Service Learning

The Service Learning Program

service_programLearn Spanish Through Service

The Service Learning Program combines four or five hours of classroom instruction in the morning with three or four hours of hands-on field work as a volunteer in the afternoons in one of our social aid programs.

Working directly with communities increases the direct meaningful use of Spanish language and the classroom time allows participants to focus on the language they need to be effective in their social work.

Descriptions of the different volunteer positions are available on the Volunteer page.

serviceThe Two-Week Training Period

Before Service Learning students begin their voluntary work in the rural community, a two-week training period provides them with a thorough understanding of what they are expected to do. It also gives them an essential insight into the complex range of political, social and economic challenges that communities face in rural Guatemala.

The two-week training period includes…

    • A presentation on the Social Aid Department of INEPAS.
    • Visits to places of cultural interest in and around Quetzaltenango.
    • Films or documentaries of political, socio-economic and cultural interest.
    • Lectures and conferences on a variety of subjects, with the purpose of informing the student on the main issues of Guatemala.
    • One-to-one talks on important customs and traditions in rural communities.
    • Presentation of the student to the rural community.
  • Sample Schedule of a Service Learning student.

 

Week One

Morning Afternoon
Spanish Classes:
One to one instruction
5 hours per day
8:00am – 1:00pm		 Training Week One:
Presentation of INEPAS and its functions,visits
to places of cultural interest in and around
Quetzaltenango, films and documentaries of
political, socio-economic and cultural interest,
lectures and conferences on the history, culture,
and politics of Guatemala.

Week Two

Morning Afternoon
Spanish Classes:
One to one instruction
5 hours per day
8:00am – 1:00pm		 Training Week Two:
Informative one-to-one talks about rural
communities in Guatemala with a focus on the
community in which the student will work, what
is expected of the student in his/her voluntary
work and finally a presentation of the student
to the community.

Week Three, Four, Five, etc.

Morning Afternoon
Spanish Classes:
One to one instruction
4 or 5 hours per day
8:00am – 12:00/1:00pm		 Voluntary Work