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English lessons in Zanzibar

 
You want to improve your level of English as a foreign language? The tropical island of Zanzibar is a wonderful location to learn English! We organize one-on-one English language lessons. The language teacher can therefore respond individually to your level of English and your needs and interests.
 

One-on-one English language lessons in Zanzibar

 
Your language teacher Sarah is from Israel and has been living in Zanzibar since 2006. She has been teaching English since 1980, first in Bern/Switzerland, then in Israel and now in Zanzibar. You can get one-to-one lessons from her in Zanzibar Town, either as the main reason for your stay in Zanzibar or in combination with an internship or volunteer placement.
 
Sarah can teach on all Levels, from A1 (Beginner), A2 (Elementary English), B1 (Intermediate English), B2 (Upper Intermediate), C1 (Advanced English) to C2 (Proficiency). The focus of the lesson can be chosen freely.
 
The typical motivation of students is:
 
  • You want to prepare for an exam (College graduation, TOEFL, IELTS etc) or study in an English-speaking country
  • You want to develop your English skills for your professional career
  • You have learned English at school many years ago, but you came out of practise and want to refresh your skills
  • And all of this on a paradise island with dream beaches and a fascinating culture!
 
You can book a total number of hours and decide within which time frame you want to take the lessons. If you want to study English intensively, you can book a maximum of 4 hours/day x 5 days a week = 20 hours/week. If you want to do volunteer work or explore the island at the same time, we recommend 10 hours/week (typically 2 hours/day x 5 days/week). Even a lower weekly amount of hours is possible. Please keep in mind that you will also get some homework.
 
Classes take place at the home of the teacher in Zanzibar Town or alternatively at your accommodation or at public places in Zanzibar Town, such as cafes.
 
Teaching materials are provided at no extra cost.
 
The minimum number of hours to book is 20 hours.
 
If several people book together who have a similar level of English and interests, they can take the lessons together.
 
Info Box
 
Location: Stone Town, Zanzibar
Availability: All around the year
Minimum amount of hours: 20 Hours
Minimum duration: 1 week
Maximum duration: 90 days
Accommodation:
Shared apartment, host family, hotel
 
 
Convert to USD, GBP, CAD, AUD and other currencies
 
Rates (per person):
 
20 hours - 240 EUR (1 or 2 people); 160 EUR (3 or more persons)
40 hours - 480 EUR (1 or 2 persons); 320 EUR (3 or more people)
60 hours - 650 EUR (1 or 2 persons); 430 EUR (3 or more people)
80 hours - 860 EUR (1 or 2 persons); 560 EUR (3 or more people)
 
If you book only language lessons (without further activities from World Unite!), a one-time processing fee of 50 EUR will be added. This will include a coordinator who will escort you to your accommodation, accompany you to the language teacher for your first lesson, and is available for you concerning any help you might need during your time in Zanzibar.
 
Rates also include an Info PDF about Zanzibar.
 
Optional accommodation:
 
Shared apartment:
1 person: 10 USD/day
2 persons (in a double room): 7 USD/day p.p.
 
Hotel with breakfast:
1 person: 560 USD/week
2 persons (in a double room): 350 USD/week p.p.
 
Host family with full board:
Medium Standard: 18 USD/day p.p.
Superior Standard: 24 USD/day p.p.
Simple standard: 12 USD/day p.p.
 
Optional airport transfers:
 
From/to Zanzibar Airport or Seaport: 15 EUR one way
 
 

Accommodation in Zanzibar Town

 
In Zanzibar Town, there are accommodation options of various standards:
 
mostpopular transparent
Most popular! - This is the preference of most of our participants. You share an apartment with other participants (where you can choose between dorm room, twin/double room, and single room) or live in a house of middle standards with a host family.

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Comfort+ - For those with a need for comfort: Accommodation at a hotel or at a house of higher standards with host family.

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Adventurer - For simplest and cheapest deals: Homestays of simple standards.

mostpopular

Shared Accommodation:

Shared Accommodation in Zanzibar Town
 
There are several World Unite! shared accommodations throughout the city of Zanzibar Town - we choose them according to availability and proximity to your placement site. These are houses or apartments that are shared by our participants. All apartments are of comparable standard. We currently have such shared accommodations in the districts Shangani, Malindi, Baghani, Kigwajuni, Migombani and Mombasa.
 
Here are some examples of shared accommodation options:
 
World Unite! House in Zanzibar Town
 
 
The house is located in Zanzibar Town at a preferred residential area at walking distance to a beach. You can even see the blue ocean from the upper floor! The building has two floors, each with its own entrance, kitchen, toilets, bathrooms and shared living rooms. Furthermore, there is a large garden.
 
