English Language Teacher Placements Ireland -- (TEACHER / CUSTOMER References at the bottom of the page! )


In addition to being a wonderful experience for your students, the Language Exchange Ireland programme should be a great experience for you!

We recognise that you have responsibility for your students when in Ireland and must be available at all times to attend to any arising issues. However, we will support you to take some time to experience Ireland for yourself. There are many different ways to experience Ireland’s South East, such as hiring a car or bicycle and taking some day trips to relax and see places of interest to you.


As well as supporting you to have some free time, we are on-call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week should you need any
additional advice or support


YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED....


Where do teachers stay while in Ireland with students?


Teachers can choose to stay at a hotel, bed and breakfast or guesthouse. The choice is yours...and we can assist you by providing local information!

Why choose Ireland?

Ireland is an English speaking country with light, easy to understand accents. Our country is renowned for its friendly people and warm, welcoming hospitality.

The Language Xchange Ireland team.....

- Is experienced in delivering student programmes
- Provides exceptional quality English Learning Programmes - the quality of our programmes has led to many schools making repeat bookings
- Thoroughly checks all Voluntary Work Placement providers and Host Families
- Has 100% Health and Safety record
- Supports students and teachers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week while in Ireland
- Has a transparent fee structure with no hidden costs
- Delivers an orientation meeting for all students on arrival in Ireland
- Asks students to provide feedback at cessation of work or Business-English Language School and Host Family placements to inform
future work placement and Host Family selection
- Provides certification of each student’s work experience in an English speaking business environment


In addition to providing useful information for students, the orientation establishes expectations of Language Xchange Ireland and work placement providers and assists students to become familiar with the geography of the local town and Irish culture....The content of our orientation has been complimented by teachers “as lessons [students] will learn for life” (Austrian teacher)....

What makes us different from other providers?

  • We initially come to you - We can arrange a presentation in your country. We have presented our programmes in schools and colleges in Austria, Poland, Sweden, Norway and Finland.

  • Structure – we offer students the opportunity to improve their ‘Business English’ through our structured, multi-tiered English Learning Programmes, consisting of an e-learning Package, a Voluntary Work Placement/entry to our Business-English Language School/Summer Language School/Business English for Adults/internship, an Irish Host Family and access to social and cultural events and activities.

  • Additionally, as locals ourselves, we include fun social and cultural elements as part of the Language Exchange Ireland experience. Our much loved Cultural Tour has been informed by student feedback - visiting the Guinness brewery and the beautiful Hook Head Coast and lighthouse have been the most popular activities. (Students have also told us that they enjoy go-karting, bowling and Irish dancing!!)

What type of voluntary work placements do we offer students?

We currently offer placements in:

  • - Hotel and catering environments, cafes, restaurants and bars
  • - Factories and mechanical industry
  • - Equestrian centres, agriculture and garden centres
  • - Museums, art galleries and general tourism industry
  • - Legal, estate agents, accountants and office environments
  • - Childcare and nursing homes (Police clearance required for both)


    However, if you are interested in a particular placement type not listed here, please ask....
    as established members of the local business network, we have a broad network of Voluntary Work Placement providers!


    Please note the following important points:

    1. It is an absolute requirement that the school’s insurance policy covers students to participate in LXI programmes. Where students undertake a Voluntary Work Placement the insurance policy MUST cover them as a volunteer in a workplace - basic travel insurance is not sufficient. Please note that students are unlikely to be covered by the insurance of the work placement company.
    2. It is the direct responsibility of the school and teacher(s) to ensure insurance policies are valid. LXI does not translate or validate insurance policies.
    3. Teachers are responsible for ensuring that all students upload a copy of the correct, valid insurance policy onto their database account for viewing by work placement companies. Teachers are also responsible for ensuring that students bring a copy of the insurance policy on the first day of their work placement.
    4. LXI also requires every student to arrange private health/travel insurance to cover any unforeseen medical expenses during your stay in Ireland. It is essential to bring a copy of each student’s insurance policy and a European Health Insurance Card (formally known as E1 11). This card provides FREE access to a doctor, hospital and some dental services.



