EIL Intercultural Learning | Enriching lives, inspiring global citizenship

Featured Programme

Study Abroad: Lindau

Study German in the small, quaint town of Lindau. This island city surrounded by Lake Constance has only 25,000 people. Easy to navigate with plenty of outdoor sites and activities, Lindau is a safe and ideal place to study German. The school itself is small with a personable feel, each student getting personal attention. Open year round for students aged 17+, it also offers youth courses for teens during the summer.

Volunteer Abroad: Volunteer with a group in Mexico

What better way to spend a few weeks this summer than by getting on a plane and travelling to South Africa to volunteer on a local community project while discovering the beautiful Cape Town area? By volunteering in South Africa your group can help a township community while experiencing the warmth and hospitality of local people, the richness of their culture and learn more about the challenges they are facing.

Study Abroad: High School in Germany - Become an Exchange Student!

Ideal for Transition Year students, this programme is offered for as short as 8 weeks and up to a full academic year. Learn German by 100% full immersion into the language and culture of Germany by living with a German host family and attending a German Secondary School. Side by side with other German teenagers, your child will learn so much more than just a language and make memories that will last a lifetime.

Visit Ireland: Academic programs in Ireland

Ireland has a wealth of opportunities to bring your studies to life. The country has rich resources in areas as diverse as literature and politics, education and agriculture, history and archaeology, and conflict resolution and environmental issues. With over 20 years of experience in the field of intercultural education EIL Intercultural Learning can be the key to your very own custom designed program in Ireland, encompassing your academic work, a rich intercultural experience for your students and the safe handling of all logistical arrangements.

Study Abroad: Leaving Certificate Preparation in Spain’s Costa del Sol!

Spain’s Costa del Sol offers beautiful weather, a relaxed atmosphere and rich Andalusian culture all year round. Offered over Easter and just after school lets out, EIL Study Abroad is pleased to once again offer a 2-week course in Malaga specifically designed for students preparing for the Irish Leaving Certificate. A combination of Spanish lessons that follow the Leaving Certificate syllabus, staying with a Spanish host family and participating in a range of group activities makes this course a multi-dimensional means of learning Spanish, while specifically meeting the needs of Irish Leaving Certificate students.

Travel Awards: Argentina

Chilecito is a place of social contrasts and contradictions. Up to 20% of the population live in poverty and the poorer children often survive on one meal per day. This travel award offers one person the opportunity to help a project which caters for 40 children aged between 3 and 9 years of age. The children spend about 3 hours each afternoon, from Monday to Friday, at the project where they are served lunch and receive help with their homework. They also learn team sports and a variety of other hobbies and educational activities. As this is a new project a dynamic volunteer with lots of initiative and new ideas is required.

Volunteer Abroad: China

China is a huge country with the world's largest population. It is a land rich in culture, traditions, and technological advances dating back more than 40 centuries. An early producer of paper, gunpowder and silk, China has brought its modern economy forward in leaps and bounds and now has the world's fastest-growing economy. The country also faces many challenges such as the economic disparity between urban China and the rural hinterlands. Volunteers are needed to work on teaching, welfare and sport development projects.

Volunteer Abroad: Volunteer as a member of a group in Argentina

Join a of a team of willing volunteers or form your own and to contribute to the development of a disadvantaged community in the lively city of Santa Fe. For two weeks you will live and work alongside local people and learn more about their culture and the challenges they are facing. The volunteer project is a local school in a very disadvantaged area of the city. You will travel in a small team of 8-12 with an Irish group leader.

Volunteer Abroad: Mexico

Mexico is a country of huge contrasts comprised of almost two million square miles of coastline, white sandy beaches, desert, rain forest, mountains, fertile plains and one of the world largest cities. While some regions of the country are very wealthy there is ongoing concern about inequitable income distribution and the limited advancement opportunities for the largely indigenous population in the impoverished southern states. Volunteering in Mexico focuses on those living in poverty. Volunteers can make a valuable contribution in communities that are in danger of being left behind as a result of poverty, abuse of the environment and lack of economic opportunities.