You can choose between 4-share dorm, twin/double room and single room (subject to availability). The 4-share dorm rooms are self-contained. The twin/double and single rooms share toilet and bathroom with other residents. All bed/rooms have mosquito nets, a wardrobe or chest of drawers, and a fan. Bed linen is provided; you have to bring your own towels however. The bathrooms have western flush toilets and cold showers, which is anyway more refreshing for the temperatures of Zanzibar. The kitchens are shared with other residents and have an electric or gas hob and a basic set of kitchen utensils that you need for cooking and eating.
 
There are communal living rooms with sofas and a dining table on each floor. The house also features a shared washing machine. The windows are barred for security reasons and at night, a night porter is on duty at the house. There are several small shops and supermarkets in the area, as well as restaurants.
 
Apartment in Stone Town
 
The apartment is located on the first floor of a historic building in the Baghani Area of Stone Town. It has four fully furnished bedrooms, suitable for single and double occupancy. In the kitchen, there is a gas and electric stove, refrigerator and functional kitchen equipment. There are two bathrooms with cold shower and western toilets. Bed linen is provided; you have to bring your own towels however. Each room has a ceiling fan and mosquito nets. There are plenty of restaurant options in Stone Town.
 

Host Families:

Rooms of middle standards with Host Families
 
Staying with a host family provides you with the opportunity to get a more intensive insight into the Tanzanian culture and society. We work with many host families in the city of Moshi. For boarding of middle standards, families are of the upper middle class of Tanzania. Their houses are of quality construction, equipment and furnishing for most of our participants. Often the houses have two bathrooms (which are also tiled), one for parents and one for the children and you. The shower is often cold, since a water heater consumes too much power. There is usually a western toilet in the house. There is Tanzanian and Western food like toast with jam, omelette and tea for breakfast; Meat/fish with vegetables and rice/ugali and chapati for dinner and to drink, tea, boiled water or homemade fruit juice. Vegetarian dishes are available on request. There is a fridge; food is usually cooked on gas. Most such families have one or two domestic workers who cook, clean and wash clothes by hand. Often, in the living room you'll find decorative curtains and doilies, stereo, television and an older laptop. The family also often, has a motorcycle or a thirty year old used Japanese car. Most of these things are, however, saved up over many years and the family still has financial difficulties to finance a college education for their children and use the car only for absolutely necessary journeys.

comfortplus

Hotel Accommodation and Accommodation of High Standards with Host Family:

Al Minar Hotel
 
Al Minar is a tastefully in Arabic and African style designed hotel with 22 rooms, located in a historic building at a central location of Stone Town, the historic part of Zanzibar Town, at walking distance to the Old Fort and the Forodhani Gardens. The rooms are all equipped with AC, minibar, traditional Zanzibari beds and tasteful furniture, free wifi, coffee and tea making facilities and a flat TV. From the large rooftop terrace you have a good view over the old town. The hotel is professionally managed and has attentive and friendly staff.
 
Accommodation of High Standards with Host Family
 
Staying with a host family provides you with the opportunity to get a more intensive insight into the Tanzanian culture and society. The food is usually very generous and cooked by maids who serve this for you and the family. Our participants have always been extremely pleased with boarding with host mother Rahma, who runs a catering company. Often, there are also drivers, nannies, gardeners and security guards as domestic staff who live in a separate house on the property. Such families usually have a power generator that is turned on in case of frequent power outages. Older children are often in boarding schools abroad like Malaysia, Emirates and England and you live in their nursery. Younger children are often at home and want to play with you.

adventurer

Host Family of simple standards

Accommodation of Simple Standards with Host Family
 
For accommodations of simple standards, we cooperate with the NGO "ZASO"(Zanzibar AIDS and Orphans Support), with whom we also carry out the program "Social Reality Tour". Some employees of ZASO, who are social workers or teachers, and belong to the middle class of Zanzibar, offer the accommodation to our participants with their families. The rents of our participants contribute to an improvement in the average income of the families.
 
Simple standard here, means that the house is built simply. The floors are mostly of bare concrete, the roof is of corrugated iron with no ceiling; there is often only an Arab Squat toilet (but with flush) and we shower with a bucket or a simple water pipe. The furniture is minimalistic and purely functional. In the living room, there are some slightly more representative pieces of furniture made of Chinese wood. The family usually has an old, used fridge; a radio and an old tube television are also often present. Your room has a bed with a mattress and mosquito net and probably some hangers on the wall and a small shelf or the like. The houses have electricity. Food is usually cooked outdoors over an open fire or gas cooker. The food is usually without options - for breakfast, there is tea with chapati; for lunch, ugali or rice with beans and vegetables, for dinner, the same. Meat is only taken for special occasions, and if so, in small quantities. The families usually consist of mother, father and some children; many more children from the neighborhood visit the house and are around the house. As transportation, the family has bicycles and sometimes, a motorcycle. Income from the rent you pay are often the only way for the family to finance the education of their children.
 