    What other teachers say about their experience with Language Xchange Ireland....



    After Brexit we were evaluating agencies in Ireland as an alternative. With Language Xchange Ireland (LXI) we found a reliable partner for Vocational Work Placements. In April 2022 we sent the first 2 students, in May further ones for a three weeks' placement in a technical environment. Our Vocational Trainees were very satisfied with both their placements and the host families.

    The support provided during their stay by LXI was impeccable.


    Andrea Turtschi - VEC School Switzerland - 2022.



    " Excellent " This is the word that most often appeared in the evaluation of our students from Slovenia after they returned from Erasmus + VET mobility that took place in Ireland in March 2022 (project “Building bridges hand in hand”). Their VET mobility in Ireland was organized by our partners at Language Xchange Ireland, so a big thank you to Con, Sinead, Moira and Bernie for a great organization of work placements, in creches and making sure they felt most welcomed and comfortable, with their amazing host families. The students returned home full of knowledge and wonderful experiences and we are already planning their return to Ireland.


    Jana Hafner - VEC School, Slovenia -2022.




    "LXI: Highly Recommended!

    We sent 3 students from a vocational high school in France, for a 4-week work placement in Kilkenny and Thomastown. It was a great experience for our students because it was the first time they did a work placement in an English speaking country. The companies chosen by LXI perfectly suited our students' profiles. So, our 3 trainees enjoyed their workplaces, as well as their host families, and appreciated the social and cultural events planned by the organization. I would like to add that, as a teacher, I particularly appreciated that LXI manages everything: the placements, the accommodation, the outings, the transports, etc... What I would also like to highlight is that Con Furey is a person you can rely on. Despite some issues we encountered,such as the difficulty in getting a visa for one of our students, a problem of booking, a red level weather alert, a flight cancellation ... Con immediately reacted and assisted us.

    Needless to say that we are looking forward to working again with Language Xchange Ireland for a new project."


    Dominique, English teacher from a French Vocational School



    "We've just come back from an unforgettable trip to Kilkenny/Clonmel. Our students worked in various placements and have all benefitted enormously from putting their English skills into practice at their workplace. Work Experience in an English-speaking country is a perfect opportunity to improve your language skills and enhance your professional skills at the same time. We will definitely come back! "


    Katrin (Teacher at a business high school in Austria)



    "We booked a combined one-week Business English Course and a two-week Work Placement Programme in the office environment for a group of students at our vocational college. We had chosen LXI as our host organisation because LXI provides exactly the services we wished to be offered for our Erasmus+ programme. After accompanying our students to Ireland, we are favourably impressed by the programme LXI carried out on-site. The free e-learning package enabled our students to prepare themselves properly for their stay in Ireland. We started the programme in Ireland with a one-week Business English course as we wanted to give our students the opportunity to improve their English language skills, enhance their social skills and life skills, and, last but not least, settle in before doing their work placements. We were very satisfied with the schedule and social events during this first week of our stay, as our students had lots of opportunities to speak English and interact with Irish people. In retrospect, we think that this Business English course was perfectly suited to preparing for work placements. The two-week work placements were also an excellent opportunity to improve English language skills, enhance life skills and particularly to gain some international business experience. In our opinion, staying with an Irish host family is a very important part of the whole programme, too, because it enables you to get to know the Irish hospitality, the everyday life of an Irish family, the Irish culture and provides you with lots of opportunities to speak English. Furthermore, we enjoyed the social and cultural events very, very much. Everything ran smoothly during our stay, therefore, we can definitely recommend LXI for the organisation of customised Business English courses and work experience programmes combined."


