Co-facilitate English Conversation Clubs for Colombian Teachers

Activity/project background

The Municipality of Santa María, Boyacá, is a local government entity serving 3,758 residents in a rural community located four hours from Bogotá. Current local priorities focus on strengthening education and fostering economic opportunities through tourism and agriculture. Within this framework, the municipality created the bilingualism program “Aprender inglés, transformar vidas,” which focuses on improving English proficiency among secondary students and enhancing the pedagogical and linguistic skills of local teachers.

Santa María faces limited access to qualified English teachers and students often lack opportunities to practice with native speakers, reducing their competitiveness for higher education and employment. To address these needs, the municipality is requesting the support of a Virtual Service Pilot Participant (VSPP) to strengthen the linguistic and methodological capacity of local teachers.

While Peace Corps Colombia does not currently deploy two-year Volunteers to Santa María, the scale of this project in rural areas makes it well-suited for virtual engagement. The virtual environment offers an appropriate and sustainable way to provide targeted technical support while fostering intercultural exchange.

The organization has previously collaborated with the Peace Corps, and they would like to continue with the work done by previous VSPPs. They understand that the role of a VSPP is very different than a Peace Corps Volunteer or Peace Corps Response Volunteer.

Engagement and tasks

The VSPP will engage in the following tasks, in collaboration with their host country partners:

• Co-assess English language levels of local teachers (particularly those in rural schools and in at the elementary school level) to identify training needs
• Co-develop practical teaching resources and session plans aligned with local curriculum
• Co-facilitate one 90-minute English conversation and methodology club per week for teachers (between 8–10 participants)

VSPPs are expected to engage on the tasks listed above for an estimated 5–15 hours per week. This engagement is estimated to be six hours per week.

Online collaboration will generally occur after school, after 5:00 p.m. Colombia time. Specific times will be determined during orientation.

The Host Country Counterpart will have access to Teams and Zoom calls for regular communication and collaboration.

Per the Child Protection Code of Conduct, when engaging online with minors (0–18), two adults must be present.

Optional additional activities

The Peace Corps mission is to promote world peace and friendship by fulfilling three goals:

1. To help the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women.
2. To help promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served.
3. To help promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans.

Goal 1 will be achieved through the VSPP's engagement and completion of the above tasks. The counterpart and VSPP may also choose to identify an activity that aligns with Goal 2. Additionally, the VSPP may identify a Goal 3 activity to implement during their engagement. See recommendations and tools for Goal 3 activities.

Essential qualifications

Education: Bachelor's degree in education, secondary education, or related field and relevant certification: TEFL, TESOL, Cambridge, or similar

Language: Intermediate Spanish

Experience: 2 years teaching primary school OR 2 years training primary school teachers

Intercultural skills and motivation: Flexible, strong cross-cultural agility, high tolerance for ambiguity, able to work independently, resourceful, creative, and genuinely motivated and capable to serve virtually

Desired qualifications

Education: Master's degree in education, secondary education, or related field

Experience:
• Virtual engagement and communication
• Living in Colombia or Latin America
• Teaching at the secondary or university level
• Training trainers or adults

Terms and conditions of engagement

VSPPs will be engaging with the host country partner, in coordination with Peace Corps post staff, remotely from the US. They should have access to a computer, internet, and telephone in order to enable direct engagement with the Peace Corps overseas office and the Host Country Counterpart assigned by the host country partner.

Orientation with the host country partner will be provided, within the designated virtual service hours, during the first week of virtual service via an online presentation and discussion. The host country partner will provide an overview of its organization, the local context, and how they envision collaborating with the VSPP.

The VSPP will have regular check-ins with their counterpart and bi-weekly check-ins with Peace Corps staff. Spending unstructured time with counterparts can be critical to relationship-building and is encouraged through activities such as coffee chats and informal calls within the weekly 5-15 hours.

Engagement safety and security

The VSPP will receive an orientation on Peace Corps’ Child Protection Policy and how it relates to online engagement along with IT security best practices. The VSPP will be expected to follow safety and security guidelines for online engagement to ensure their safety and that of the Host Country Partner and their counterpart, and any beneficiaries of the engagement.

Supervision requirements

The VSPP will report to a designated Peace Corps staff member. The VSPP will be expected to abide by the Virtual Service Pilot Participant and Donation Agreement and Participant Principles of Engagement. The VSPP will also be expected to check in with the designated host country counterpart as assigned by the host county partner.