The families from ZASO are particularly hospitable to World Unite participants; however, please note that some are conservative Muslims, who do not have as much experience in dealing with Western foreigners. Please conduct yourself accordingly. Female and male participants can only share a room if they are married.
 
 

Check out our video on Zanzibar Town!

 
This video shows a day in Zanzibar Town with the volunteers Sabrina and Uwe from Hamburg. They show their placements at the Cultural Arts Centre and Vikokotoni environmental group, their accommodation, visit their host family and explain various interesting aspects of their daily life in Zanzibar.
 


Zanzibar - Spice Island in the Indian Ocean

 
Zanzibar is a tropical island in the Indian Ocean. Zanzibar is about 2 hours away from the Tanzanian mainland by boat or 20 minutes by plane. When you research “Zanzibar”, it usually means the main island of Unguja. Unguja was very rich in the past, because the island was a major trading port along the sea routes between Africa, Arabia, India, East Asia and Europe. This can be seen today in the mixing of cultures, the Arab- Islamic influence, but is relatively liberal in Zanzibar. Today, tourism is the main source of income of Zanzibar, besides the cultivation of spices and tropical fruits.
 
Stone Town, the historic core of Zanzibar Town is the only intact historic coastal trading town in East Africa. Within the fascinating labyrinth of narrow streets full of small shops, souvenir shops, restaurants, hotels and hectic smaller places, it feels like one is in a dream of the "Thousand and One Nights”. Fantastically, there are also the heavenly white beaches and crystal clear waters with colorful coral reefs, which compete with the Caribbean or the Maldives in catering to wealthy tourists. Zanzibar Town, in addition to Stone Town have plenty of other neighborhoods like Kiembe Samaki, Mwanakwerekwe, Mbweni and others, in which many organizations have their offices and are active.
 
In addition, there are many villages along the beaches and in the interior of the island.
 
The biggest problem of the island is the overwhelming poverty of the population, whose only employment consists of cultivation and fishing for their own and thus, have no money, cannot afford education for their children, medical care, etc. A lack of education means that the following generations can hardly escape the vicious circle of poverty. Population growth, which is mainly due to immigration of people from mainland Tanzania, results in the exploitation of nature.
 

Things to do in Zanzibar

 
In Zanzibar, there is a wide range of excursions: day and half day trips include a visit to a spice plantation, the Jozani Forest National Park, the mangroves of Mungooni and Uzi, beach resorts such as Nungwi, Paje and Jambiani, a "Safari Blue”, sailing through the Menai Bay Conservation Area, Prison Island, the Island Chumbe Coral Park and a city tour of Stone Town, where there are lots of interesting souvenir shops, bars, cafes, regular concerts and even a handful of "clubs" and events.
 
In your spare time, you can also take music and dance lessons, yoga classes and interesting workshops by the Cultural Arts Centres participants in Zanzibar.
 
Many participants also travel to the mainland of Tanzania to do a safari or to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. You use our accommodation Moshi, Kilimanjaro at affordable prices to stay as a base for activities in northern Tanzania.
 
 

Getting To Zanzibar

 
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Several airlines fly directly or with an intermediate stop at Zanzibar (ZNZ). Remember to book your flight and share with us your flight details. From Zanzibar airport, we will pick you up and bring you to your accommodation in Zanzibar.
 
If the flights to Dar-es-Salaam (DAR) are much cheaper, you can also fly there. From Dar-es-Salaam, you can travel to Zanzibar by a connecting flight or take the ferry. We can arrange a transfer for you from the airport to the ferry for 30 EUR/35 USD. The ferry ticket costs 35 USD and the ferry takes about 2 hours. We will take you in this case from the airport to the seaport. In Zanzibar, you will be picked up at the ferry terminal and taken to your accommodation. A connecting flight from DAR to ZNZ only takes 20 minutes and costs 50-80 USD.
 
If your placement is on Pemba Island, you can either take a daily flight from Zanzibar to Pemba, or you can take a ferry (Azam Marine), which however doesn't have daily departures. In Pemba you will be picked up from the airport or ferry port and brough to your accommodation.
 
 
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