Teaching English in Mexico: Bringing Together the Peoples of our Nations

Two University English Instructors in Querétaro, Mexico made a point to express their gratitude to our recent volunteer team.  In case you think you can’t make a difference by teaching English in Mexico as a volunteer, please read on, and then talk to a volunteer coordinator:

Hector Gomez, English Teacher, Universidad Tecnológica de Querétaro

“Our countries and people must be closer.”

I would really like to express my happiness and gratitude for the opportunity to be part of the wonderful experience our students in Universidad Tecnologica de Querétaro (UTEQ) have with the Global Volunteers. For us; teachers and students is a time of sharing, learning and making new friends with you. Every time we tell our students about your visit they become excited and they really want to do their best in communicating their thoughts – even though it is a language they are still learning and some of them really struggle.

Global Volunteers Team Leader Pam and her team always show respect and a positive attitude towards the students and this really helps making the communication easier. We have nothing to say except thank you for the excellent job you are doing for our students and teachers as well.

In this modern world our countries and people must be closer because we have so many things in common that we just ignore and this gives us the chance to feel closer to each other and also the students are able to learn what people outside Mexico think about us.

– Hector Gomez, English Teacher,  Universidad Tecnológica de Querétaro

Hugo R. Masse, Ma Ed., Universidad Tecnológica de Querétaro

“We bring together the peoples of both nations.”

I’ve found this program does a lot to bring together the peoples of both nations. As this is a public university, run on federal funds, many of our students come from rural areas, and haven’t had much contact, if any, with the English language, not to mention an actual native speaker.

When they are finally face-to-face with a member of the Global Volunteer visiting us, all their worries vanish. I realized how their faces changed from cautious to captivated. The volunteers’ teaching aids (maps, small whiteboards and markers, magazines, news cutouts, etc.) helped them cross the bridge, forget about their worries and experience this communication gap as a game and an opportunity to discover a fascinating person that could tell them about places and events they would have never imagined.

On more than one occasion, when the allotted hour was up, the students were unhappy that the class was over. I heard comments like “She is so nice”, “I really liked her”, “I wish we could have more time to talk.” Other groups asked when they were going to be visited. Apparently, word travels fast among students, and everybody was excited about practicing English with American volunteers. If it was up to me, I would have this sort of visit happen as frequently as possible, for the benefits are immense.

– Hugo R. Masse, Ma Ed.,  Universidad Tecnológica de Querétaro

Learn more about Global Volunteers’ Mexico Service Program here or chat online with a volunteer coordinator about teaching English in Mexico as a volunteer.