Spanish Courses & Volunteering
in Ecuador
You can choose from many kinds of volunteering in Ecuador: in schools and orphanages and other social institutions, in communities or working with animals and plants, both on the mainland or in the Galápagos Islands.
Information
22 projects
2-12+ weeks
From €918
Spanish Courses and Volunteering in Ecuador
The programmes in Ecuador combines Spanish lessons with voluntary work in social institutions and national parks. Volunteering in Ecuador offers a unique opportunity to experience the country, culture and population from the inside while doing a meaningful job that benefits the local population. Volunteers must be independent, open minded, at least 18 years old. You can of course choose to follow Spanish lessons only.
Internships can also be arranged.
Our projects in Ecuador
Spanish lessons and voluntary work
As with EXIS’ programmes in Costa Rica, Peru, Bolivia and Guatemala, it is possible to combine a language course with voluntary work. You will work in partnership with local people in community based projects, kindergartens, nursing homes, local schools, social institutions, women’s prison or national parks.
In the next paragraph “Examples of Voluntary work” the different possibilities are described but new alternatives are constantly being brought forward.
As a volunteer you must be in good physical condition and be willing to lend a hand wherever you are stationed. The work demands flexibility, initiative, maturity and a sense of drive. In return you will gain a unique opportunity to get to know Ecuador from the inside.
The language and voluntary work programme requires a minimum of 2 weeks standard intensive language lessons with afternoon activities. Four weeks of Spanish classes are compulsory for beginners.
Depending on your wishes, qualifications and experience you may choose to work on a voluntary full-time or part-time basis, generally from 4 to 20 weeks. It is the volunteer work coordinator’s responsibility to ensure that your work will be a rewarding and instructive experience for you and for the organization.
You will normally live with your Ecuadorian host family during the language course and voluntary work. If you work in a national park, you will be accommodated on the spot. A language and voluntary work stay in Ecuador not only gives you the chance to speak Spanish every day. Your volunteer activities contribute to the development of a country with great problems but greater potential.
Center for children and teenagers in the park
The centre has been set up to provide a safe haven for children and teenagers living on the streets of Quito. Some of the children have been abandoned and others have run away from home – whatever the case, they are living in the
constant danger of drug addiction, alcoholism, sexual abuse and child prostitution. There are about 60 children in the center.
Your task can be:
- Assisting during meal times
- Organizing the necessary paperwork to help the young people to obtain identification documents
- Accompanying the children to school and acting as their responsible guardian to monitor their progress
- Helping with homework
- Preparing study materials
- Organizing trips for the children and teenagers
- Providing psychological assistance, if qualified and experienced
After school program
This project is located in a small town called San Jose, just outside Quito. The town suffers from a number of social issues including: delinquents, prostitution, drug addiction, alcoholism and youth gangs. The project director used to be an IT technician, but after volunteering for 20 years, he decided he wanted to do more to help children in need in San Jose. In 2008 his project was legally recognized and established as a foundation.
The centre provides a safe place for children to go when they are not at school, as most of their parents work long hours and they’d otherwise be at home alone. Between 9am and 12pm, the centre caters for young children and teenagers who then attend school later in the day. From 3pm until 6pm, the centre cares for the children and teenagers who have been at school in the morning.
You can choose to work either the morning shift, 9am – 12pm with children, or the afternoon shift, 3pm until 6pm with teenagers as well as children. If you prefer you can dedicate your whole day to the center and help out during both sessions. You will have weekends off to spend as you wish. The kinds of tasks you can expect to get involved with include:
- Assisting with homework
- Creating fun and educational activities for the children
- Helping during meal times
- Teaching English
- Accompanying the children to the hospital if necessary
- Taking the children to the park for walks and games
- Making special occasions, such as birthdays, a fun time for the children by organizing parties or outings
- Making handicrafts with the children and then selling them to raise funds for the centre
- Providing a weekly volunteer report to the volunteer coordinator at the Academia to enable the consistency of volunteer work
There are a lot of children and teenagers at the centre, so it’s important that as a volunteer you are motivated to get actively involved and use your initiative. You flixebility and a good attitude to ensure the children are kept entertained! The centre is closed for the months of July and August.
