Summer Fellowship
Overview
The TALMA Summer Fellowship is a 3.5-week networking, professional development, and co-teaching experience for teachers from all over the world. Every summer from late June to late July, young professional educators gather together in Israel to co-teach English in high-need schools alongside local teachers, serving students of all backgrounds.
Aside from gaining international teaching experience, TALMA Fellows also strengthen their pedagogical and leadership skills, learn about Israel’s beautiful and complex history and present, and develop long-lasting relationships with like-minded educators from around the globe.
As a TALMA Fellow, you will teach English in a classroom in Israel’s geographic and socioeconomic periphery, together with a local teacher. You and your co-teacher will teach from Sunday to Thursday (the Israeli school week), from 8 am to 1 pm, focusing on helping your students become more confident & proficient English speakers. You’ll be provided with a tried-and-true curriculum, but you’ll also have the freedom to innovate and create to best serve your students. You’ll overcome language and culture barriers, grow outside of your comfort zone, learn from and teach your co-teacher, and build amazing relationships in and out of the classroom.
As a TALMA Fellow, for a few afternoons/evenings per week, you’ll engage in workshops, experiential learning opportunities, speaker series, social events, and more. You’ll gain exposure to entrepreneurial social ventures in the Start Up Nation; learn about innovative solutions and problem solving techniques to implement in your schools and/or communities; develop your leadership style and voice; and become a more skilled and creative educator. Get a glimpse into just a handful of some of our past sessions here >
We will incorporate opportunities to engage with Israeli society on a deeper, more personal level, and to help contribute to relief efforts. Community service and engagement will be a hallmark of our afternoon & evening activities this summer. If you’re looking to give back and help support Israel, this is the program for you.
TALMA Fellows are selected based on professional qualifications, commitment to education equity, and demonstrated leadership potential. This means that as a TALMA Fellow, you’ll be joining an incredible cohort of passionate, driven educators who are in Israel for an amazing adventure! You’ll have a ton of opportunities – both organic and planned by TALMA – to make professional connections, form new friendships, find travel buddies, etc.
In addition to the social events and professional development workshops that TALMA provides, the Summer Fellowship also includes round-trip flights from hub airports; ground transportation; accommodations; health insurance; and a food stipend to help cover meal costs.
Where We Serve
The TALMA Summer Fellowship locations range from Afula in the north, to Eilat in the south, and multiple cities in between! We concentrate our efforts in the geographic and socioeconomic peripheries of Israel, and below are some of the communities in which TALMA Fellows have lived and/or worked in past summers. Note that locations can vary from summer to summer, and each summer’s locations are finalized in the spring. Municipalities interested in bringing TALMA to their community can reach out to our team in Israel at info@talmaisrael.com.
In 2014, TALMA made history in Nazareth Illit (now Nof HaGalil) and Migdal HaEmek when we successfully launched the first-ever TALMA summer school program.
We launched in Jerusalem in 2015, and since then, TALMA Fellows have served in secular and religious Jewish schools, and Palestinian schools throughout East and West Jerusalem.
We’re proud to be involved in the Baltimore-Ashkelon Partnership. With the support of The Associated (Jewish Federation of Baltimore) and the Municipality of Ashkelon, we are able to bring Baltimore-area Fellows to this beautiful, culturally diverse beach city. Baltimore Fellows get special experiences organized by the Partnership, including special dinners, meet & greets, and more!
Ben Shemen Youth Village is an agricultural boarding school that’s home to hundreds of students, many who come from unsafe homes. Located only 25 minutes from Tel-Aviv, Ben Shemen features sprawling fields, farm-life, and a warm and loving environment. We are proud that the village is also home to the TALMA office.
We launched a summer program in Eilat following an immensely successful Full Year program in 2020-21. Eilat is a busy port and popular resort destination at the northern tip of the Red Sea.
Nahariya is a beautiful coastal city in northern Israel. One of TALMA’s newest summer communities, we began serving in Nahariya and nearby towns in the summer of 2021.
We are grateful to the Baltimore-Ashkelon Partnership – The Associated (The Jewish Federation of Baltimore) and the Municipality of Ashkelon – for funding Baltimore-area Fellows to serve in Ashkelon.
We are grateful to the Aronson Family Foundation and the Jay and Tammy Levine Foundation for funding TALMA Fellows to serve in Jerusalem.
We are grateful to the Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte for funding Charlotte-area Fellows.
We are grateful to the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ for funding MetroWest-area Fellows.
Eligibility
Thank you for your interest in the TALMA Fellowships! If you’re considering spending a summer and/or school year with us in Israel as a TALMA Fellow, review the eligibility guidelines below before applying.
(If you don’t quite check all the boxes, but feel you would be a great fit, email us HERE first and tell us about your experience and qualifications – we make exceptions for exceptional candidates!)
TALMA was created to address a lack of qualified English teachers in peripheral communities throughout Israel. As such, it is important to us that our Fellows possess the education and experience needed to lead change in TALMA classrooms. While we prioritize classroom teaching experience, folks with informal teaching/education experience are encouraged to apply.
We serve students of all religious, ethnic, and racial backgrounds, with a priority on students living in Israel’s social and geographic periphery. We work with all populations: religious and secular Jews, Bedouin, Druze, Palestinian and Arab-Israeli Muslims and Christians, and more.
We serve students of all religious, ethnic, and racial backgrounds, with a priority on students living in Israel’s social and geographic periphery. We work with all populations: religious and secular Jews, Bedouin, Druze, Palestinian and Arab-Israeli Muslims and Christians, and more.
