Maasai school Volunteer helping the children with school-work.

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Volunteer Teaching English in Tanzania

Live in East Africa and gain practical experience by helping disadvantaged children learn English

Destination

Tanzania

Age

16+ y/o

Minimum Stay

2 weeks

Start Date

Anytime

Accommodation

Homestay

What’s included

Activities, Training & Equipment

All programme activities and equipment, including training and workshops from experienced professionals.

Meals

All breakfast, lunch, and dinners, and always fresh drinking water.

Socials & Fun

Regularly organized social events with other participants.

Request info

Starting at €2,095 for 2 weeks

Flexible 0% Interest payments
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Trip Overview

Empower educators and students

Boost English literacy in primary or secondary schools, working with students who are eager to learn and improve their futures.

Focus on key skills

Accelerate learning through interactive games, songs, and educational resources that improve reading, writing, and speaking abilities.

Experience Tanzanian culture

Live with a welcoming host family for easy access to the rich culture of Tanzania, including Swahili language and local traditions.

Explore East Africa

Discover the beauty of Tanzania during your free time. Visit national parks, relax on Zanzibar’s beaches, and experience the vibrant city of Arusha.

Meet the Maasai

Teach at a unique Maasai school, set up by Projects Abroad, which relies on volunteers to increase access to education.

What you need to know

Overview

Do you enjoy working with children? Are you interested in adding teaching work experience to your CV? Do you want to support disadvantaged communities? If you answered yes to any of these questions, this is the project for you!

You’ll work with a local teacher and get experience planning lessons and thinking of activities to get students learning. You’ll need to think of ways to encourage your students to practise speaking English so they can benefit from having you there as much as possible. Practical teaching work experience in Tanzania will boost your CV and let you develop your teaching style. You’ll also learn other skills, like organisation and classroom management.

You don’t need previous experience or qualifications to join. You’ll work with teachers who can help you and answer your questions. You can also reach out to Projects Abroad staff at any time. In addition, we run regular workshops for all of our Teaching and Care volunteers. Here, you can discuss challenges and exchange ideas. We also have an online database you can draw inspiration from.

This project runs throughout the year, and you can join at any time. We encourage you to stay as long as you can to make a bigger impact at your school.

A Day in the Life

A typical day will begin with a delicious local breakfast with your host family before heading off by dala dala (local minibus) to a local school to teach. On your first day, you will be shown the best way to get to your school by Projects Abroad staff, and they will accompany you on your journey. They’ll also introduce you to your new colleagues at the school.

Your morning classes will begin at 9 am and run until 11 am. You’ll assist local teachers with preparing and teaching these classes. At the same time, you can also support their classroom management. Depending on your ability, you may teach classes by yourself. At the Maasai school, you’ll work independently. You’ll prepare and lead all of your own classes.

At 11 am, there will be a break, and the children will eat a meal. Afternoon classes begin at 11.30 am and run until 1 pm. Then you’ll have a lunch break.

The school day ends around 2.30 pm. Once classes are finished for the day, you can assist with extracurricular activities, go back to your host family, or explore the town.

Aims & Impact

The aim of this project is to give children in rural Tanzania an opportunity to improve their English.

English is one of Tanzania’s official languages, making it an important skill for people to learn. Speaking English can open the door to better employment opportunities in business or tourism. English is also the language of technology, commerce, and administration in Tanzania.

We are working to improve the level of English in Tanzania by supporting local teachers at disadvantaged schools in rural areas. By supporting their work, we can help give children skills they can use to succeed later in life. We’re also focused on improving literacy and making sure that young students learn in safe, clean environments. To do this, we need the help of volunteers like you.

We have five long-term goals that we are working toward at the Teaching Project in Tanzania:

Improve English
Improve the safety and cleanliness of the learning environment
Improve classroom support
Increase literacy
Improve teaching techniques

Help us achieve these goals by joining our Teaching Project in Tanzania today.

Activities

As a Teaching volunteer, you’ll work at a school alongside experienced local teachers. These are some of the tasks you can expect to do on this project:

Teach English to children and make classroom learning fun and interesting
Assist teachers with extracurricular activities such as music, sport, art and drama
Work with teachers to prepare lessons that are both exciting and practical
Help out at the local Maasai school

At your volunteer teaching placement in Tanzania, your work will focus on the following areas:

Improve the standard of English

Your main role is to teach English to primary school children. You will help students to understand the basics of grammar and pronunciation through exercises and spelling bees. You are encouraged to use games, flash cards, and other fun techniques to keep lessons interesting and teach the children new words. Ultimately, the goal should be to get students to practise speaking as much as possible.

Help teachers with extracurricular activities

Outside of teaching English, you can get involved with extracurricular activities in the afternoons, like art and sports. These classes are a wonderful opportunity for the children to embrace their creative sides, and teachers will definitely appreciate the extra help.

Prepare lessons

It is very important that every lesson is clearly planned, with a particular goal in mind. You will be expected to lay out these lesson plans, clearly defining the goals and objectives of each class. Lesson planning is an important skill to learn, and it will look great on your CV.

We run regular workshops for all of our Teaching and Care volunteers, where you can get advice, ask any questions that you may have, and discuss any challenges you are facing. You will also have access to online resources where you will be able to see sample lesson plans and activities.

Help out at the local Maasai school

Projects Abroad has also set up a school for the Maasai children living on the outskirts of Arusha. These children have little or no access to education. We depend on volunteers like you to teach classes so we can support their education. If you teach here, you’ll prepare and teach all of your own lessons. You’ll focus on improving literacy and teaching basic English.

Map & Location

Vast savannahs teeming with wildlife, Mount Kilimanjaro piercing the sky, and the colourful culture of the Maasai tribe — all things you’ll find in the incredible East African nation of Tanzania.

Tanzania is considered as one of the safest countries in Africa with a friendly and welcoming population, and is a popular tourist destination. With 30% of the country covered in national parks, including the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater, it’s especially good for safaris.

Arusha

Arusha, in northern Tanzania, serves as a gateway to Africa’s most renowned safari destinations. The region is home to 2.4 million people, with 600,000 living in Arusha city at the foot of Mount Meru. It enjoys a pleasant highland climate with warm days and cool nights.

It has a mix of cultures and a growing tourism industry thanks to the fascinating handcrafted souvenirs of the Maasai markets, interesting cultural sites, and thrilling safari trips to nearby national parks.

Food & Accommodation

Discover the magic of Tanzania from your base in Arusha. You’ll have everything you need for a comfortable stay, including a cosy bed, three meals a day using the authentic tastes of Tanzania, and readily available drinking water.

You’ll be welcomed into a carefully selected host family in Arusha, instantly making you feel like a local and providing a taste of Tanzanian life. It will be clean, safe, and within a short distance of your placement. We’ll also handle your daily transport to and from your project, so you can focus on developing your skills, connections, and global perspective.

Shared rooms are arranged with other participants of the same gender and similar age, creating a great opportunity to connect and share your cultural exchange in this beautiful country.

Your Arrival Made Easy

When you arrive at your respective airport, a member of Projects Abroad staff will be there to meet you. You can find more detailed information on arrival airports, orientation, and visas on our Tanzania Arrival Procedures page.