GeoVisions and EIL UK Partner For Conversation Corps

As we close out 2009, we are hard at work on 2010!  That's the way it goes, I think.  The year is ending and we get excited by many new possibilities that lie ahead.

We are especially excited about our partnership with EIL UK (The Experiment in International Living), which will extend the reach of our Conversation Corps and Conversation Partner programs.

In the Press Release below, we have set out the highlights of what this partnership brings to the table.  More importantly, it teams GeoVisions with a UK registered charity that has been around since 1937, and who enjoys a great deal of name recognition in the UK.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 18, 2009

GeoVisions and EIL UK Announce Partnership to Promote Worldwide English Tutoring Programs

American university students, twenty-somethings, even retired persons have been traveling around the world helping people improve their English on short-term Conversation Tutor programs offered by GeoVisions.  Now, GeoVisions and The Experiment in International Living UK (EIL UK) have announced a partnership to bring these same opportunities to volunteers from the UK.

EIL UK will offer the popular Conversation Corps and Conversation Partner programs in the UK, and have recently launched an updated website (http://www.eiluk.org) highlighting the features of these opportunities.

The Conversation Corps provides native English speakers a chance to visit 15 countries around the world, live with a family, and in exchange for room and board give conversation tutoring for 15 hours a week.  Family stays can be one to three months in length.  When the tutor is not assisting with conversational English, they can take language classes, explore the local area and interact with people in the region.  Tutors are provided with a helpful GeoVisions publication, “A Tutor’s Guide: Teaching English to Families and Children”.  Tutors will often spend a certain number of hours helping children with conversation skills, and then can help adult family members who want to improve speaking English as well.  Tutors also have access to a “Help-Me-Teach” email hotline to address any specific challenges they face.

Conversation Partner programs are similar to Conversation Corps, but instead of being family-based, tutors help groups of people with their English conversation skills.  They may be available in an “English Corner” at a school for students who want to practice the language.  Some Conversation Partners help at Hospitality Colleges, provide speaking opportunities for hotel staff, civil servants, emergency workers, office managers, even customers at, for example, a bookstore.  Travelers on the program generally provide about 20 hours a week of conversation help.

These programs offer an inexpensive way to visit a country and provide a base for additional travel and exploration.  They provide a good experience to get to know a local culture before embarking on additional travel following the program.  Destinations available on these programs range from Thailand, Vietnam and China, to Costa Rica and Ecuador, along with Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon with European countries as well, like Spain, France, Austria, Germany and Italy – more than 15 countries in total.

GeoVisions is a US-based travel and student exchange organization that offers work exchanges in the United States, internships, volunteer and English-teaching programs around the world.  GeoVisions has offices in New Hampshire and Connecticut in the United States, and Bangkok and Paris.

EIL UK is a UK registered charity with over seventy years of offering educational and cultural exchanges that encourage individuals to increase their intercultural awareness, share cultures, and improve language skills.