We prioritize applicants who have Israel travel experience because TALMA is an intensive experience that requires our Fellows’ full focus. While the Summer Fellowship does allow time during the week and two free weekends for exploration (plus the opportunity to extend one’s travel), TALMA is not a tourist trip; by selecting Fellows with prior travel to Israel, we can ensure the focus is on TALMA and the students.
We also welcome candidates who have not been to Israel before, but have a relevant personal, academic, or professional connection to the country. Perhaps you teach in a dual language school that teaches students Hebrew or Arabic, or you majored in Middle Eastern or Holocaust Studies. Maybe you have familial ties to Israel, or your country participated in the recent Abraham Accords Peace Agreement. It’s important for us to know why Israel is meaningful for you – there’s no right or wrong answer!
As a nonprofit organization, TALMA receives a significant portion of funding from private foundation partners and grants. Many such funding partners place an emphasis on cultivating “young professionals” which traditionally refers to folks in their 20s and 30s. As such, our professional development and enrichment programs are geared towards Fellows in the earlier stages of their careers.
While we prioritize Fellows who fall under these parameters, we welcome applicants of all ages to apply!
We provide our applicants with first-class professional development, so we want candidates who value opportunities to learn, grow, listen actively, and engage with their peers.
send us an email below!
FAQs
While we evaluate candidates on a case-by-case basis, we generally look for education professionals ages 21-39, who have at least a Bachelor’s degree and a minimum of one year of teaching experience. We prioritize applicants who are certified classroom teachers, although we welcome alternative teaching experience as well. We also prioritize applicants who have previously traveled to Israel, but welcome all who have a relevant academic/professional/personal connection to Israel. Learn more about eligibility HERE.
We don’t have definitive age restrictions, but our programming is geared towards educators in their 20s and 30s, and Fellows live in roommate-style housing. If you’re comfortable with this and feel you would be a great fit for the Fellowship, we welcome you to apply!
TALMA is a Jewish organization that’s open to all, and thus the Summer Fellowship welcomes candidates of all religions/faiths/backgrounds who meet our eligibility requirements. There are a couple of Jewish rituals that are a part of the experience, such as kabbalat Shabbat and havdalah, that are inclusive and welcoming. Fellows are expected to attend all TALMA events during the Summer Fellowship, regardless of religion/faith/background.
Yes! Shomer Shabbat Fellows are able to room with another Shomer Shabbat teacher of the same sex, and all provided meals are kosher. We spend two weekends together as a community, and all of our activities are Shabbat-friendly (no traveling, no writing, no electronics use, etc.). Fellows also have the option to light Shabbat candles and attend synagogue.
Yes! Our Fellows come from all over the world, and we welcome all applicants who are fluent English-speaking education professionals.
TALMA Summer Fellowship benefits include airfare from home airports, all TALMA-related travel within Israel, housing, health insurance, and meal stipends. In exchange for the TALMA benefits, Fellows commit to participating in all aspects of our summer programming, including co-teaching, enrichment, and more. (Note that Full Year Fellows receive additional benefits, including ulpan and a generous monthly stipend in lieu of meal stipends.)
We cover round-trip travel from home airports. Note that Fellows are responsible for getting to and from their departure airports.
A typical day usually involves co-teaching for the first half of the day, followed by afternoons and evenings of enrichment events, professional development, networking, relaxing, and of course, eating lots and lots of delicious food! While we are a program with a full schedule, you will have free time to check out the local scene, explore Israel on your own, visit friends and family, etc.
Locations change from summer to summer; we’ve served all over Israel, from Nahariya in the north, to Eilat in the south, and dozens of cities in between! Locations are finalized throughout the spring. You can watch videos from some of our previous locations HERE.
TALMA Fellows can rank their preferred locations, but while preferences are considered, our team ultimately determines placements based on the schools’ needs and best fit.
Summer accommodations vary depending on your placement location, but you can generally expect to live with a roommate in a hotel-style room, apartment hotel, or dormitory. A limited number of single room accommodations are available in select locations.
About half of the students who participate in the TALMA Summer Program are in upper elementary school grades – rising 4th, 5th, and 6th graders. The other half are in middle and high school (rising 7th through 10th graders).
TALMA offers Fellows top-notch training, workshops and seminars on a wide variety of topics, from language teaching best practices and classroom pedagogy, to cross-cultural communication, to innovation and problem solving.
Testimonials
Why TALMA? In the words of our Fellows…
It’s impossible to truly express how special TALMA is without experiencing it yourself. This past summer I was fortunate enough to teach and learn both in the classroom and outside of it. TALMA is such a unique program and opportunity. Initially, you feel like you’ve been catapulted out of your comfort zone, but soon feel like you are at home.
I have taught English as a Foreign Language with TALMA for the past two summers. Both years I served underprivileged students in the city of Jerusalem, and can’t wait to return for a third summer next year!
TALMA is a well-organized, professional development program for young teachers seeking a meaningful teaching experience during their summer off. Participants participate in an enrichment program and professional development workshops while also co-teaching in an Israeli classroom. The balance between work and play is appropriate, and participants can choose from a number of different “tracks” to suit their traveling preferences.
In Jerusalem, the most independent track, TALMA teachers live in an extended-stay hotel in the heart of the city (close to the markets, shopping, and night life), and grow to feel like residents of the city. We get two free weekends to travel, and two organized weekends to share experiences with the TALMA teachers stationed in different regions. Both years I have had so much fun, developed meaningful relationships with Israeli teachers, built strong connections with my Israeli students, and improved my own teaching/reflective practices to boot! I highly recommend it!
Application
The application below is for both new and returnee applicants. If you are also interested in the Full Year Fellowship, fill out the Full Year Fellowship application instead of this one, and you can indicate there that you’d also like to be considered for the Summer Fellowship.