing the younger members of the community. GVI has focused mainly on the community of El Cocal, a partially illegal settlement, located on a small peninsula a few minutes outside of Quepos, home to Costa Ricans as well as many immigrant families from other Latin American countries, namely Nicaragua, Cuba, and Panama. Many of these people have come to Costa Rica to benefit from the political and financial stability offered, but in such a tourist-rich area as Quepos people can struggle to make ends meet unless they are able to draw an income from the foreign visitors.
The illegal status of many also restricts work opportunities.Male residents of El Cocal are commonly employed in the fishing industry, which can be unreliable, so families get used to living in the moment and spending the money they have when they get it rather than saving up. Children growing up in this environment often do not have an understanding of preparing for the future and their attitudes towards education reflect this. This is partly fueled by lack of education in the community and partly by the transient and semi-legal nature of the community, many of whose members are seasonally unemployed.In this region of Costa Rica, much of the local economy is built on tourism. In an effort to better serve the American and European traveller population, being able to speak and write in English is important. The number one request from the local school board for more English teachers. We also offer free individual English classes for children, teenagers, and adults.
We provide English classes to adults in the local community of El Cocal, young people and adults in Quepos, and children as well. Construction projects, to improve community spaces and build communal gardens are also part of our work in Quepos.We also work in partnership with the El Cocal school, offering a space for children to come after or before school hours to learn, reinforcing the value of education. In addition we work with adults, including women, in the community to improve professional skills.In partnership with the UNPD, United Nations Development Programme, we also run a program aimed at reducing the amount of young people at risk, provide them with tools to prevent violence, and integrate themselves with the wider society. The program is called “Integral Security and Prevention of Violence Affecting Children, Adolescents and Young People in Costa Rica” and the role of GVI is to provide English language classes as a mean to improve the skill sets of young people to assist them with accessing additional academic and employment opportunities in the future.As such, the main UN Sustainable Development Goals of this project include, #4, Quality Education, and #5, Gender Equality.Project Objectives.
TrainingA GVI program is an investment in your career. No matter which you choose, you will be working toward improving your employability by mastering new social skills, gaining further technical expertise and earning qualifications in many cases. Most of our staff are, in fact, GVI Alumni, and we have helped many of our Alumni discover, move toward, and earn their own personal dream jobs. Each program includes introductory workshops, ongoing presentations, as well as on-the-ground professional support provided by our very own trained staff members. In addition, our training programs are critical for helping us to ensure the long-term impact of our sustainable development projects around the world.For All GVI Participants. Welcome PresentationIntroduction to GVI as a whole and the work in your specific location. Learn about the short, mid, and long-term objectives of the sustainable development projects at your base, which United Nations Development Goals they impact most directly, and which local partners we work with.Health and Safety TrainingLearn about the Emergency Action Plans in place at your base, the full Risk Assessment, and best practices for personal safety.Child and Vulnerable Adult Protection TrainingLearn about the importance of child and vulnerable adult protection best practices and how to apply them while on project.For All Participants at Manuel Antonio.
Joining a program not only allows participants to collaborate with communities or work toward preserving unique ecosystems but it also offers plenty of opportunities to explore the surrounding area or travel further to see what other parts of the region have to offer.Long term field staff are a great source of advice, and have helped us put together the following information on local travel options. Many decide to travel before or after their experience (subject to immigration restrictions), solidifying the lifetime friendships established on program. Please note that the below suggestions are not included in the program fee, and are for the individual to organise at their own expense. Engaging intimately with a new context teaches not only global awareness but adaptability and critical thinking, skills highly valued in the modern marketplace. Local and cultural immersion is encouraged on all our programs around the world, and is also one of the most enjoyable aspects of your experience.
Luckily, there are many activities you can get involved with in your free time, or before and after your program. On our community programs the focus is on cultural topics, while on marine or wildlife programs the emphasis is more on the environmental element. Use your evenings and weekends to explore diverse and eclectic topics like Theravada Buddhism in Laos or how plastic pollution and climate change affects Indian Ocean coral. Below is a list of core ethics and best practices we believe are essential to the operation of high quality, ethical volunteer and sustainable development programs. We believe that all responsible volunteer and sustainable development operations should focus upon these principles. If you are considering volunteering, these are some of the key considerations you should question, to ensure that your time and money contributes towards positive change.We want to constantly develop our own understanding of ethical best practice.
In so doing, we aim to provide an exemplary industry standard for other education institutions, international development organisations, and social enterprises. Our Badge of Ethics stands for the drive to always do good, better. Find out more, click on the Badge below. As an organization, GVI is committed to striving toward best practice, and to educating both our potential participants, our partners, and the world at large about them.
Both the volunteering and sustainable development sectors are increasingly, and rightly, under scrutiny. Many recent local and global articles highlight poor practices and questionable ethics. GVI is widely recognized for striving to apply global best practice in the volunteering, education and sustainable development sectors throughout our operations by reputable organizations such as ChildSafe.However, global best practice is always evolving and we dedicate both time and resources to engage with internationally respected experts and learn from the latest research to ensure our programs both fulfil their potential to create maximum positive impact, and minimise their potential to create unintentional negative impact.
Along with and as part of the sustainable development and volunteering community, we are constantly learning and applying this learning to practice. We do not always get everything right, but we seek feedback from our community members, partners, participants and our staff, and react accordingly. We know are already doing a great job, and feedback we have received confirms this, but we aim to do even better and are continuously refining our operations to improve upon our already excellent reputation. ‘If only every student could do this. It changes your life in all the right ways,’ says Chris Heritage, parent of Luke Heritage, one of our teen volunteers who has participated on two GVI programs, one in Costa Rica and another in South Africa.We are a parent-run organisation that is incredibly serious about health and safety, and increasing the impact, as well as the long-term career benefits of our programs.
Our programs help young people develop the skills to select a career path that is personally fulfilling, and live a life aligned to the well-being of our planet and the global community. We won’t sugarcoat it — traveling abroad is usually a complex process that carries an element of risk. But this is exactly why we’re passionate about providing extensive support throughout the process as well as the highest safety standards during the in-country phase. We believe that volunteering abroad should not only be impactful, but an enjoyable experience that carries as little risk as possible. This is exactly how we’ve been able to maintain our reputation as the most highly respected volunteering organisations in the sector over the past two decades.