Mexico
Qualified candidates must have a strong interest in cross-cultural understating, a desire to teach English, and both of the following:
Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science degree in any discipline
AND
At least 30 hours of English as a Foreign Language teaching/tutoring experience with primary, middle, or high school students, university students, or adults
SPECIAL NOTICE ABOUT CITIZENSHIP: Candidates who are either dual citizens of Mexico and the U.S., or who were born in Mexico and became U.S. citizens after 1998, are not eligible to serve with Peace Corps Mexico. Volunteer safety is of paramount importance, and the protections of U.S. citizenship promote Volunteer safety. Under Mexican law, anyone born in Mexico who became a U.S. citizen after 1998, or anyone holding dual U.S. and Mexican citizenship, is considered a citizen of Mexico and not of the United States. If such an individual were to face a legal, safety, or other emergency situations in Mexico, the Peace Corps' ability to intervene would be limited. If you fit either of these categories, we encourage you to look for other opportunities with Peace Corps. Please note, the Peace Corps welcomes and encourages individuals with Mexican heritage but who do not hold citizenship with Mexico to apply.
Competitive candidates will have at least one or more of the following:
Master of Arts (MA) in English, Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT), Teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL), Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), English as a Foreign Language (EFL), Teaching English as a second language (TESL), or Linguistics.
MA/MAT in any foreign language.
Co-planning/co-teaching experience.
Teacher training experience.
Experience teaching high school, university, or adult students.
Effective classroom management techniques.
Familiarity with collaborative learning, project-based learning (PBL), and/or Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL). Experience providing written and/or verbal feedback, mentoring, and support to address challenges faced by students and faculty.
Experience working at the community level.
Experience in monitoring and evaluation, including the use of data collection and reporting tools.
Living conditions in Mexico vary greatly. Larger cities or towns may be more progressive, while rural areas and small towns tend to have traditional and conservative values; these could be quite different than what most Volunteers are accustomed to and require significant adaptation.
A Volunteer’s assigned community could be located 8 or more hours from the Peace Corps Mexico Office. From where they live, Volunteers may need to commute up to an hour on public transportation to reach their universities, although such a long commute is not common. Limited bus schedules could make it necessary for some Volunteers to stay on campus more hours than others.
All Volunteer communities have some form of communication, whether by landline or cell phones, telephone booths, satellite phones, or internet access. However, due to the isolation of certain communities or adverse weather conditions, service can be weak or intermittent and may even be inactive for some days. Nevertheless, there is always a larger community within a two-hour distance where communication systems are more reliable.
In most of the central region of Mexico, especially in mountainous areas, it can be cold in the evening throughout much of the year. Daytime highs can be very hot, but a jacket and hat are often useful in the early morning or late evening. Temperatures can range from freezing to the upper-90s. Layering is a good strategy year-round, and Volunteers should be prepared for rainy weather.
Host family stays are required during the 10-week Pre-Service Training (PST), and during the first three months of service, to promote community integration and language learning. A host family could be a two-parent family with children, a grandmother living alone, a single parent who works all day, or any other type of family. Regardless, it’s important that the Volunteer integrate with the family and respect the family’s rules and norms. After living with a host family for the first three months, some Volunteers decide to live independently if suitable and affordable housing is available. Other Volunteers continue to live with a host family.
Additional information on living conditions you may encounter during service can be found at: https://www.peacecorps.gov/mexico/preparing-to-volunteer/living-conditions/
(PCV) Spanish 1
Education
Yes
Mexico
24
Yes
PCV
No
As the preeminent international service organization of the United States, the Peace Corps sends Americans with a passion for service abroad to work with communities and create lasting change. Volunteers develop sustainable solutions to address challenges in Education, Health, Economic Development, Agriculture, Environment and Youth Development. Through their Peace Corps experiences, Volunteers gain a unique cultural understanding and a lifelong commitment to service that positions them to succeed in today's global economy. Since President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps in 1961, more than 240,000 Americans of all ages have served in 142 countries worldwide.