Children of the street
The center has been set up to provide a safe haven for children and teenagers living on the streets of Quito. Some of the children have been abandoned and others have run away from home – whatever the case, they are living in the constant danger of drug addiction, alcoholism, sexual abuse and child prostitution. The center provides these young people with two meals per day, a place to sleep, psychological help, assistance finding schools and jobs, educational assistance and help obtaining identification documents. The project aims to promote a sense of identify and self-respect amongst the children and teenagers. The kinds of tasks you can expect to get involved with include:
- Assisting at meal times
- Organizing the necessary paperwork to help the young people to obtain identification documents
- Accompanying the children to school and acting as their responsible guardian to monitor their progress
- Helping with homework
- Preparing study materials
- Organizing trips for the children and teenagers
- Providing psychological assistance if qualified and experienced
Volunteers will work from 9am – 3pm. As a volunteer, your role is to be on hand to support the teenagers and children. Many of them have had very difficult backgrounds so it is important that you set a good example and act as a responsible role model. Most of the children have been devoid of any real affection or care, so part of your job is to provide the children and teenagers with some attention and support. By simply dedicating your time and spending it with them will reassure them that there are people who care for their welfare. The centre is closed in August.
Downs Syndrom Center
In 1990, a not-for-profit foundation was established, dedicated to helping people with chronic illnesses and disabilities, and to provide free medical services for those in need. Seven years later, the foundation created a Special Educational Institute and Rehabilitation Centre for children and adults with Down syndrome, and babies and children with special needs, autism, speech difficulties and psychological problems. This is the center at which you will be based as a volunteer.
Depending on experience and qualifications, volunteers will assist with the following:
- Language therapy
- Physical therapy/health programmes
- Teaching
- Recreational activities/sports
- Help at meal-times
In the mornings, the patients receive physical therapy and as a volunteer you will assist with tasks such as helping to develop writing and drawing skills. You will help the therapists with whichever tasks they are undertaking on a daily basis. Once a week, you will accompany the patients and staff to therapeutic horse riding sessions and every fifteen days, the patients receive therapy in the swimming pool.
As a volunteer you will work from 8.30am until 1pm at the centre. Your weekends will be free to spend as you wish. The centre is closed during August.
Day care center
In this centre children of busy parents are take care of during the afternoon. The children are in two different groups according to their age. From 3 months to 3 years and from 3 to 5 years. The centre teaches the children in a modern educational way and emphasis is on good food, hygiene and a loving environment. It takes 45 minutes by bus to get to work.
Elementary school at the beach
This teaching project is located in Canoa at one of the most beautiful beaches in Ecuador. The view is unbeatable.
The principal objective is to help the underprivileged children from the community at school.
You can help teaching reading, maths, sports, arts, etc.
Volunteers are accommodated with local host families, where you will get breakfast and lunch. You can either cook dinner yourself in the family’s kitchen or choose to eat out at very low fees. There is no laundry service, so you will have to wash by hand. Internet connection is available at the school.
Volunteers help with the following activities.
07:00: Go to the school with the children for breakfast.
09:45-10:15: Volunteers have a small break between classes
12:45: Finish daily work and prepare lunch for the children
13:30-14:00: Prepare teaching material
Donations of teaching materials will be much appreciated.
School is closed from the 16th February to the 6th May.
The travel expenses from Quito to Canoa by bus are around 10 USD.
The School is closed in April and October.
Superior Institute of Technology
This school has trained students to be at the forefront of development for the last 20 years. They follow lessons in leadership, efficiency, teamwork and competition. The school is located near the centre of Quito.
Volunteers can help with English lessons, help with home work, arrange activities and teach in human relations. Are you good at creating visual teaching materials you may help out with that.
Childrens hospital
This project is located in the northern part of Quito, about a 20-minute walk from the language school. At the hospital, you can volunteer to participate in various activities, depending on your skills and desires. If you do not have prior, relevant experience, you can help with activities for children, such as games, paint, crafts etc.
Working hours are Monday-Friday from 8 to 12.The hospital hopes that the volunteers bring games for children, such as puzzles, chess etc.
