Dive into a long-term service opportunity, joining us for a year to staff one of our English positions.
Teach
English
Join Us
Colegio Cristiano Avivando el Fuego is a fully-certified, private Guatemalan school. The very heart of the school is to raise up disciples of Christ, providing kids with a safe learning environment and high-quality education.
Part of the Guatemalan curriculum requires that students receive English classes, but beyond this requirement is our own desire to offer English to our students. By offering English as a Foreign Language (EFL) starting with the very youngest children, by the time our students graduate from our school system they will have adequate English skills to assist them in landing job opportunities that would otherwise be unavailable to them.
Our Need: 6 positions
EFL Assistants
EFL Assistants act as helpers to the TEFL teachers and may spend more time with younger or older students depending on preferences and abilities. This position provides enrichment for advanced students and extra support for struggling students. No teaching certification required.
EFL Elementary Teachers
There are two TEFL teaching positions available in our elementary school: one for the older students (grades 4 – 9) and one for the younger students (Junior Kindergarten – grade 3). A TEFL certification or teaching experience is required.
EFL High School Teachers
High school in Guatemala is set up like a career college; we offer three career streams for our students, two of which are bilingual programs (accounting and secretarial). This is career level English. A TEFL certification or teaching experience is required.
What to Expect
All EFL positions are all full-time. Staff begin work at 7am, and the school day runs from 7:30am – 1:30pm. Staff stay until 2:30pm. School runs Monday – Friday. Our EFL personnel are active in the school like any other staff member, including participation in our 30-minute morning devotional, extra curricular school activities.
To help picture what a year in Guatemala would look like, click through the image gallery above.
Timeline
The commitment to an EFL position runs typically for 12 months, starting in November. Although the school year in Guatemala runs from January – October, the first two months of your stay are for orientation and your immersion into the culture. Our staff work until early December planning for the following year and offering reinforcement classes to students requiring extra assistance. These few months prior to the start of the new school year are crucial for your adaptation into this new cultural environment.
Food & Accommodation
If you need a TEFL certification, that can be done in Guatemala through a local TEFL school (in English). In this case, your first two months will be spent living with a local host family to give you an immersion experience. At the start of the school year, you will be moved into one of the ministry apartments. All apartments are finished beautifully with bathrooms, kitchen and laundry on site. Rooms are fully furnished. You will receive a food allowance each month to cover grocery and living expenses.
Spanish Class
You will be enrolled in Spanish classes for the duration of your stay. Classes are one-on-one with a local teacher and are approximately 5 hours a week.
Dollars & Cents
The approximate cost to cover an TEFL position and all associated costs is C$1080/month. Multiplied by 10 months, the total needed is C$10,800. For 12 month positions that include a TEFL certification course and housing for an additional two months, the cost is C$1195/month. Multiplied by 12 months, the total needed is $14,350. We encourage our TEFL missionaries to fundraise for their year of service, and the total amount covers the following items:
one international flight to and from Guatemala
room & board with a host family for first two months of stay
an apartment to live in for 10 months during the school year
$300/month food allowance while living independently in the apartment
orientation tours & activities
honorarium of $100/month in addition to food allowance
300 hours worth of 1-on-1 Spanish instruction
out-of-country medical insurance
If the applicant does not have a TEFL certification and the applied for position requires it, we have a number of reputable companies to recommend for you to get your certification. One company is in Antigua, Guatemala and certification can be acquired during the November & December of your orientation. Other companies offer courses in all major centres across North America. Fees associated with certification can be fundraised for.
This price does not cover the following expenses:
passport application fee and passport photo
flight cancellation insurance
immunizations
lodging, travel and meals to and from the airport from which the flight is booked
Ellis Huebner
from Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
EFL Teacher '15 - '16
“Teaching English with GSO has been a complete blessing from God. The school and ministry is overflowing with God’s love. It’s outstanding! God has used me time and time again to impact my students with English and as a spiritual leader. For example, a student named Daniel doesn’t have the best home situation, but God has used me to help him understand God the Father and what it is to be a man of God with stability. It is amazing to care for and see the spiritual growth in my students.
