With the perfect combination to success
How to combine theory and practice
Have you decided to volunteer abroad? International volunteer work is a wonderful opportunity to think outside the box, to get to know other realities, to immerse yourself into a foreign culture, to learn a new language. You may even gain professional experience and enhance your social skills. You will get socially involved and give something back to society while helping those who need it.
Meaningful travel needs to be well prepared. Get information about the different opportunities, choose one of our destinations in Latin America and select a volunteer project that inspires you. To be really well prepared, you also need language skills in Spanish.
"I'd rather dive headfirst into the culture, the rest will follow, and besides, everyone can speak English these days." That's what some think. And yes, in many of our Wildlife & Nature projects you can make ends meet with English. But do you want to "make ends meet" or really immerse yourself in the country, be more than a mere tourist or just an observer? Unfortunately, it is still the case today that the vast majority of “average people” in Latin America can only speak very rudimentary English, if at all. Learning English is often still reserved for those who have the money for a good education and to travel abroad. And these are not the people you will primarily help in our volunteer projects.
Basic knowledge of Spanish is very important and therefore a prerequisite in volunteer projects that deal with people and human interaction - children's aid projects, women's shelters, hospitals, educational projects. In such projects you can only really respond to the needs of your target group if you speak Spanish. (note: most of our Eco Volunteering projects are available for non-Spanish speakers!)
Even outside of the project, in "normal everyday life" you will get along much better with Spanish and, above all, you can immerse yourself much more deeply in the local culture. Just think how much interesting information you get "by the way" when you speak the local language - or just might miss if you don't.
Language skills are literally the key to a culture and the cornerstone of cultural integration. The language is your access to the country and above all to the PEOPLE. This is especially true if you are traveling in a rural region where only a few tourists get to.
But even if your project is in a larger city or tourist region: people are simply happy when you try to get in touch with them in their language and this joy has an important side effect. You will be perceived completely differently, you will get more attention, more tips and make friendships much easier. Nobody expects fluent or accent-free Spanish, neither on the street nor in the project. The main thing is that you are understood and understand others. Making mistakes is part of it and makes you even more sympathetic – nobody is perfect!
A Spanish course in the destination country can therefore be the key to the maximum success of your volunteer work and your entire stay. Our large selection of language course locations throughout Latin America makes this possible. A Spanish course with South America Inside is like a well-organized vacation where you learn and experience a lot. Btw, all language schools also have a high fun factor.
We offer Spanish language courses all over the continent, from the Caribbean to Patagonia, from big cities to small beach towns, from historically interesting places to stunning nature, everything is included, often even in combination. Choose your dream destination for your Spanish language course here: Language Travel Latin America
You don't have enough time to put a language course before your volunteer project? Don't worry! There are also great locations where you can even combine volunteering and a Spanish course at the same time. You will attend Spanish classes on the first half of the day, and you will be a volunteer on the other half of the day. At the weekends you are free, and you join in the fun and leisure activities offered by the language school. This special Spanish & Volunteering program is available in Santiago de Chile, Quito, San José, Antigua, Sucre or Cusco.
Are you interested in doing the perfect combination of language course and volunteer work? Then get in touch, we look forward to seeing you!