Over the past seven years, SKIP has developed its English Education Programme with new, focussed objectives. There is also an emphasis places on the importance of promoting the use of the English Language in El Porvenir by teaching English in public schools, such as IndoAmericano, as well as providing scholarships to learn English for our most motivated children and teenagers at the El Cultural Language Institute, which is located in the centre of Trujillo.

These programmes enable over 500 children to have access to a quality English education each year. Public schools in the area are unable to provide English education for children due to their limited resources and this places these children at a disadvantage when they go to secondary school where English is a required subject. Indeed, one teacher informed us that she had been trying to teach her students English by reading them words from the dictionary (the teacher did not speak English herself and did not know what else to do). We are slowly developing working partnerships with these teachers so that they are more actively involved in the English lessons. This is the most sustainable intervention we can provide, training local teachers to run the classes with international volunteer support.

This teaching programme aligns with the overall SKIP philosophy, and shares the common objectives of promoting multiculturalism and also developing a global dimension within the children’s education. This is facilitated by our English Teachers, which is made up of a dedicated team of international volunteers, many of whom are native English speakers.

Further to this, our English programme also aims to give the children and teenagers of El Porvenir the ability to communicate in another language, which not only opens doors to other cultures but also can increase job opportunities in many careers where understanding a foreign language is a real asset. Teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) in primary schools gives children a head start as English is now a required subject in Secondary schools in Peru.

Click here to read more about being an English Teaching Volunteer