Guatemala has been a place where I can explore a new culture and learn Spanish. GSO has amazing leaders who have guided me through everything new and challenging. My experience here has been so transforming I even married a Guatemalan! I met her here through our ministry. There are so many great people to work with here at the school and in our church. They have been great mentors and have showed me integrity and a passion glowing for Jesus! This an environment truly to live out God’s calling!”
Shelby McConnell
from Greeley, Colorado, USA
EFL Assistant '14 & '15, Teacher '16
“It has been quite journey over the past 3 years working at the school. There have been a lot of ups and a lot of downs but God has been consistent through it all.
Teaching English has taught me so much, I don’t even know where to begin. I’ve discovered a new side of me that loves helping others to learn. It is such a joy and privilege to see the light build turn on in a student when something clicks. It makes all the work worth it. I thoroughly enjoy being in the classroom and helping kids develop their English. It’s awesome to see how much a language can be absorbed, but being here is so much more than just teaching. I’ve been blessed to get to know students on a personal level and minister God’s love and acceptance over their lives. This is more then just a teaching position, this is a tangible way of pouring out God’s love.”
Travis Dyck
from Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, Canada
EFL High School Teacher '16
“Teaching English with Global Shore has been both a challenging and rewarding experience. It is a privilege to work in a school that is so invested in its students. It is exciting to watch the kids grow into the sons and daughters that God created them to be, as well as to see them step out and challenge themselves to go further and do greater things. Both the staff and students are a testimony to God’s grace and faithfulness. The most rewarding part of my job is seeing my students get excited about learning, speaking English, and seeing what God is doing in their lives. I have thoroughly enjoyed teaching and learning with my “carrera” students. This experience is teaching me how to give and serve, but also how to receive well. I am excited to see what God will do for us this year, and for my students in their future studies and adventures.”
Micaiah Thomson
from Windsor, Ontario, Canada
EFL Assistant '16
“Teaching in the assistant position in Guatemala is an awesome opportunity! It is somewhat stretching when you don’t understand the language that the kids speak, but on the other hand that is a good thing since you really shouldn’t be speaking Spanish to them anyway!
The process of learning to teach is very rewarding and the process of learning to communicate the love of Christ to the kids is even more so. It astounded me when I first arrived at how much love I received from the kids even though they hardly knew me, and it just pushed me to want to return it tenfold. You will never find a place with better coworkers who are unified in the mission of raising disciples of Jesus Christ whose lives are fully directed by him. I am grateful to have been part of this team whatever the future holds.”
Julisa Stuart
from Toronto, Ontario, Canada
EFL Teacher '11 - '15
“It is amazing what God can do with you when you say yes to following him! I did just that and he brought me to Guatemala! The country is beautiful, but the people are even more so! These people became my family. I was truly blessed to share life and grow spiritually with them.
For the five years I served in the school in the English Department, I was given a new heart for children. I have never smiled SO much in my life! I developed a passion to teach and I have been blessed to watch these children and adolescents grow into skilled and confident individuals. We laughed together, struggled together, and triumphed together. They are my joy.
Being used by God to give our kids a tool that they can use to go out into their communities or reach nations to share their love for Christ Jesus truly warms my heart. I know that I did a lot more than just teach English; It’s SO MUCH MORE than that. It was the best experience in the world for me.”
Karla Ponce
from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
EFL Teacher '13
“It was an honour to serve in the TEFL position. After studying education in university, it was a great opportunity for me to step right into a classroom. Teaching was a joy. Our students always made teaching a different experience everyday. There were definitely difficulties along the way, where I questioned my own abilities as a teacher, wondering if my students would ever get the difference between “this” and “that.” But something that always helped me during my year was the mission of our teaching staff. Above all things, our school’s central goal is to raise disciples; students who live their lives passionately for Jesus. My role was not just to teach verb tenses and create English proficient students. I was here to model a righteous life before the Lord and always direct my students to Christ in everything that I did.”
731 Lakeshore Rd.
RR#2 Port Burwell, Ontario
N0J 1T0
Phone: (519) 875-3382
Fax: (519) 875-1606
info@globalshore.org