General hospital
When it comes to health care and social security in Ecuador, there are vast inequalities. You will be based in one of the largest public hospitals in the country, which mainly cares for people who do not have the finances to be able to afford private health care. The hospital is currently offering the following services:
- Maternal and child
- Emergency
- Stomatology
- Oncology and radiotherapy
- Neurology
- Nephrology
- Urology
- Gastroenterology
- Ophthalmology
- Obstetrics
- Cardiology
- Rehabilitation
- General Surgeries
- Center for high-risk obstetrics
- Committee on infectious diseases
Once you commence work at the hospital, your first two days will be an orientation. You will go on a tour of the hospital, visiting all the different areas and meeting medical staff. You can then choose in which area(s) you would prefer to work, and initially you will accompany the doctor or nurse just to observe procedures.
Depending on experience you can then help with simple tasks such as taking blood pressure and so on, and accompany the doctors during surgery. Normally you will work between 2pm – 5.30pm and you will have weekends off to spend as you wish. Your qualifications, experience and level of Spanish will determine the tasks that you undertake at the hospital.
If you wish to see the difference between private and public medical care in Ecuador you may also visit a private medical clinic with one of the doctors.
Rehabilitation and medical centre for infants
This hospital, located at 30 minutes distance from the city centre has various special departments for children: Paediatrics, Neurology, neuro-Paediatrics and a trauma centre. The rehabilitation centre specializes in employment therapy, physiotherapy, speech therapy, workshops for mothers and infants and a therapy department for disabled children.
Nurses or nurse students are welcome. Volunteers without relevant experience can help by arranging games and activities and provide care.
Center for special educational needs
This centre offers help to children and young people with behavioural and learning difficulties. Some of the children are also physically handicapped. The Centre provides language therapy, physical therapy, medicine and dentistry. Reintegration activities are organised, such as outings to parks, shopping malls and bus stations. Participants should expect tasks such as evaluation of children, help with language therapy, reception of parents for evaluation conversations, be active with the children, who quickly lose concentration and get bored. The Centre is located at 30 minutes distance from the language school.
Adoption Center
This orphanage is for children that have been neglected or have been abused. The home works with reintegration, adoption and struggles for the children’s rights. There are approximately 45 children at the home aged 0 to 3 years. Some have disabilities. Every staff member at this home works 24-hour shifts, each with 5 to 6 children. Volunteers participate in all odd tasks on all departments, and help in the kitchen, feeding, bathing and activating the children. It takes 40 minutes per bus to get to work.
Elderly Home
This nursing home specializes in treatment of elderly with Altzheimers or Parkinson’s. Most residents are over 65 years old and only need medication. There are 14 employees, 2 nurses, 1 assistant and 1 cook. Volunteers work only from 8 to 4 and don’t take night shifts. It takes 15 minutes to get to the home. Tasks can be participating in staff meetings, helping with personal hygiene, eating breakfast and lunch, with physiotherapy and creative activities.
Art Gallery
Fundación Guayasamín is located in the northern part of Quito, about 20 minutes from the language school. Oswaldo Guayasamín, one of Ecuador’s most famous painters, has created the Fund in order to preserve Ecuador’s cultural heritage. The Fund has three museums with pre-Columbian, colonial and contemporary art as well as an art library, a shop, an auditorium and a cafe. Volunteers will be thought all about this art exposed in the three museums, so you can act as a guide for visitors. This is a good opportunity to develop your Spanish skills while gaining knowledge about Ecuadorian art history. Work is from Monday-Friday either in the mornings from 9 to 13 or in the afternoon from 15 to 17.
Local Community: Shuar community
If you want to get real insight into a Native American tribal community in the jungle, you can help out in Natar, southwest of Palora, close to the Pastaza River.
The tribe lives on a 14363 m2 area, 875 meters above sea level. The wet season is from December to April. Temperatures are from 20 to 24 C.
10 poor families live here according to their own cultural rules and ancestral knowledge, without any kind of luxury. Participants are welcome to help with English teaching at the little school, organizing hikes, help with cooking, spread the knowledge of ecology and conservation of nature, help in the organic nursery, collect medicinal plants in the forest, participating in cultural ceremonies. You will be accommodated by a family and learn their way of life. You must wash your own clothes. Transport to the area is not included in the fee, but is fairly cheap.
Local Community: Otavalo’s Kichwa community
This project is located in the Imbabura province, approximately 110 km from Quito, at a 4 hours bus ride. The temperatures vary from 21 to 23 but during the night they fall to 6 or 7 degrees. The community is known for their knowledge of alternative medicine. Volunteer tasks are helping to preserve Andean agriculture, visiting families and promoting awareness of the old customs and traditions, helping the children get to school, teaching children and parents English, taking part in workshops, helping out in the organic herb garden, helping with cooking and learning about alternative medication. You will be accommodated with a Kwichwa Otalo family. There is no hot water and you should be able to do without luxury! Bus transportation to the area is not included and costs about 3 USD.
