Argentina

Placement locations

Teaching placements are located in Neuquén, San Luis and the capital Buenos Aires. Community placements are based in Cordoba. Most placements are on the outskirts of, or just a bus ride away from provincial capitals with populations of around 80,000 to 120,000 people. The placement in Buenos Aires is based in the Northern suburbs and the city is home to nearly 13 million people. The remaining placements are in smaller towns of some 25,000 inhabitants.

Roles explained

A basic knowledge of Spanish is required for these placements.

Schools Assistant

Schools Assistant placements are based in top private schools. You will provide support to kindergarten or primary teachers and assist the children with their English. These placements are ideal for those interested in working with children or thinking of pursuing a career in teaching.

English Teaching

English Teaching placements may be in fee-paying schools for both primary and secondary levels, or at private language institutes for children aged from ten through to adults. English is considered to be a very valuable language to learn and volunteers use their conversational English skills to assist and support both teachers and students in the classroom. Classes at the institutes are run during the day and evening, and often volunteers assist with some evening classes.

Community and Caring Placements

Community placements are available in children’s or residential homes when some of the children with learning difficulties become adults. Volunteers provide support within the children’s home to residents, who range in age from new-born’s to 16 years old. In the home, volunteers assist with the day-to-day running of the centre. Activities with the residents, such as arts, drama and sport, are also greatly appreciated and enjoyed. No English is spoken in these centres, so volunteers need to be fluent in Spanish before their placements begin.

The working week for placements in Argentina ranges between 15 and 36 hours. Weekends are usually free.

Placement details

The specific nature of your role in your placement will largely depend on which institution you are based in. On arrival at your placement, you will be advised on the details of your role and responsibilities and you will have the opportunity to establish exactly what your host expects from you. Our volunteers in northern Buenos Aires, for example, work in one of Argentina’s top bilingual schools with children ranging from primary school age through to years 11 and 12.

In Latin America, many parents send their children to bilingual schools in order to give them a full exposure to a foreign language from a young age, and so as native English speakers you will be highly valued within the school. Typically, volunteers work from 8am-4.15pm and duties can include assisting teachers in class with written and oral activities, helping to prepare educational materials, replacing the teacher in the event of absence, helping in the organisation of extracurricular activities such as concerts, supervising lunch and break-times and accompanying children on school trips.

Elsewhere, in our San Luis placements, volunteers work in a language institute with a wide range of students, from young learners to adults. Again, the fact that our volunteers are native speakers is highly valued here, and so placements focus on helping students with oral work. You could be helping learners by conducting interviews, conversation classes and debates, or by listening to them talk and giving advice on pronunciation and intonation.

Accommodation

Volunteers usually stay with a host family, an adult host at teaching placements or on site of their community placement. Host families may expect the volunteer to integrate and to contribute to family life.

Food

Despite the fact that Argentina is a big meat producing country, vegetarians have always managed without any problems. Both accommodation and food are provided by the host.

Is it for me?

If you are looking for a new cultural experience and can adapt to the Argentinian slower pace of life, then a rewarding time awaits. You will need to show flexibility and initiative and in turn, you will have the chance to develop your Spanish and build strong ties with your hosts.

Need to know

• Pre departure briefing - all volunteers are invited to a group briefing prior to departure
• Language - some placements require a good standard of spoken Spanish - this is essential for community placements
• On arrival - volunteers attend a two-day orientation in Buenos Aires and undertake a teaching skills course if required.

Free time

The working week for placements in Argentina ranges between 15 and 36 hours. Weekends are usually free. In your free time, explore Argentina’s rich and intoxicating cultural diversity. Part Latin American, part European, discover the country’s melting pot of cultural roots not only in cosmopolitan Buenos Aires, but also in other fascinating cities such as Córdoba, Mendoza and Bariloche.

Must-see Argentinian natural wonders include the unforgettable Iguazú falls, Patagonia’s Perito Moreno Glacier and awe-inspiring Andean peaks near Mendoza and San Juan that rise 6000m above sea level. Argentina’s cultural diversity is matched by the feast of geographical variety it offers curious travellers: from rich wetlands, glacial lakes and mountains to forests, salt flats and deserts. Animal lovers are also drawn to the country’s nearly 3,000,000km², home to the likes of penguins, flamingos, caimans and capybaras. Many volunteers also make the most of their free time to brush up their language skills by taking Spanish lessons. Given that Argentineans are famously fanatic about football, soaking up the atmosphere at nearby matches can also be a very memorable experience.

Travel

Volunteers meet at weekends and in holidays and generally make the most of their free time to explore Argentina and neighbouring countries. Iguazu Falls on the border with Brazil are spectacular and not to be missed, and neither is the Perito Moreno Glacier in the Parque Nacional de los Glaciares down in Patagonia. In-between are gorgeous colonial cities, buzzing artistic and cultural centres, vast sandy beaches, vineyards, the Lake District, the breath-taking Andes Mountains, gauchos and of course Buenos Aires and the tango.

Costs

Lattitude Global Volunteering fee: All departures: £2,500

What’s included?

• Processing of your application and interview
• In-country support
• Police check
• Assessing your suitability and matching you accordingly
• Registration with InterHealth (our travel health partner)
• 24/7 emergency helpline from our office in the UK and from our travel health partner
• In-country orientation
• Assigned Volunteer Coordinator to help with all pre-departure support and offer guidance
• Pre-departure briefing
• Debrief workshop once you are back from your placement
• Airport pickup
• In depth matching process to align your skills and interests with a placement that really suits you

Accommodation and food: the service provided by Lattitude Global Volunteering does not cover food and accommodation. However, we negotiate terms with each host organisation and in the large majority of placements the host will provide food and accommodation at no charge. Where this is not the case, you will be clearly informed in advance.

Other costs

• International Flights
• Onward travel to placement (if applicable)
• Travel insurance
• Inoculations (if applicable)
• Teaching Skills Course fee (if applicable)
• Language course (if applicable)
• Visa (where applicable)
• Pocket Money for weekends/holidays/post-placement travel
• Accommodation & food during holiday periods (may not be provided by host)

For an estimated break down of all costs you may have to budget for please click here

Fundraising

As a charity we always recommend our volunteer fundraise to help meet the costs involved in volunteering overseas. In many ways it is part of the whole experience. For more information and fundraising ideas please click here

Planning your trip

*Application deadline refers to the time by which your application must have been accepted and the £25 interview deposit paid.

Please note that the deadline is the last possible time allowed to get an application form in that allows us enough time to match volunteers and begin sorting out visas.

We always recommend applying as early as possible in order to secure your place.

We are currently accepting applications for departures in 2016 and 2017.

Volunteer in Argentina: apply now>>