English Literacy Facilitator

Project Description

Since 1989, over 900 Volunteers have served in The Republic of Vanuatu. Home to the Melanesian Ni-Vanuatu, Vanuatu is a beautiful archipelago in the South Pacific with a total population of approximately 320,00 people spread across 83 islands in 6 provinces. Vanuatu proudly maintains strong cultural traditions known as kastom (custom) and is one of the most linguistically diverse countries in the world with over 130 indigenous languages.

Vanuatu has a 15-year National Sustainable Development Plan from 2016-2030, which follows three main pillars: societal, environmental, and economic. Quality education is featured under the societal pillar, with a stated goal of “an inclusive, equitable, and quality education system with life-long learning for all.” The Vanuatu Ministry of Education and Training is the largest government service provider and employer in Vanuatu, and ensuring reliable delivery of quality education services in remote island communities is an ongoing challenge.

In Vanuatu, children are taught in their local language through 2nd grade. From 3rd grade onwards, instruction switches to English. Children in Vanuatu therefore face a unique challenge in learning the English language while simultaneously learning to read. While the Ministry of Education has developed a robust literacy strategy to meet this challenge, only 65% of 4th graders meet minimum literacy standards.

Peace Corps Vanuatu’s literacy project is implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Education and aims to support teachers, school leadership, and community members to improve English literacy outcomes among primary school students. The objectives of the literacy project are to:

1. Enhance the capacity of teachers in general and literacy teaching practices

2. Increase the capacity of teachers to use inclusive practices in the classroom

3. Increase students’ foundational literacy skills

4. Increase the ability of families, caregivers, and community groups to support students’ access to learning

5. Increase students’ and teachers’ access to teaching/learning materials and resources to support literacy development

Peace Corps Volunteers (hereafter, Volunteers) serving as English Literacy Facilitators are paired with a primary school teacher who serves as the Volunteer’s counterpart. Volunteers will work closely with primary school teachers to co-design and refresh lesson plans, co-teach selected classes, and co-facilitate teacher training workshops on instructional techniques for general and literacy teaching skills. Volunteers may also work directly with students through the facilitation of after-school reading clubs, 1:1 tutoring sessions, or camps to facilitate literacy development. A key focus of Peace Corps Vanuatu’s literacy program is gender equitable and disability-inclusive education. After identifying students who need increased support for equitable access to education, Volunteers will co-develop inclusive education resources to directly improve literacy skills and build teacher capacity in this area.

Volunteers will be creative in facilitating variety of activities to engage parents and community members to childhood literacy. Depending on community and school needs, Volunteers will also have the opportunity to facilitate increased access to literacy resources, such as through Information & Communications Technology (ICT) support to teachers, students, and school administrators, establishment of a school library, or computer labs. Volunteers will be assigned to one primary school but may also work with community groups, school committees, and provincial leadership.

All Volunteers may take on secondary activities in areas such as climate change, gender equality, youth development, or volunteerism.

COVID-19 Volunteer Activities

As a Volunteer, you will be trained in how to best protect yourself from COVID-19 exposure and understand the impact of and steps to reduce stigma related to COVID-19. You may also have the opportunity to engage with your community on implementing or enhancing COVID-19 mitigation activities, such as COVID-19 prevention and risk reduction strategies including social distancing, hand washing, mask wearing, addressing myths and misconceptions related to these practices, and vaccine hesitancy. Activities will be tailored to address the COVID-19 circumstances in the communities where you will serve.

Required Skills

Qualified candidates will have a Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science degree in any discipline and a strong desire to teach English.

Desired Skills

• Bachelor’s degree in Education or a Master’s degree in Education
• At least one year of classroom teaching experience at the Early Childhood, Elementary, or Middle School level. Montessori teaching experience is also acceptable.
• Experience providing language and/or literacy tutoring with children and/or adults
• Experience working with students with special needs
• Experience in training and workshop facilitation

Required Language Skills

There are no pre-requisite language requirements for this position.

The national languages of Vanuatu are French, English, and Bislama, though Bislama is most commonly used in formal or business scenarios. Bislama is a pidgin language, meaning it is derived from several languages, mostly English and French.

In addition to the national languages, there are over 130 indigenous languages in Vanuatu, used almost exclusively at home or in social situations between Ni-Vanuatu people.

