Internships Details

About the Organization

The London School is a small private organization and the city's foremost language school. It is centrally located in the capital of the Kyrgyz Republic (one of the former Soviet Union Republics), Bishkek. The London School was established in 1998 and has been gradually growing ever since. As of now, there are an extensive multi-language audio-visual library, 12 modern classrooms and an international staff from the UK, the USA, and Kyrgyzstan. The London School offers Russian & Kyrgyz language courses to foreigners and English language courses to local students. The students are generally hard working and many of them are taking English lessons to secure themselves good jobs for the future. In addition to on-site intensive language courses, the school also runs summer packages that combine language study with home stay immersion and traveling tours within the country. Founded in 1998, the school is partnered with organizations such as The School of Russian and Asian Studies, CHI, IE3 Global Internships, and EFSE of UK.

Job Description

Teaching: The intern will teach English as a foreign language to students of different levels. There will be a preliminary week of training in order to help the new intern become more comfortable with their new position. The training will be conducted with a certified teacher. The full time job includes 24 hours of lessons a week (including a talking club) and two placement test interviews each week. If there is no interview, interns are expected to do two hours office work instead. The classes have between 6-9 students sometimes with a mixture of teenagers and adults taught together. Classes are taught based on the books from Oxford University Press, mainly Headway, although a variety of other books are also used. All students are placed into one of seven levels (Beginner, Elementary, Pre- Intermediate, Intermediate, Upper- Intermediate, Advanced, or Master Class). Lessons are conducted four times a week and a course lasts for 4 weeks. The length of the lessons is 80 min. Ordinary lessons are held on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. On Wednesdays there is either a talking club for advanced levels or phonetic class for beginners. Each level is expected to be completed within 4 to 5 months. Classes are conducted only in English. No Russian is to be spoken by either students or teachers in class. Students are used to having high -standards for there lessons at University and in grade school and have generally been exposed to learning languages through grammar rules. Reading is to be given as homework and can be discussed the following lesson. School has three unpaid holidays: Christmas (two weeks), Easter (one week), and summer (one or two weeks, depending on the school's calendar).

# of Positions per term

4

Start Dates

Any term

Duration of Internship

3-6-10 Months

Qualifications

Academic Background

Teaching: Open to most undergraduate/ graduate majors. Education, English, TEFL, Linguistics or related TEFL Degree or experience teaching English in a classroom environment is desired.

Skills/Experience

Teaching: Experience in working with adults and classroom management skills or ability. Study of English grammar prior to internship is recommended. Interns must be enthusiastic, and flexible. Ability to adjust to different culture.

Language Ability

Interns must be a native English speaker, Russian or Kyrgyz language skills are helpful for daily life, but not necessary to qualify for the internship.

Other Requirements

Candidates will be interviewed - by telephone or contacted by e-mail - by the Director of The London School. A Kyrgyz visa is required.

Internship Costs

Total costs vary depending on how long you plan to be abroad, where you will be living, your personal spending habits, and current exchange rates. The following estimates will give you a ballpark figure for this internship. Get help with the math from our handy Cost Calculator.

IE₃ Program Fee

The program fee* for the first term of any internship is $2950 - $3150. You do not pay tuition in addition to the program fee. Visit your University's IE₃ page for details, costs for additional terms, and campus administrative fees.

*The program fee noted above reflects the anticipated fee increase that will go into effect for the Fall 2010 term and will apply to all terms thereafter.

Estimated One-Time Expenses

Expense Type	Price
Host Site Fees	Airport Pick Up (optional but recommended):  800 Soms (approx $23)
International Travel	Approximately $2200
Visa Fees	$120-$150
Recommended Immunizations	$100 Approx

*See Additional Cost Information below.

Estimated Monthly Expenses

Expense Type	Price/month
Housing	Free-10,800 Soms ($300)
Food	Included in accomodation
Local Transportation	500 Soms (approx $15)
Recreation	1500 Soms (approx $45)
Personal Expenses	1000 Soms (approx $30)

Compensation

Teaching: Monthly stipend of approximately US $150 provided.

Interns are expected to find and buy their own airline tickets, but a $100 monthly flight reimbursement will be provided for an academic year commitment or for a six-month internship.

Additional Expense Information

School will provide free housing in a homestay The stipend is more than enough to live very comfortable here (the average salary in Bishkek is under $60 a month).

Additional Information

Courses in Russian and Kyrgyz languages are available. Language Course Fee: 10, 500 Soms/ month (approx $296)