The English Development Program

The English Development Program provides one-on-one weekly lessons to English learners in remote rural communities to help students develop their reading, oral and listening skills. By training teachers, who in turn train their students, the program seeks to maximize the benefits beyond the individual and encourage self-sufficiency at the grassroots level.

For many communities in developing countries, English teachers are synonymous with foreign volunteers. However, most volunteers work for a defined amount of time in an area, and subsequently leave to continue their lives back in their own countries. Their irregular arrivals and departures create a disruptive and inconsistent learning environment for students. In collaboration with universities and college students in America and Australia, iTeachCommunity provides regular and sustained access to ‘e-volunteering’ teachers for English language training. By using Skype, we could deliver this service anywhere, anytime.

The Language and Culture Exchange Program

For students with neither the time nor resources to travel abroad yet yearn to experience and benefit from the richness of other cultures, the Language and Culture Exchange Program delivers the world to their university campus.  In this program, language learners are connected to native speakers across the globe. Through this process, language learning becomes culturally-affirming rather than culturally-invalidating. By connecting participants in a reciprocal exchange of knowledge and expertise, the program deconstructs “teacher-student” dynamics. For English learners of countries in which English acts as a gatekeeper to access in education and employment, conversation practice develops confidence in speaking that will be invaluable to furthering their personal careers. Most importantly, however, the regular conversations foster human connections that transcend classroom walls, national borders, and create friendships that may last lifetimes.

The Language Exchange Program

This program is supported mainly for fund-raising purposes. The service provides opportunities for paying participants to engage in English language exchange to improve spoken English. Funds raised are used to subsidize the English Development and Language and Culture Exchange Programs. iTeachcommunity is incorporated as a not for profit organisation. It offers its services to the global community on a non-discriminatory basis. However, for participants who could afford to, we provide the program on a commercial basis, in order to subsidise participants who are financially challenged. 

Our global partners

SHCC (Self Help Community Centre), Cambodia 
- an English Development Program partner

This community school is a non-government organisation that provides free education and social services to over 1400 disadvantaged children and young adults in a farming province. It employs native Cambodians and works through an empowerment model at the grassroots level to develop self-sufficiency. It aims to improve employment opportunities and quality of life, and addresses issues in education, environment and health care. iTeachCommunity supports its approach to self sufficiency by delivering English lessons via Skype to the teachers of the school, so they in turn could teach English more effectively in the classrooms.

Northern Sydney Institute TAFE College, Australia
- a chapter host in our English Development Program

Northern Sydney Institute TAFE is one of the largest vocational education and training provider in Australia. It delivers over 1,200 nationally recognised vocational qualifications and its courses are well-known for its practical application and relevance in the industry and in adapting to and meeting community needs. Students from this college have participated in the delivery of English lessons to Cambodia since iTeachCommunity was founded in Brown University in 2010.

Universiti de Panama, Panama
- a Language and Culture Program partner

The Universiti de Panama joined the language exchange program in 2013. iTeachCommunity members from Brown University, Skypes with university students in Panama to learn Spanish and vice versa for English. This service is seen as of mutual benefit to both Brown students learning Spanish and Universiti de Panama students seeking to improve their English.

Keio University, Japan
- a Language Exchange Program partner

Keio University joins the Language Exchange Program as a paying member. Students from Brown University provides a language exchange service to students from the languages department of Keio University who are seeking to improve their spoken English. This service with Japan will be provided on a fee for service basis. The professor from Keio University whom  iTeachCommunity liaises with to set up the partnership, believes that while Japanese students are highly literate in written English, having interactive conversations with native English speakers improve their listening and oral skills.