Service Learning Programme – INEPAS Spanish School – Guatemala

The Service Learning Program consists of morning classroom instruction through one-on-one language and afternoon practical work based in one of our social aid programs. Working directly with communities increases the desire to learn the Spanish language and the classroom time allows participants to be more effective in their social work.

For more information about our social aid programs and the different types of voluntary placement, please visit the website or contact us.

Requirements of Service Learning

• An intermediate level of Spanish (study on-site to reach that level before starting the Service Learning Program).
• Professional experience or current student status, preferably in social work, medicine, psychology or teaching.
• A four-week commitment. However, for both the volunteer and the community to get the most out of a placement, we recommend a longer period of time.

What is free and what you pay

Volunteering itself is FREE. Nevertheless Spanish classes and accommodation (home-stay families are available) need to be paid. A financial donation is asked for the two-week period training which includes:

• A presentation on the Social Aid Department of INEPAS.
• Visits to places of cultural interest in and around Quetzaltenango.
• Films or documentaries of political, socio-economic and cultural interest.
• Lectures and conferences on a variety of subjects, with the purpose of informing the student on the main issues of Guatemala.
• One-to-one talks on important customs and traditions in rural communities.
• Presentation of the student to the rural community.
• Sample Schedule of a Service Learning student.

More information.

Information about the association

INEPAS is both a Spanish School and a Social Aid Institution. We are the only Spanish school in Guatemala that is officially recognized by the Guatemalan State as a self-sustaining non-profit organization. We were given this recognition for performing a range of social, legal and humanitarian work in order to help the development of rural communities around Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. We received official recognition from UNESCO in 1998 for our work in educational development in Mayan communities surrounding Quetzaltenango.

Students at our Spanish school not only learn the Spanish language, but they also have the opportunity to learn about the history, culture and socio-economic reality of Guatemala through the various afternoon activities we provide.

The social projects carried out by INEPAS are funded entirely from the income provided by its language school, and in this way the organization remains completely self-sustaining.