    Teachers: Marianne, Matthias - German school, May 2016




    "As teachers in a technical college located in France, we strongly recommend Language Xchange Ireland as a host organization. We have worked together for the first time as part of a Leonardo Project and it was a real success on a business, social and cultural level. The organization welcomed our 26 students together with 4 group leaders for 3 weeks and offered us top quality services. They provided an e-learning program prior arrival which was perfect to better prepare and assess the students and then placed them in suitable work placements and in caring, experienced host families. We thank them for taking charge of our transfer from and to the airport. This really made our life easier. We also emphasize on Language Xchange Ireland’s professional expertise by offering us a continuing support to deal with homesick issue or any difficulties that we went through. We are grateful for all social activities they organized. These enjoyable and pleasant moments enabled us to discover new places and learn more about Irish culture while helping us to settle in. Ireland with its beautiful landscapes, lovely and welcoming inhabitants will assuredly charm you. Living in Kilkenny city was very positive. It’s a safe, dynamic and gorgeous city. Its small size makes convenient to visit businesses and arrange social gatherings. In this short period of time, the students established strong relations with the local environment to an extent that some wished to stay while others have already planned to go back in a near future. For all these positive points, we are looking forward to work again with Language Xchange Ireland and keep on improving our collaboration. Do not think twice! Ireland is the place to go!" (Marianne G., Denis P. and Dimitri Dalpin-Louis, French School, September 2014)

    "I really found the experience of bringing my students to Ireland on this work placement programme to be excellent. The fact is that on previous years we used to go to the UK but not anymore. We always took it for granted that we got good service there but the service we got in Ireland from Con and Kieran was way higher than anything we got in the UK. Those guys in Ireland really know how to offer a programme, from being picked up in the airport, their orientation, the placements and host families being within 10KM of each other (all of our students were within 10KM of each other). They really looked after us, students and teachers alike. We are planning our next trip for 2012. Thanks guys". (Mrs. Anna Mariniak, Poland, March 2010)

    "With Language Xchange Ireland (LXI), we found the appropriate partner for our work placement project. It has been the first time for our school participating in such a programme but definitely, it won't be the last. LXI found the perfect employers and probably the nicest host families for our students. The orientation meeting with the students at the very beginning of our stay was essential and important for the success of this project. Everyone enjoyed their stay in Ireland and none would have liked to miss the experiences we made. The project was the perfect mixture of fun, education, training and getting to know Ireland and its folks. Incidently, everyone improved their English skills. For us, it was a really cool adventure which we will never forget for the rest of our lives. So, thanks a million to Con, Kieran and LXI. I am really looking forward to seeing you again for our next project". (Mr. Michael Pfeifer, Austria, October 2011)

    "We are a Commercial High school in Vienna Austria, offering different programmes ranging from Information Technology to Quality Management as well as International Business. Doing work experience abroad is an essential part of the IB program, we used the services of Language Xchange Ireland (LXI) in June 2010. We had 19 students and 2 teachers from the school and we stayed for 2 weeks in the South East of Ireland. LXI provided a very unique product which we could only experience in the UK before we discovered LXI. We were met at the airport on arrival and received an Irish welcome. From there our coach brought us to Clonmel where our host families were awaiting our arrival. Following a detailed orientation on Sunday, each of the students were brought individually to their work placement on Monday morning. As we require our students to gain experience in a company and to do some work abroad, LXI seems to be the ideal partner for us. The work placement programme is a very different product than the traditional language school and definitely builds students' confidence and their ability to communicate in English. On the Second weekend we were brought on a One day cultural trip and during the week we had an evening in Bowling and on the final day we were brought to the airport and assisted right up the point of airport security at departure. Throughout our stay LXI were very flexible and willing to assist with any issues that arose. Their product is also quite flexible and they are willing to evolve to meet the needs of the groups, work placements and host families. Overall we were very happy with LXI and have booked 35 students and 2 teachers to come to Kilkenny and Clonmel in June 2011. Earlier this month, Con Furey visited our school in Vienna and spent 30 minutes answering questions to our 2011 group. This was very much appreciated by our students and the school and re-inforced our confidence in this unique company and product. It is my ambition to bring another group of 20+ students to Kilkenny in 2012". (Mag. Silvia Hirschler, Head of Work Experience Program, Austria, November 2010)