Tropical Forest
The reserve is located in the western part of the Andes in the Pichincha province, 90 km from Quito. Here you can see hundreds of different species of birds and plants.
On the 814 hectares of land, people work hard to preserve this amazing diversity, by planting and reconstructing the devastated areas, as well as by informing/educating about environment and implementation of environmentally sound small-scale agriculture for the benefit of the local residents. The area is regarded as one of the 5 most important biodiversity sites in the world. Your task can be:
- Collect, and cultivate plants
- Maintain horticultural/medical and organic garden
- Collection and analysis of flora and fauna
- Conctruction and maintainance of paths
- Production of organic fertilizers and pesticides
- Organic farming like harvest of bananas, coffee and sugarcane
- Feeding of animals, planting crops for animal food, building fences, milking cows and goats and bring the milk into the city
- Food production. Cheese, butter, yogurt, chocolate, coffee, pasta, bread, pizza, dried fruits
- Assisting with alternative energy projects
You will be accommodated in a house for volunteers, where 3 meals a day are served. You are sharing a room with up to four other volunteers. In the evening, the volunteers often gather around a campfire at the lodge.
You can try horseback riding or rafting, take nightly walks, visit nearby beaches, thermal ponds and waterfalls. Alcohol is not allowed on this project. It takes 3 hours by bus to get to the reservation.
Animal Rescue Center
The Animal Rescue Centre, based near the Pastaza province stunning area between rainforest and cloud forest, is a rescue and rehabilitation centre for trafficked and abused Amazonian animals. Animals confiscated by the Ministry of Environment and the police are brought here. The centre takes care of monkeys, kinkajous, cats, other mammals and
parrots. Volunteers help to take care of the animals and constructing new enclosures and trails. Rehabilitation and providing release programs are goals but if animals are too much injured, the centre offers them a chance to live as naturally and comfortably as possible.
Outreach, education and research are a part of the centres’ work and it plans on implementing local educational programs. International students and researchers are welcome. Get a bit of jungle dirt under your nails, and contribute to the creation of a haven for animals in need! Your tasks may be:
- Daily caretaking of the animals
- Daily cleaning of all the enclosures and exterior areas where the animals live
- Preparation/distribution of the food to all the species of animals
- Building bigger and better enclosures, a continuous all year round task
- Improving access paths to enclosures
- Animal observation, maintenance work, etc.
- Sometimes there is also the opportunity to assist the vet with small veterinarian procedures
Usual working hours are from 7.30 am until 5.30 pm, with regular breaks. You will have a couple of days off per week. We recommend spending this time visiting places close to the centre. The most common destinations are Puyo, Baños and Tena. You will be required to have a basic level of fitness, as generally most of the tasks consist of carrying heavy loads, using tools like shovels and machetes and walking up and down the jungle.
Get a bit of jungle dirt under your nails, and contribute to the creation of a haven for animals in need!
Minimum work stays 8 weeks.
Home for Dogs and Cats
At this veterinary organization that helps to improve the living conditions of animals in Quito, following service is offered: 0treatment, prevention, first aid and adoption. Tasks for volunteers can be helping to bathe the animals, to clean cages and common areas and drop off animals after surgery.
Botanical garden in the park
In Quito’s City Park, at just a few minutes walking distance from the language school, there is a botanical garden.
The purpose of the garden is to spread knowledge about the Ecuadorian flora and to ensure conservation.
Volunteers are expected to participate in all tasks, even to guide school children or groups, to weed, to prepare fertilizer and to help the gardener.
Zoo
You can work as a volunteer at one of the best Zoos in Ecuador, only a couple of hour’s drive from Quito.
