Voluntourism in Cambodia: Conversations with Foreigners

Teaching English abroad is an incredible opportunity that many adventurous 20- and 30-somethings are taking advantage of these days. However, most schools require prior certification along with a year-long commitment. To ease into the teaching and traveling world, Conversations with Foreigners — a Cambodian-based voluntourism program — offers alternatives to the formal teaching experience.

CWF has volunteers commit to just three months of teaching English with no fees — volunteers are only required to pay their own living expenses. This is a big difference from many other volunteer programs, but CWF focuses on sustainability through student fees rather than relying on foreign money. In addition, they have a transparency policy to ensure accountability, making them a conscious voluntourism program.

With the background check aside, their program also varies greatly from the average teaching experience because it focuses on practical, conversational English. The volunteers go through 10 days of training and then spend the next 11 weeks getting Cambodian natives comfortable speaking English. Many are only familiar with reading and writing, so CWF provides a safe space for them to practice this foreign language.

Though the program doesn’t certify its volunteers to teach English in schools, it is a great way to try out the teaching role. Many travelers commit to teaching English without any idea of what they’re getting into, so CWF is a low-risk way to not only immerse yourself in Cambodian culture, but also see if teaching is really for you.