This past fall, I was able to spend four months living in a foreign country. If you look into university study abroad programs, prices can range from $6,000 for the short summer semesters to $11,000 and $18,000 for the fall and spring semesters, with prices fluctuating depending on which country you go to.
I did my fair share of looking into different study abroad and volunteer programs and by far the best price deal I found was with the International Language Programs (ILP). The International Language Programs is a non-profit organization that sends college-aged volunteers to eight different countries around the world to teach English using their own specific language teaching method.
The program fee is $2,520 and includes your airfare, housing, visa and food for four months abroad, but spending and in country travel money is not included. You have the choice of teaching English in China, Mexico, Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania, Thailand, Dominican Republic and Romania. Dominican Republic and Romania have higher program fees due to the economic conditions of the country and the nature of the service you’ll be doing there. In the Dominican Republic, you’ll be teaching English to underprivileged children who can’t afford the ILP tuition, so the fee for participating in this country is $3,720. While in Romania, you’ll be working in an orphanage, so the program fee for this country is $5,470.
The earlier you apply, the better chance you have of getting your first choice of country. ILP takes applications up to one-and-a-half years in advance. This program genuinely tries to provide you with the best money-saving tips and deals available. They give you fundraising ideas and show you the different money saving options that they have through ILP. For example, if you’re married, you and your spouse can go “two for the price of one” in China. If you have a friend going with ILP the same semester as you, then you automatically save $300 with the friend discount. If you can’t choose which country to go to, then opt in for the “flex pay” option, where they send you to the country they need you most and you save $150. By paying your program fee in full (within the first couple weeks after acceptance), you’ll get $100 sliced off the top of your program fee.
The best deal of all is the Head Teacher discount. As a Head Teacher, you get to go on the program for free (excluding Dominican Republic [reduced to $1,000] and Romania [reduced to $1,500]). Your program fee gets waived and you basically get your airfare, visa, housing and food for four months for free. Additionally, you receive a stipend from ILP to cover most travel expenses while abroad. To be eligible as a Head Teacher, you have to have participated in the program before in a previous semester. Just be aware of all the additional responsibilities you’ll have in this position.
While ILP claims to not be affiliated with the LDS church and religion, there is a strong presence of it within the program. Most of the volunteers are of the LDS church and International Language Programs has a code of conduct pretty similar to the standards of the church. However, the code of conduct that you must agree to follow before you confirm your spot to volunteer is only to keep volunteers safe while abroad. I personally am not LDS; nonetheless, I never had a problem or felt uncomfortable with the presence of it in the program.
My semester teaching English and traveling in China with ILP has changed my life forever. I grew out of my comfort zone, discovered who I am as a person, gave the gift of the English language, fell in love with kids from a foreign country, immersed myself in an entirely different culture, made amazing new friends, explored new places and left a piece of my heart in my new home across the world. The benefits of spending a semester abroad are immeasurable.
If you’re at all interested in spending a semester abroad, then I highly recommend looking into the International Language Programs. It’s cheap, it’s rewarding and everyone is so helpful from the time you’re accepted to the time you return home from your meaningful volunteer experience.
You can visit their website to learn more!