About this role
Middle and High School English Teacher
Project Description: Looking for a chance to make a positive impact while challenging yourself to grow as an educator? Rural Beninese students and teachers are eager to strengthen their English language skills and understanding of American culture with your support.
English can unlock global educational and professional opportunities, making language learning a national priority for Benin. Yet rural schools face significant challenges, including a variety of learning needs within a single classroom and limited English exposure. Local teachers are also managing heavy workloads and competing demands. These factors limit opportunities for lesson planning and professional development, making it difficult for students to gain confidence using English.
As a Middle and High School English Teacher, you will collaborate with local educators to create a conducive learning environment and implement student-centered teaching practices that benefit all students. Outside of the classroom, you will develop connections to the larger community through much-needed extracurricular activities, such as clubs or spelling bees.
Required Skills: Bachelor's degree in any field.
Living Conditions: Volunteers are placed in a community in the departments of Atlantique, Collines, Couffo, Mono, Oueme, Plateau or Zou. Each department offers a geographically diverse climate from savannah to rocky hills, to lush river valleys, to wetlands bordering lakes and the ocean. Volunteers will be placed in rural or peri-urban communities living in a self-contained concrete house inside a compound with either a resource family or community members.
Activities: Plan and teach engaging English lessons to middle and high school students. Support faculty planning and coordination. Organize and lead extracurricular activities for youth, such as camps, sports, and clubs. Facilitate projects to improve school facilities or community spaces. Participate in cultural celebrations and community gatherings.
You may also work on additional projects that meet the community’s interests and priorities, such as gardening and painting educational murals.
Training: As a Middle and High School English Teacher, you will be trained on lesson planning, best practices for clubs and camps, and supporting cross-sectoral areas, such as gardening and entrepreneurship. Peace Corps/Benin will teach you French to help you comfortably live in and connect with the community. You will also receive language resources and learn one of Benin’s 50+ local languages, such as Fon, Mina, Adja, Bariba, Yoruba, Idaatcha, Tchabe, Fufulde, Mahi, Nagot, or Ife.
After 10 weeks of training, you will move to a rural community where you will collaborate with a secondary school. You will work with the community to assess the local needs and develop solutions for student achievement, teacher capacity, a positive learning environment, and activities to support well-rounded learning.
Job Highlights: Receive practical, high-quality training that prepares you to teach English anywhere. Gain project management, leadership, and intercultural collaboration skills transferable to any profession. Learn French and one of Benin’s many local languages from dedicated Language and Cross-Cultural Facilitators.