Galápagos Biological Station
We are proud to announce the opening of a new program on San Cristobal in the Galapagos Islands. The new reserve site is located in the island highlands on a 200 hectare site, where there is still native vegetation, Miconias, ferns and other native herbaceous species. This new program will be open to researchers, guided natural history groups and volunteers. The accommodation is basic, with room at the moment for groups of maximum 40 people. Expansion of the cabin facilities to accommodate larger groups is planned for the future. Researchers can obtain needed permits with assistance of the Academia. The main objective is to develop reforestation and technology to reconstruct native habitat in the highlands on San Cristobal Island and to serve as a centre for similar projects in the highlands on San Cristobal Island and to serve as a centre for similar projects in the highlands on other populated islands in the Galapagos chain. The remaining native highland forest on the populated islands is quite limited due to farming and the introduction of useful, but very invasive species from the mainland, such as tropical cedar and Cinchona. The program has established a Plant Conservation Centre for the production of native plant species for this work.
In addition the foundation will collaborate with local landowners to develop clean agricultural alternatives for the production of vegetables and fruits to sell to local universities, restaurants and hotels.
Due to the extensive import of products from the mainland, invasive species enter the Galapagos every day. Volunteers will work on both the habitat restoration and agricultural components while at the reserve. Program staff will lead volunteers on various destination hikes to a nearby lagoon, native forests, beaches and local villages to explain the ecological and human dynamic of Galapagos. Accommodation is in one of three houses, in shared room with bathroom with only one shower with hot water. Food is not included, but you have access to a kitchen and can pick fruit and vegetables in the farms garden. There are shops close by.
Most participants chose to spend a weekend in town, where you can find a room at a hostel at 15 USD. The plane ticket from Quito to the Galapagos Islands is not included in the program price. Flight Quito-Galapagos-Quito costs approx. 500 US dollars. The language school will arrange your flight.
All volunteers leave Quito on a Monday, because of pick up and transport to the park. Departure from the island is on Wednesdays with transport to the airport. Volunteers can get accommodation in Quito at the school’s student residence before travelling home.
(NB. This volunteer workplace involves extra costs!)
Spanish courses
Lectures and tuition
The school offers different courses, where the basic principle is intensive language-learning in small groups, maximum 4 students. Classes combine interaction and discussion between the students and teachers. The level is determined by the student’s individual needs and wishes.
The school offers classes at all levels. The school issues a diploma at the end of the course, showing the number of lessons you have followed and the level you have reached both written and orally.
The teachers are all experienced in the teaching of Spanish as a foreign language. They are selected on the basis of their formal qualifications, their personalities and their ability to make language learning dynamic and varied.
The teaching materials are developed by the school in co-operation with other international language schools. Class work emphasizes oral Spanish, conversation and interactive teaching. Grammar and written exercises are an integral part of the course. The students’ homework is presented and discussed in class every day.
Introduction to Ecuador is a high priority. Students learn about the history, politics, social and economic conditions as well as Ecuador’s ethnic and cultural peculiarities.
Most of the students come from Europe and North America but there are also students from Brazil, New Zealand, Australia and Asia. There are usually between 20-50 students at school. Most students are between 18-25 years old.
Course start
A new course starts every Monday, all year round. You will be met at the airport on arrival by your host family or a taxi driver. Your host family will usually take you to the school on the first day. Here you will be welcomed by a coordinator and informed about the programme. You will receive teaching materials and information regarding the school, Quito and Ecuador.
After a language test and a talk with the school’s counsellor you will be placed in a class which is considered to be too at your level of Spanish and then, and only then, your language course begins.
Student environment
Teaching takes place either in the spacious classrooms or, depending on the weather, in the garden or wherever the students might prefer. Clothes and social conversation are informal and the teachers and students often arrange social and leisure activities together. The atmosphere is very relaxed.
Accomodation
The students are all accommodated in single rooms with their own bathroom in the home of the carefully selected Ecuadorian host family. This is considered the best way to get the most out of a stay in Ecuador – learning the language, the culture and getting to know the people.
The host families usually come from the Ecuadorian middle class and have worked closely with the school for many years. Your host family is, generally speaking, open, outgoing and sociable and will do everything to make you feel welcome and help you practice your language skills at all times. Students are happy with this arrangement and many of them stay in touch with their “family” after they return home. As a rule the host family only speaks Spanish, but they are used to having students living with them, so any language barriers quickly come down – even for those at beginner level. You have breakfast and your evening meal with your host family and they will also do your laundry. Most of the host families live between 5 to 20 minutes walking distance from the school. You will normally arrive on a Sunday and leave your host family on Saturday after your last school day.
