Programs

Building a Foundation with English Education

Language acquisition is best when you start early and when you provide exposure often. Grade school and middle school children are taught beginning and intermediate English with a variety of fun methods, including structured classroom time, learning activities, and English immersion camps. As children are learning English, there is an opportunity to learn about many different subjects.


Clear Objective
Children are speaking intermediate level English at the end of the 8th grade. Primary school parents have the obligation of providing 8 service hours/month at the Learning Center, middle school students have the obligation to provide 8 service hours/month at the Learning Center.


Grade Level Content Expectations

  • Grade 1:
  • Grade 2:
  • Grade 3:
  • Grade 4:
  • Grade 5:
  • Grade 6:
  • Grade 7:
  • Grade 8:

The Outreach360 program really enabled me to do so many things. I was able to go to an orphanage, where so many talented kids and young adults live, to learn about their culture as well as to have them learn about mine. The kids were so eager to learn English and it really made me feel good to be able to teach English to them. The look on the kids' faces when we sat down and worked together is reason enough to go on this trip. The Orphanage Outreach program really makes dreams come true, not only to you and me, but to hundreds of less-fortunate kids.
- Dana Paneck, Penn State University, PA


Basic Vocabulary Classes
Children in the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua have a strong desire to learn English.  It is a pathway to educational and career opportunities. But in the rural areas where we work, there are few teachers who speak English. This is a great opportunity to serve, whether you are joining us as an individual, a family, high school team, college team, or church group. 

During the school year, you may be teaching with other volunteers in a local grade school. You'll be using Outreach360 vocabulary modules, complete with large flash cards. Each classroom team of 3 or 4 volunteers will design a lesson plan to teach that day's vocabulary words; your Outreach360 program leader will give you tools and suggestions to be successful. The goal of teaching these simple vocabulary modules is to show younger children that learning English can be fun (even that learning itself can be fun), to give the students confidence that they can learn English, and to inspire those children to participate in our curriculum based English classes.

Curriculum Based English Classes

Also during the school year, you might be teaching in one of our ongoing, curriculum based English classes. You could be teaching in our English Institute using the well documented Side by Side curriculum or teaching directly in a local grade school classroom, using the school's official school English curriculum.   


Summer English Immersion Camps

During the summer, you might be involved in an Outreach360 English Immersion Camp. Students who study with us throughout the year in the classroom are able to join us in a fun, camp setting. Only English is used, whether playing volleyball, eating lunch, doing an art project, singing a song, reading a book, or watching a movie.   The goal for our summer program is exposure and fun. We are aiming to give kids exposure to the English language while getting them excited about learning.

Opportunities for Long Term Volunteers

Volunteers can join Outreach360 for any period of time, from one week on.  We invite you to consider joining us as a long term volunteer.  As a long term volunteer, you are both contributing individually as well as helping to lead and involve shorter term volunteers. 

As a long-term ESL volunteer, you would most likely be teaching in our Curriculum Based English Classes during the school year, and helping to lead the Summer English Immersion Camps.  This is a  great opportunity for volunteers who have limited Spanish knowledge. Volunteers who have some Spanish knowledge are also needed in our ESL classrooms; you will probably also be volunteering teaching Spanish Literacy. Click here for more information about long-term volunteering.