At a glance
- This is a volunteer opportunity with Projects Abroad. Devxchange will assist you in choosing the right fit, raising funds with your own campaign page, issuing tax receipts to donors if project meets CRA criteria as a charitable activity. Devxchange will also assist you in onboarding with Projects Abroad.
- Study Spanish in Ecuador while living on the beautiful San Cristobal Island in the Galapagos. You’ll get personalized Spanish lessons each week with a professional language teacher.
- Interact with native Spanish speakers on a daily basis in the markets, restaurants and on your travels. Study Spanish full-time, or part-time alongside another project.
- You will live in a shared volunteer accommodation on the island, which means you can share meals and explore with other volunteers.
Details
- Learn Spanish from a qualified teacher
- Explore the San Cristobal Island
- Volunteer on a project during or after your language course
Includes/Excludes
Food and accommodation
- Food (three meals a day)
- Airport pick-up and drop-off
- Full induction and orientation by an experienced staff member on arrival
- Transport to and from your work placement
- In-country support and 24-hour back-up from our team of full-time local staff
- Emergency assistance from our international emergency response team
- Project equipment and materials, including access to our database with thousands of resources
- Training and workshops from our experienced local staff
- Regular social events and community activities with other volunteers and interns
- Access to our local office with internet connection
- Certification of project completion
- Access to our alumni services and discounts
- Visa support and advice
- Fundraising support, including your own personalized fundraising website with DevXchange
- Tax Receipts for your donors if activity meets CRA criteria for charitable activity.
- Pre-departure preparation by your own specialist Volunteer Advisor
- Personalized MyProjectsAbroad website, with all the information you need about your project, accommodation and destination
- A free cultural awareness course
- Membership to our volunteer social media groups, to share information and to get in touch
- Support to help you complete registration or internship documents, if applicable
Not Included
- Flights
- Visa Costs (where applicable)
- 10% Admin fee for donations involving tax receipts.
Itinerary
If you have a strong desire to travel, learn a new language, and make lots of great connections, this is your chance!
Spanish is the second most commonly-spoken language in the world and is a valuable skill to have under your belt and on your CV. You also have the opportunity to volunteer before, during, or after your studies. Doing so gives you the chance to support ongoing efforts to support local communities.
Whether you’re an absolute beginner, or need to practice having conversations, we will tailor the course to your individual needs. This course runs throughout the year, so you can sign up at any point. The minimum duration is one week, but we recommend staying longer in order to learn as much as possible.
Your week will run from Monday to Friday, with evenings and weekends free.
Your day will begin with breakfast together with other volunteers, where you will have the chance to chat about the day ahead, and get to know each other.
If you prefer, you can have your lessons first thing in the morning, and can spend the rest of the day sightseeing with other students. Alternatively, you can sight see earlier in the day, and take your lessons in the afternoon.
In your free time, we encourage you to explore! Use this opportunity to practice speaking with local native speakers at restaurants, cafes, and markets. We also organize regular socials for all of our students, volunteers and interns to join.
The aim of this course is to help you to learn Spanish in a Spanish-speaking environment. We also give you the opportunity to travel safely, and add international experience to your CV at the same time.
Spanish is spoken worldwide. This makes it a useful language to add to your CV, and it will also help you on your travels. You can do this course no matter what level you are, and we accept beginners.
If you also volunteer on one of our projects you will be helping us to meet some of our key goals in Ecuador. For example, you can support early childhood development in understaffed, disadvantaged kindergartens. Whichever project you get involved in, you will form part of a network of Projects Abroad volunteers actively making a difference worldwide.
If your chosen project has Spanish requirements, we strongly recommend doing the language course first. Your language teacher can tailor your lessons to your project, teaching you relevant vocabulary and appropriate conversation.
Take part in this Spanish Language Course in Ecuador and enrich your life with wonderful memories and valuable skills.
Food and accommodation
You’ll be based on the main island of San Cristobal. It forms part of the Galapagos archipelago located about 1,000km from mainland Ecuador in the Pacific Ocean. It’s home to several pristine white beaches, but only two are for people. The others are all devoted to the protection of the local sea lion population.
The Galapagos Islands are hugely popular for anyone with an interest in biology, science, and wildlife. These volcanic islands are home to a vast number of species that occur nowhere else in the world. A few examples include the Giant tortoise, marine iguanas, Galapagos fur seals, and Galapagos penguins.
You will be working at a local kindergarten. Many kindergartens are overcrowded and understaffed. As a Social Work intern, you will lend a much needed helping hand, as well as a measure of expertise in your field.
You’ll share accommodation with other Projects Abroad volunteers and interns during your stay in San Cristóbal. This is a great way to get to know your fellow volunteers and interns, share experiences, and explore your surroundings in your free time together. You can also request to stay with a host family in San Cristóbal.
The accommodation is safe, clean, and comfortable. Your program fees include three meals a day.
Find out more about our accommodation.
Leisure activities and free time
Our projects in Ecuador are based in the Galapagos Islands. This region is famed for the research Charles Darwin did here with its many unique animal species. It’s the ideal location to explore the natural beauty of Ecuador.
While you’re volunteering here, it’s worth checking out the beautiful beaches where seabirds circle above and sea lions laze about on the sand. You can also go snorkeling or scuba diving along the coast.
Hiking around the base of one of the many volcanoes that make up the Galapagos is spectacular and thrilling! You can also follow the Darwin trail or trek through the Punta Pitt.
There are plenty of museums and art galleries for you to learn more about the culture and history. You can also chat to locals and buy souvenirs at bustling markets.
What’s great about joining our projects is the chance to connect with other volunteers. So you can choose to explore the Galapagos independently or you can travel with the new friends you make along the way.