Activities and excursions
An important aspect of your stay is the insight into Ecuadorian culture and society that you will gain. Activities during the afternoons at the school as well as in and around Quito are an integral part of the programme. Dancing lessons in salsa, cumbia and merengue are given at the school for a small fee and the students are introduced to the local cuisine in specially arranged cookery classes.
Volleyball, football, basketball can all be played in the Metropolitan Park, close to the school. Lessons include trips to historical monuments and other places of interest such as churches, convents, museums, the old town and a visit to the President’s Palace. Football matches, mountain-biking, movies and more make up the activity programme. Several times a month students are able to join longer excursions and pay only for room and board. Trips include nature parks, volcanoes, jungle trips, a train trip past “The Devils Nose”, warm springs in Papallacta and Baños, the beaches of the Pacific and a visit to the Indian markets in Otavalo and Saquisili, where everything from pigs to paintings are for sale and gesticulations are part of the experience.
The school also co-operates with Ecuador’s largest Travel Agency “Metropolitan Tours”, to offer everything from river rafting and hikes in the Andes to cruises to the Galapagos Islands and trips in the Amazon Jungle. Students get cheaper rates from this Agency.
A great deal of importance is given to make certain that your stay will also give you an insight into Ecuadorian culture and society. As an integrated part of the programme there are activities during the afternoons at the school as well as in and around Quito.
Intensive Spanish & Culture Courses
You can choose between the following types of courses:
Intensive Spanish and culture lessons
This programme consists of 20 Spanish lessons per week in groups of 4 students. Lectures take place in the mornings and usually in the afternoons there will be an opportunity to take part in the school’s activities or explore Quito on your own. As mentioned earlier a stay with an Ecuadorian host family makes the learning of the language easier and also gives one an insight into a typical family’s daily routine. In this way the programme offers a mixture of language and culture that not only guarantees a solid language background, but gives students an understanding and knowledge of Ecuadorian culture, politics and other social conditions.
Super intensive courses
If you want to make quick progress, you can choose to add 10 individual lessons per week during the afternoon.
These lessons will focus on your personal needs.
One to one tuition
This course is for students who cannot stay long and want to make quick progress. Choose between 20 or 30 individual lessons per week.
Spanish Courses
The school in Ecuador is one of three schools run by the same leaders. The other two schools are in Peru and Bolivia. You can change from one country to another at any time, as long as there are vacancies. For example, a 4-week course could begin with 2 weeks in Ecuador and continue with 2 weeks in Peru.
Intensive Courses with 20 lessons/week
| Weeks | Fees |
|---|---|
| 2 | €918 |
| 3 | €1270 |
| 4 | €1621 |
| 5 | €1973 |
| 6 | €2325 |
| 7 | €2677 |
| 8 | €3028 |
| 9 | €3380 |
| 10 | €3732 |
| 11 | €4084 |
| 12 | €4435 |
Superintensive Course with 20 group lessons and 10 individual lessons
| Weeks | Fees |
|---|---|
| 2 | €1217 |
| 3 | €1722 |
| 4 | €2224 |
| 5 | €2727 |
| 6 | €3229 |
1 to 1 tuition with 20 lessons a week
| Weeks | Fees |
|---|---|
| 1 | €687 |
| 2 | €1159 |
| 3 | €1631 |
| 4 | €2104 |
1 to 1 tuition with 30 lessons a week
| Weeks | Fees |
|---|---|
| 1 | €838 |
| 2 | €1461 |
| 3 | €2084 |
| 4 | €2707 |
Voluntary Work and Spanish Courses
Social Work and Language Course
| Course Weeks | Work Weeks | Fees |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 4 | €1983 |
| 2 | 8 | €2687 |
| 4 | 4 | €2546 |
| 4 | 8 | €3250 |
| 6 | 4 | €3109 |
| 6 | 8 | €3812 |
| 8 | 4 | €3672 |
| 8 | 8 | €4375 |
Tropical Forest or Local Communities and Language Course
| Course Weeks | Work Weeks | Fees |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 4 | €2526 |
| 2 | 8 | €3772 |
| 4 | 4 | €3089 |
| 4 | 8 | €4335 |
| 6 | 4 | €3652 |
| 6 | 8 | €4848 |
| 8 | 4 | €4214 |
| 8 | 8 | €5461 |
Galápagos and Language Course
| Course Weeks | Work Weeks | Fees |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 4 | €2429 |
| 2 | 8 | €3333 |
| 4 | 4 | €2992 |
| 4 | 8 | €3896 |
| 6 | 4 | €3554 |
| 6 | 8 | €4459 |
| 8 | 4 | €4117 |
| 8 | 8 | €5022 |
Details
If you choose to work at two different work places, we will invoice you 140 USD extra.
