Come to Ireland to experience our farming life! Have fun while you improve your spoken English and increase your opportunity of employment on English-speaking farms!
Students of Language Xchange Ireland’s Agri Work Placement & English Program undertake work placements in a variety of farm settings, including:
- Dairy
- Beef & suckler
- Cereal
- Equestrian
- Agricultural contractors
- And horticultural & forestry businesses
- Or a traditional Irish mixed farm
Students participating in this four-week (or more) agricultural program live and work on their Host Farm or business. We prepare students for future employment on English speaking farms or farms where English is the common language used by all staff. Our program is characterised by immersion in Irish farming culture and in the English language with an emphasis on health and safety at work, gaining practical experience and ensuring we provide support for students. We provide the following to all students:
- 1. Access to our Database to input their details and read about the Agri Work Placement program in preparation for coming to Ireland.
- 2. Access to our online e-Learning package 24 hours a day for 3 months prior to arrival in Ireland to learn about agriculture in Ireland, improve English language skills and to prepare for future employment.
- 3. A tailored Agri Module on e-Learning to ensure students are familiar with some of the English terminology used daily on English-speaking farms. This module also addresses Farm Safety in considerable depth. We want our students to be safe and well informed throughout their Irish experience.
- 4. Prior to being assigned a work placement, each student can select their top-three preferred work placement types. 95% of students will be offered a work placement consistent with their first preference.
- 5. On arrival, a manager from the LXI team meets students at the airport and a private bus brings the group to the town central to the farms.
- 6. All students are placed on farms within a 30 kilometre radius of their chosen town, Kilkenny or Clonmel. (Please note that where a group is larger than 20 students it may be necessary to extend this to a 40 kilometre radius to facilitate all students.)
- 7. Students attend an Orientation Meeting to answer students’ questions and introduce students to all aspects of the program.
- 8. Following the Orientation Meeting, students are introduced to their Host Families and go with the families to their Host Farm.
- 9. Our Language Xchange Ireland office provides a 24-hour emergency contact service and a member of the team will contact each student at least twice during the 4 week placement.
- 10. During the 4 week period, students meet for a Cultural Night and again for a full day Cultural Tour.
- 11. Students have an opportunity to evaluate their Agri Work Placement and Host Family during the first two weeks and again at the end. Likewise, the Host Farm supervisor has an opportunity to evaluate their student.
- 12. At the end of the four-week program, a manager from the LXI team meets the group at their private bus for airport departure, to ensure everything is in order.
- 13. On return to their home country, each student receives a certificate from Language Xchange Ireland with the details of their participation in the Agri Work Placement program.
- 14. The online e-Learning package remains available to students for a further six weeks after their program has ended, providing an opportunity to further practice their English language skills and to increase those skills to a higher level.
- 15. Agricultural programs are a minimum of 4 weeks in duration, but can be extended to much longer on request.
- 16. We offer a friendly Irish welcome and an experience of a lifetime, while preparing you for future employment!
Students experience day to day life on a working farm, gaining hands-on experience, developing confidence in farming and speaking English, and experiencing Irish life in a work environment as well as in informal, relaxed settings.
Like all our programs, Language Xchange Ireland work closely with our partner school on Erasmus + applications and queries. For further details, send us a message on “Contact Us” section of this web site. (Top right corner)
