TRONWELL ENGLISH INSTITUTE
Santiago, Chile
Chile-006
Internship Description
About the Organization:Tronwell English Institute, which currently has branches in Santiago, Viña del Mar, Antofagasta, Calama and Puerto Montt, is an English Institute with an established methodology for teaching communication in the English language. In the near future Tronwell will be opening branches in other cities too. The vision of the institute is to become the most innovative in the country. They try to have a mix of teachers with varying accents to give a broader education for the students. Mainly, the foreign teachers are from the U.S. but some come from Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the British Isles as well.
Tronwell has its own methodology and materials. The institute gives an initial 4-day orientation and training for new teachers and afterwards provides on-going training. Materials to be used are created by the research and development department. Of course, a teacher can use outside materials if they fit into the lesson.
Tronwell offers high-tech, state-of-the art facilities and teaching methods. They are well known nationally and internationally for their language teaching and their testing facilities. It is a highly professional environment with some high profile business clients, such as LAN airlines.
Local Activities:
Tronwell's main institute is located in the capital city of Sangiago in the upper class neighborhood of Las Condes. There are about 8 million people living in Santiago. It is a modern, urban environment with ease of transportation via the metro and buses. There are many activities in the area from museums and nightlife to shopping and extreme sports. It is also very easy to travel throughout Chile and South America using inexpensive weekend offers through the premier airlines LAN.
Job Description:
Interns will be regarded as staff members. As foreign teachers they have the option to chose between an In-House or In-Office (depending on availability) contract, or a combination of both. Added to this they also have the option to do In-School classes.
For the In-House classes they will prepare and teach between 4 to 6 classes per shift, depending on the contracted shift. Morning shift teachers have 6 classes and evening shift teachers have 4. Conversational classes of 45 minutes to groups of 1 to 8 students from basic to advanced level of English according to the Tronwell program. Students are adult learners starting at age 17. Most classes are held at the institute.
The In-Office classes – where the teacher travels to the office to teach a group – are a minimum of 12 classes (18 hours per month). Recently Tronwell has introduced specialist courses which are also open to interns but require further training. This includes preparation for TOEFL , TOEIC and RELTA (pilots and ATC´s). They also offer English for hotels, restaurants, medicine, law and IT. Some examples of companies Tronwell works with are DHL, Banco Paris, 3M, the Sheraton and the Ritz Carlton Hotel.
In-school classes, which are optional, entail taking over classes in a local school. The English classes are of all levels the students are between the ages of 5 and 18.
Generally courses last approximately 60 hours and tests/quizzes are given every 20 hours.
Additional Information:
See their website at: www.tronwell.com.
Read IE3 Blog - regional director's visit to Santiago de Chile
MENTOR/SUPERVISOR
Within the English department the In-House supervisor is Katerine Dickson and the head of the In-Office department is Kevin Wright. They are responsible for assigning classes and all related academic functions.
EQUIPMENT
The company supplies all equipment such as books and materials. Tronwell uses their own materials for the In-House classes and the World Link books for In-Office classes. Any additional books that the intern feels would benefit their teaching could be discussed as well. Tronwell’s resource center is available to teachers.
EVALUATION
Tronwell has its own regulated system of evaluation that periodically reviews the performance of the teachers. The interns are expected to prepare all of their classes and are evaluated by their coaches, supervisors and their students. Tronwell is willing to provide copies of all the relevant evaluation forms as a final evaluation.
Start Date:
Internship can begin any time of the year, but preferred starting months are between April and October. Minimum 6 months commitment. Up to 1 year.
Duration:
Minimum 6 months to 1 year.
Number of Positions:
More than one intern can be considered during any given period
Intern Qualifications
Academic Background:Certified university degree (in process or completed) in any major is required. Preferred majors: Teaching, Education, English, TESOL. Linguistics, Translation/Interpretation, Elementary Education, Childhood Psychology. Tronwell can also accept students in areas such as business, finance, medicine, etc. as they need teachers who can offer classes in "Business English" or "Medical English," for example.
Skills/Experience:
Teaching experience or teaching ESL/EFL is a plus.
Language Requirement:
NO SPANISH REQUIRED but two years or more of college level training or more are highly recommended to facilitate daily living in Santiago. Basic Spanish training can be provided. Applicants need to be native speakers of English. Tronwell teaches eight different languages including English, interns are able to take any other classes at no extra cost.
Other Requirements:
ADDITIONAL APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS
All applicants are required to take an English language proficiency test to assess the level of the grammatical knowledge of the prospective teacher. This is followed by a simple questionnaire, which is based upon customer service. Psychological tests are also applied. If the applicant passes this first phase, he/she will be contacted for a telephone interview.
Internship Costs
Program Fees:The program fee includes tuition, internship site development and placement, pre-departure orientation, international health insurance, internship monitoring and follow-up.
Click here for application information, including the program fee, for your school.
Note: The program fee does not include airfare, housing, living expenses or any other estimated costs noted below.
Note:
Any financial or in-kind support provided by the host organization is explicitly indicated.
Compensation:
The salary varies depending upon the teacher’s shift and number of classes taught. Interns will receive the same starting guaranteed salary as all new teachers: $170.000 (approx. US$320) for the evening shift or $190.000 (approx. US$358) for the morning shift. This means that someone working the evening shift (5-9pm) theoretically teaches 4 45-minute classes. Should they show up to teach and there not be any students, they would still get paid for the shift. Also, this base salary is for 4 or 5-hour workdays. When the intern is off his or her shift, it is recommended to take on "In-Office" classes - traveling to offices to teach small groups of professionals. For this type of classes the teacher receives pay per class and can receive from 11.000 (approx US$20) to 25.000 (approx. US$47) per class. By teaching a few of these classes teachers can significantly augment the salary.
If the intern opts for an In-Office only contract the minimum they can take is 12 clases (18 hours) and thus the correspondent salary would be 135.000 (approx US$ 254). The average salary for In-Office is between 400.000 (approx US$754) and 800.000 ( approx US$1500) The In-school classes pay between 112.000 and 120.000.
Accommodation:
None provided but interns will receive assistance in locating suitable housing. There are options to live with a homestay family, rent a room in a home or apartment or to rent a furnished apartment. Generally, rents run from about $190-$350 per month depending on the option, locale, etc. There is a one-time fee charged by a local agency to arrange housing and to assist with any issues that arise during your stay. The cost is $98 for interns staying for one term and $140 for two terms.
International Travel:
Approximately $1400. Interns also need $100 in cash upon arrival at airport for multiple entry tourist visa.
VISA REQUIREMENTS
According to Chilean Law, the company upon the signing of the contract sets up a work visa. If time permits, Tronwell can process the visa before the intern travels to Chile. If that is not the case, the intern can enter Chile with a tourist visa and will obtain the working visa after arrival.
Cost of Living:
Approximately $550-$650 per month for rent, food, local travel, incidentals and recreation.
Budget Note:
Applicants should use these estimates for preliminary budgeting purposes.
IE3 will issue an official budget after acceptance by the host organization.
Application Information
Academic Credit:
Up to 12 credits available as per arrangement with supervising department.
Application Materials:
IE3 is a program of the Oregon University System.
Students from participating
partner universities are also eligible to apply.
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information and select your school from the list.