Why Teaching in Mongolia?

Sandwiched between the huge expanses of Russia and China, Mongolia offers real adventure. The modern Mongolian is a descendant of Genghis Khan, an offspring of the Communist era and is living in an ancient nation-state that once rules the whole of Asia. Identifying more with Europeans than Asians, the Mongolian people are proud and very welcoming.

Most of our placements are based in the capital city of Ulaanbaatar, which has the feel of a Soviet city with tower blocks surrounding the focal point of Sukhbaatar Square. Yet on the edge of the city, families live in traditional "Gers."

Volunteering in Mongolia

The hard-pressed schools in Ulaanbaatar need English-speaking volunteers. You can teach a range of subjects to children between the ages of 6 and 16. While their conversational English skills need improving, the children will also be delighted of you bring music, games or drama into your lessons. Previous volunteers have also taught maths and geography. During the summer holidays, volunteers can work in language schools and at summer camps helping to provide a safe, fun, informal learning environment for the children.

Why do voluntary Teaching?

Voluntary teaching is beneficial to everyone involved. Firstly, it provides our volunteers with the opportunity to work in an environment culturally different from their own. This provides volunteers with an experience that is unique to Mongolia and they will return home with a far greater understanding of the way in which millions of the world's population think and act. They will more importantly have an understanding and appreciation for Mongolian youth culture and during their teaching classes will gain an insight into the way in which their students think, live and interact. Teaching will ultimately equip them with fuller and better cross-cultural understanding.

Secondly our volunteers are providing an important skill for the students they teach, that of conversational English. Having a native English speaker is a massive advantage and very helpful to the schools in which they teach. Both students and staff members alike wholly appreciate the language skills and enthusiasm our teaching volunteers bring to their classes. The students also use the opportunity of having a foreign teacher to learn about the customs and practices of the West.

We hope our teaching programme will provide an opportunity for two different cultures to learn from each other. In the 21st Century the importance of greater cultural and linguistic exchange cannot be underestimated. We hope to provide new language skills for the students in the schools in which we place volunteers and also for the volunteers themselves to learn and gain knowledge from the classes in which they teach.