Visit Ireland: Secondary School in Ireland

Gain a deeper fluency with English and an understanding of Irish society by living and going to school in Ireland. Open to international students between the ages 15 and 17 with a reasonable level of English, students stay with a local Irish family while continuing their education in Ireland. Study in Ireland from 15 to 40 weeks with start dates in the end of August and January.

News and Events

I finally felt like an insider

"I finally felt like an insider during my stay. I was in a home with a family and I enjoyed the feeling of security that comes with being with a family. I also learned about Irish culture by talking to the family and their friends and neighbours. They clued you in on the ins and outs of life here and it was refreshing. I also felt better knowing I could ask as many questions about life here and know I wouldn't be judged or viewed as an annoying visitor but as a friend."

A deeper understanding of Irish Community

"I gained a deeper understanding of Irish community My host mom and I would sit around the dinner table after we ate and talk about her children's education, taxes, their financial situation, love and marriage, grocery shopping and many more random subjects as they came up. Also, I picked up on a lot more Irish sayings from my family, which is awesomely helpful for meeting more Irish people and actually understanding what they mean."

Understanding Northern Ireland

"I really don't think you can understand the complexity of the situation, past & present, in Northern Ireland until you come and talk to people on all sides & perspectives. This trip has really helped me to see the conflict more from a perspective of what it must have been like to experience it instead of seeing it more abstractly as a series of political interactions."

Every talk, lecture and tour was fantastic

"Every talk, lecture and tour was fantastic! Each lecturer brought a different aspect and perspective to the discussion on conflict in Northern Ireland. In particular I loved the tour of Stormont - meeting the politicians was a unique and memorable experience."

Just before I go!!

Only one more day left and then I will be starting my adventures in Germany!! :D Im so excited, I cant wait! I have all my bags packed and Im ready to go. I still cant believe that I was lucky enough to recieve this scholarship from EIL. Its the trip of a lifetime and Im delighted that EIL have given me this opportunity and for that I would like to sincerely thank them. Zwei Monaten in Deutschland. Klasse!!

Aine and Ciara on Newstalk

Well done to Aine Carroll, Ciara O'Meara and James O'Connor of Open Heart House who were interviewed on Newstalk's "Global Village" about the work of the EIL Global Awareness Programme and of Open Heart House in Dublin. A really great listen... provides some fantastic information and perspective. Brilliant job guys! You can listen in here, the interview is at the start of Part 2.

EIL Network Weekend

Location: Dublin

Time: 21 April 2012 - 11:00am - 22 April 2012 - 2:30pm

Twice a year (in April and November) EIL Network members and staff meet for practical and informative workshops, debates and activities on global issues and lots of fun at the network weekends. The next Network weekend will take place in Dublin on the 21st and 22nd of April.

Winter Newsletter 2011

The Development Education Winter issue has just been published! Check it out here

Into the West - and laughing all the way!

We had a student get - together last Saturday in Ennis. It was a great opportunity for students from all around the globe to meet up, have some fun and chat aout how they're getting on here in Ireland.

Continually thinking in German

I'm now back a month after spending two months in Germany as an exchange student. It was an amazing experience and I'd even go as far as saying the best two months of my life!. I had soooooo much fun. I made many friends who I hope to have for a long time (some are planning on visisting me in the summer hols), I got to experience another culture and have grown to love it, I've tried many new things, become more organised and independant and my German has improved immensly.

Announcements

EIL around the world

EIL Intercultural Learning's Travel, Volunteer and Learning Experiences around the world in 2008. Over 2,000 participants travelled to/from each of these countries in 2008 on a range of study, volunteer and cultural exchange programmes.

Win a 6 weeks volunteering programme to Vietnam!

EIL Volunteer Abroad is offering one person the chance to spend 6 weeks living and volunteering in a local community project in Vietnam. See our Facebook Page for more information

Join EIL in supporting the Act Now on 2015 campaign and encourage the Irish government to uphold its commitment to overseas aid.

If you are a young person or student who has an active interest in world affairs and think that you would benefit from a challenging adventure in another culture then one of these awards could be for you. We are offering 14 fully funded awards where EIL covers all the programme costs and 8 partially funded awards where most of the programme costs are funded by EIL