Trainees will receive Bislama language training during the 10-week Pre-Service Training (PST) and must achieve an Intermediate-mid level of proficiency to swear in. Peace Corps will support Volunteers to access ongoing language learning throughout service for both Bislama and local languages in the communities in which they serve.

Basic knowledge of French can be useful as there are many Francophone communities in Vanuatu, however Volunteers will not be placed in French language schools.

Living Conditions

Remote Islands

Vanuatu is among the most remote places where Volunteers serve. This may be exciting for some and concerning for others. It is a short trip from Vanuatu to Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji, all of which are popular vacation destinations for Volunteers serving in the South Pacific.

Community Locations

Volunteers serve on a variety of different islands where communities range from small villages of about 300 people to semi-urban provincial centers, although the majority of Volunteers serve in rural communities. All Volunteers should be prepared to live and work in an under-resourced, rural, tropical island environment with unpaved roads and high levels of heat and humidity during the summer months.

Air travel by small plane is required to reach most Volunteer communities. In their communities, Volunteers will walk nearly everywhere, and will encounter varied terrain from rocky coral beaches to muddy jungle paths. Volunteers should feel comfortable traveling in boats, canoes, pick-up trucks, and small planes.

Volunteers on the same island are placed in clusters within reasonable proximity to each other, but may be separated by several hours of walking, a boat ride, or a truck ride.

Housing:

Volunteers have their own house located in or near the compound of a host family. Interacting with their host family will facilitate community integration, and many Volunteers share meals and take part in their host family’s daily activities such as gardening and fishing. A Volunteer’s connection with their host family provides multiple benefits including a sense of security, increased language skills, friendship, cultural exchange, and a deep understanding of Ni-Vanuatu culture.

Houses are constructed of local materials, such as bamboo, thatched roofing, concrete blocks, or corrugated iron. A majority of Volunteer houses have concrete floors and a kitchen and bathroom separate from the main house. Most Volunteer houses do not have running water or electricity. Volunteers access electricity through shared solar panels or generators. Volunteers access water from shared village water spigots, rainwater collection tanks, or wells. Some Volunteers remodel their pit latrines to introduce the community to building and maintaining Ventilator Improved Pit (VIP) toilets. Peace Corps prepares Volunteers to adapt to these living conditions during pre-service training.

All Volunteer sites have 3G or 4G cellular network coverage, although internet access may be spotty at times.

Utilities and Transportation:

All communities have small stores, which provide access to limited dry goods. Provincial centers will have larger stores, a market, bank, and post office. Transportation to a provincial center may be unreliable and Volunteers often rely on relationships with community members for access. Peace Corps staff train Volunteers to prepare accordingly and allowances are made where necessary.

Food/Diet

The diet in Vanuatu consists primarily of banana, taro, yams, manioc, breadfruit, rice, leafy greens, canned corned beef, fish, and coconut milk. Vanuatu is blessed with an abundance of tropical fruits and fertile soil for planting vegetables. Pre-Service Training includes guidance and practice for sustaining healthy diets in Vanuatu and cooking island food with traditional stoves and open fires.

Clothing:

Vanuatu’s dress code is informal but conservative. In professional settings, clothes include short-sleeved shirts or blouses, lightweight pants, and loose-fitting calf-length skirts or dresses. While staying with host families and in informal settings in the community, Volunteers usually wear knee-length shorts (basketball or board shorts are most common), loose-fitting calf-length skirts or lava lava (sarong), and a t-shirt (not sleeveless).

Serving in Vanuatu

Learn more about the Volunteer experience in Vanuatu: Get detailed information on culture, communications, housing, health, and safety — including health and crime statistics — in order to make a well-informed decision about serving.

Couples Information

Vanuatu can only take cross-sector couples. Therefore, your partner must qualify and apply for the following position:

Community Health Facilitator

Couples that are not married may be assumed to be married or asked about their marriage plans.

The Peace Corps works to foster safe and productive assignments for same-sex couples, and same-sex couples are not placed in countries where homosexual acts are criminalized. Because of this, same-sex couple placements are more limited than heterosexual couple placements. During the application process, Recruiters and Placement Officers work closely with same-sex couple applicants to understand current placement opportunities. For more information please visit: https://www.peacecorps.gov/faqs/lgbtq/.

Medical Considerations

Before you apply, please review Medical Information for Applicants to learn about the medical clearance process.

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