A supplement of 250 USD will be invoiced for Internships.
If you followed Spanish lessons in Peru or Bolivia, and only want to work as a volunteer in Ecuador, you must count the fees for food and accommodation and extra 785 Euros sponsorship and coordination.
Holidays
The school is closed on the following national holidays:
2019: 4/3, 19/4, 3/5, 24/5, 9/8, 11/10, 1/11, 4/11, 6/12 and 25/12 2019 – 5/1 2020.
Organisation of Internship costs 250 USD.
Insurance
It is compulsory that you take out Insurance to cover unforeseen medical costs as well as possible unexpected expenses incurred by an unanticipated trip home, before you leave your home country.
Visa
Upon entry to Ecuador you will receive a 90-day Tourist Visa. Please note that on entry into Ecuador you are obliged to have a valid return ticket from either Ecuador or another country – please be aware of this when ordering your flight ticket.
Are you going to stay as a student or volunteer for more than 3 months, you will have to apply for a Visa 12-VII at the Ecuadorian consulate in your home country.
The following douments will have to be added to the application form:
- Document from the organization for which the person is going to work for in Ecuador stating the period he/she will stay, explaining why a foreign person is going to work in Ecuador, and a brief description of the tasks he/she will be assigned to in Ecuador. You will get this letter from EXIS.
- 3 photographs
- Medical certificate
- Police certificate with criminal record where the applicant resides USD 180.00 (USD 150 visa, USD 30 application form)
Procedure
To apply please complete the application form and specify which programmes you wish to join. Once EXIS has received your application you will receive a confirmation and an invoice with dates for the initial deposit and balance to be paid before departure. Any further information will be sent to you at this point.
Once you have paid your deposit you will receive the address and information about your host family. Once we are able to confirm that your journey has been arranged and the date of your arrival is known you arrange your insurance coverage. You are now ready for an exciting and educational stay in Ecuador
All “Spanish Courses” fees include
Intensive language lessons with well-trained, competent and very motivated teachers
Accommodation with carefully chosen Ecuadorian host families including single room and half board
Books and teaching material
Placement test on the first school day
Certificate and level assessment at the end of the course
Social activities organized by the school
Free access to all the school’s facilities: barbecue area, language lab, cafeteria, library with books and videos
Excursions in the area (transport expenses and entrance fees to museums etc. are not included.)
Post office, storage of luggage and valuables, email service and Wifi connection
Manual upon enrolment
Fantastic service and atmosphere!
Voluntary Work
Intensive language lessons with well-trained, competent and very motivated teachers
Accommodation with carefully chosen Ecuadorian host families to include breakfast, evening meals and laundry
Airport pick-up at Quito airport
Welcome orientation and Quito city tour
Books and teaching material
Initial test on arrival and evaluations or exams
Certificate and level assessment at the end of the course
Social activities organized by the school
Free access to all the school’s facilities: Swimming pool, spa baths, sauna and Turkish baths. Barbecue-areas, language labs, library with books and videos, cafeteria
Help and assistance during your entire stay
Post office, storage of luggage and valuables, email service and Wifi connection
A personal sponsor amount of 100 US dollars to the volunteer working place you choose
Voluntary work mediation
Manual upon enrolment
Fantastic service and atmosphere!
The following is not included in our fees:
- Flight to and from Ecuador
- Insurance
- Longer excursions and special activities at cost price
The country
Even though Ecuador is geographically not a large country, biologically and ethnically speaking it is one of the world’s most varied countries.
A day’s journey across the country from west to east will take you from an Afro-Equatorial culture on the Pacific’s long sandy beaches over the snow-covered volcanoes of the Andes, down into green valleys on the other side, and at last to the Amazon basin’s tropical forests which are still home to small Indian communities.
There is a fourth ecological region, the Galapagos Islands, which lie 1000 km off Ecuador’s Pacific coast. These islands have a completely unique flora and fauna which, history tells us, were studied by Charles Darwin and described by him in connection with his well-known Theory of Natural Selection.