    "This letter is written to express my full satisfaction with the services provided by Language Xchange Ireland (LXI), 54 Berekley Lawn, Thomastown, Co.Kilkenny, Ireland, organising and supervising a work experience program for my students in Clonmel, Ireland.
    After a personal presentation of the program at my Business College in Vienna, the internship was organised in a very professional manner. LXI selected the work placements and host families according to the interests and skills of my students. The whole trip was customized to our needs. We spent 2 weeks in Clonmel, my students worked in different companies and stayed with host families. As they had to fill in a detailed application form in advance, LXI was well informed about our group and matched the work placements with the host families accordingly. It was our first stay in Ireland and everything worked out perfectly well. We were picked up at the airport and Mr. Quigley's personal support was more than one could expect from an organiser of a Language Exchange program. In addition to the internship, LXI offered us a variety of additional activities to choose from (different trips, Irish dancing etc). I intend to continue my business relationship with LXI as it is compulsory for our students to take part in a work experience program and I was more than satisfied with our first stay. Furthermore, I will recommend LXI to other business colleges in Austria. I can thoroughly recommend LXI for the organisation and supervision of internships and tailor made work experience programs". (Mag. Inge Koch - Polagnoli, Vienna, June 2012)

    Why choose Ireland? - Our school, Secondary School for Catering and Tourism Celje, Slovenia is a vocational school and one of the reasons for our decision to go for a work placement in Ireland was certainly the language. Our teachers and of course also our students are very much aware of the fact that having an opportunity to use English in an authentic environment, professionally and in everyday situations is the best way to learn a foreign language. Prior to coming to Ireland students were prepared through online Language Xchange Ireland support, which turned out to be very useful for them. The agency LXI offered to provide accomodation with families, which made the learning environment for our students even more intercultural. Students were exposed to the real life situations also when they finished their work. Cultural tours, social and fun activities; bowling, bodhran lessons were also a part of Ireland experience and very much enjoyed by the students. Placements in hotels and catering environments, cafes, bars, offices were carefully chosen, students were assisted at their work, but after a while they were also able and trusted to work on their own. Good relationships among the employees contributed to the general impression of acceptance and a warm, welcoming hospitality. The LXI agency was also prepared to respond to our needs and fulfilled our aims in terms of gaining intercultural, professional and language competences and be involved in the process of life-long learning, which is the idea of Erasmus+ projects.


    " The Team @ Language Xchange Ireland are the 1st Work Placement Partner company in Ireland & the UK, for Erasmus / PON, to be awarded three Certificates of excellence under ISO World Wide Standards; ISO 9001 Quality, ISO 45001 Health & Safety, ISO 14001 Environmental Management. " LXI prepare your students for future employment and improve their English too! "

    LXI takes the WORKLOAD off Teachers when preparing for a group Work Placement / Experience Program, in Ireland;-
    i) Profiles & CV's are completed on line by the student and reviewed by LXI. Advice emails are sent directly to your student.
    ii) Frequently Asked Questions are available on line 24/7.
    iii) LXI provide an exclusive online "Program Preparation" e-learning package; to prepare your students for the work environment, for speaking English in Ireland and or the amazing adventure ahead of them.
    iv) LXI have an online diary available to all students, teachers and host families with a schedule of events - 24/7.
    All of the above can be accessed via a phone, tablet or lap top 24hrs a day.
    v) During their stay in Ireland LXI offer 24hr a day support and emergency call out service. "

    Visa requirements for entry to Ireland

    Short term language students notice

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