Before departure, volunteers are required to attend a 1-day training workshop in Orem, Utah. You’ll go through training workshops to qualify you to teach and volunteer with ILP — we will cover the ILP teaching method, cultural seminars to help you prepare for your new country, etc. It is also an opportunity to meet other volunteers going on your semester (likely to your own country or city). If you cannot arrange to attend an in-person training, please talk to us about your options! We’re happy to help arrange another way for you to receive your ILP training before departure. Throughout the semester, your Head Teacher will hold training workshops each week with your group to revisit skills you briefly learned about in Pre-Departure training. It’s often easier to understand these skills as you practice them in a live setting, so your Head Teacher will drop in on some of your classes each week to help you work on those skills you’ve been learning, help you troubleshoot things that aren’t working so well, and provide feedback as best they can.

FAQs Archive

Q: How many students are in each class?

In the kindergarten classes, there are usually up to 8 children per class, in Basic Reading there are 10-12, and in Follow-Up, a maximum of 15. Keeping class sizes smaller is an important and unique aspect of our program. You may find as you look around that other volunteer teaching programs place you with classes that are upwards of 30-50 students (sometimes even more); We find incredible value in enabling you to work more 1-1 with each of your students.

Q: How old are the kids I'm working with?

Plan on teaching children of all ages! The ILP program includes levels that start at 3 or 4, and go up to teach children who are about 15 years old. The kindergarten level includes children who are 4-6; at this age, they become functionally fluent speakers through organized play. At age 7, students enter our Basic Reading program where they learn to read English. At age 8, they begin our Follow-Up Elementary program, which is more of a traditional classroom setting. Kids in this program can be as old as 15 or so. Certain schools focus on select age groups (only hosting ILP classes for younger students) while others teach classes to all age groups. At the orphanage program in Romania, the children can range from young infants up to 18 years old.

Q: Where can I get ideas for my lessons?

ILP volunteers will be coming up with their own lessons if they are teaching Primary Levels. Pinterest is often your main source for kid-friendly ideas. We also have tons of resources to help you plan your lessons, including an entire blog post of ideas, plus more resources online once you’ve been accepted to the program. Get lesson ideas here. If you’ll be teaching Elementary students, you’ll just need to follow the ILP curriculum; your lessons are planned for you in a few different textbooks and you’ll get instructions on how to follow the curriculum online.

Q: How many hours a week will I be volunteering?

You’ll spend about a half day volunteering (up to 4 hours of direct interaction with the kids, plus preparation time, transportation, and clean up). Depending on the location, you may volunteer in the morning or afternoon/evening. Volunteering is Monday - Friday, with Saturday and Sundays off.

Q: What should I wear while I'm volunteering?

When you are teaching, you should be neat, clean and modest. In general, as long as your shoulders are covered (and all skirts/dresses go past your knees), you’re in good shape. In most schools, nice jeans (no holes) and a nice shirt (t-shirts with no logos) are fine. However each location is slightly unique depending on the host program’s preferences. In a few countries, the schools require that female volunteers wear dresses or skirts. In our Romania orphanage program, volunteers will need to wear medical scrubs. You will be getting more specific ideas on what you can wear while teaching at the Pre-Departure Training and the details when you're officially assigned to a location. We also have programs where modesty (while teaching or not) is extremely important the culture where you are volunteering. In those locations, you’re asked to wear flowy clothing that covers your shoulders and goes past your knees and be mindful of covering up when you’re exploring, just walking around town, swimming, hiking, etc. Being respectful of the culture is an enormous part of your ILP experience, and a huge part of that is dressing modestly, particularly in certain locations. If you think this may be an issue for you, please contact the ILP office about your semester preferences to see which countries would be the best fit for you.

Q: Can I still volunteer with ILP and not teach English?

Helping children learn English is the main focus of our program, but you can also volunteer in our Orphanage program in Romania. Instead of teaching, volunteers in Romania are there to help these children develop, meet goals for physical growth, and help them adjust to a family-like setting before entering foster care. Get more information about our Romania program here. Apart from our Romania location, every ILP participant is there to teach English (and in Romania, are there to help with our Orphanage program). We are unable to send volunteers who will not be helping — when it comes to married couples, both spouses will need to participate in the ILP program, whether they are a Head Teacher or a volunteer. It isn’t an option for one spouse to work remotely or attend online school while the other participates in the ILP program.