The flora and fauna of Ecuador are extremely diverse. The richness and diversity of its native species are universally accepted as one of the greatest in the world.
Botanists tell us that there are approximately 20,000 species of plants to be found here – more than the total found on the entire North American sub-Continent. There are more than 1500 different species of birds, twice as many as those found in North America, Europe or Asia. If you are lucky, you might meet giant tortoises, sea lions, jaguars, condors, llamas, spectacled bears or many monkey species. It all depends on your ecological region.
The history of Ecuador is the story of the meeting between European explorers and native inhabitants, a background most South American countries have in common. The contrast between the historic colonial buildings and churches in most of the larger cities and the Inca ruins in the highlands bear witness to the enormous difference between past civilisations. Ecuador borders Colombia to the north and Peru to the south and west. It has 12 million inhabitants of European and Indian descent. Officially the country is 95% Catholic, but some of the descendants of the native peoples continue to practise their inherited religious beliefs and way of life. The population living along the Pacific coast of Ecuador is made up of “Mestizos” of mixed European and native blood, and the descendants of African slaves. The people of the highland region are predominantly a mixture of Spanish and Quecha-speaking Indians and a large group of Mestizos. The Indians of the Amazon basin live in small communities and continue to fight for control of their homelands. These often cover large areas where they survive by hunting and fishing. Their traditional way of life is threatened by international oil companies prospecting for oil. Other companies from as far away as Taiwan come for timber for the production of furniture.
Quito
The capital of Ecuador is high in the Andes 2.850 metres above sea level. Quito is the world’s second highest capital city – after La Paz in Bolivia. It has a population of 1.7 million and is the second largest city in Ecuador. The largest is Guayaquil, Ecuador’s principal port on the Pacific coast. Quito’s old town has been nominated by UNESCO as “Patrimonio Cultural de la Humanidad”, a World Heritage site, and with good reason. Enormous churches and cathedrals filled with gold ornamented art and large squares surrounded by 400-year-old buildings are a clear indication of the importance the colonial masters gave this city as the centre of their expansion in the area.
A long period of neglect, decay and lack of financial support from the state seems to be over. Funds are now available for the restoration of the old town in co-operation with the UN. Today, the contrast between the old town and the more modern part of the city is striking. After a walk through the narrow streets of the old town, the modern city can come as a bit of a shock. Shoe-shine boys, buses spewing noxious gasses, dare-devil taxi drivers, open-air food stalls, shaded parks, hotels, skyscrapers and high-rise apartment blocks must be seen to be believed. Quito is a large city with all the facilities and pleasures of a modern metropolis. Visitors can stand in the shade of a palm tree on most street corners and gaze at the Pichincha Volcano towering over the city. On a clear day you can enjoy the view of the snow-clad Cotopaxi-Antisana and Chimborazo volcanoes that rise more than 6.000 metres to the sky.
The language school
The language school is considered Ecuador’s best by international education magazines and is among the top 10 of Spanish language schools in the world. The school is located in a central residential area called “La Carolina” and has an interior patio, 21 classrooms, video room, library, teachers room, auditorium, solarium, cafeteria, a multipurpose indoor court (racquetball, volleyball, speed soccer and basketball court), internet service (0.50 US dollar per 30.min), bathroom with access for wheelchair users, elevator.
The décor is typical of colonial design. Beautiful arches surround the interior patio and fountains.
The school’s goal is to ensure that students get the most from the high educational standards through intensive courses. University trained teachers use top quality teaching materials and aids in an informal, efficient and friendly atmosphere. Students are encouraged to practice their Spanish skills in school and during leisure time. The school is recognized by the Ecuadorian Ministry of Education and works in close cooperation with leading international educational institutions as well as Ecuador’s largest University, Universidad Central.
Facilities at school
Cosy and well-equipped rooms
Language laboratory, book and video library, TV room.
Cafeteria.
Internet, Wifi connection, fax, telephone, postal service.
Safe storage for valuables and baggage.
Currency exchange, cashing traveler’s cheques.
Dancing lessons, parties, get-togethers and other social events
If you are interested in background information about the International Language School, here’s a link to an interview of the founder, by the South American reporter Jorge Gestoso. It’s in Spanish and quite long!
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDbPfB-LZ44&feature=youtu.be
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bfkykIVu7c
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