Travel to Teach: Volunteer in China

China is a fascinating place to volunteer providing immense cultural exchange opportunities for volunteers and student alike. One of the worlds oldest civilisation's, since the first contacts were made few countries have been as fascinating to the West. Because of its size and highly developed culture China has always been a factor in western history in spite of its distance. Chinese civilizations out paced much of the world up until the 19th century. The Abacus, paper, the compass, and gun powder are all credited as the four great Chinese inventions.

China has the worlds fastest developing economy. The economic boom of the last 20 years has put the country at the forefront of world development, but has also created huge contrasts in society. Whilst living standards have risen rapidly for many Chinese, China still has approximately 130 million people living below international poverty lines. This economic boom has also brought a greatly increased need for foreign language skills, increasing the demand for English teachers and providing opportunities for students from poor backgrounds through learning other languages.

Students in China are respectful and very hungry for knowledge and a pleasure to teach in the classroom. This ancient culture provides many opportunities for a fantastic volunteer vacation experience.

Volunteer Locations:

Shanghai City
In many ways the epitome of modern China, Shanghai is China's largest commercial and financial center. Located at the estuary of the famous Yangtze River people come here for its culture, its history, its people and its vitality. Travel to Teach volunteers teach English as a foreign language in 20 under funded schools throughout the city.
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Mian Yang, Sichuan
Travel to Teach's second volunteer location is in the city of Mian Yang in China's western Sichuan province. The vast Sichuan basin is bordered on 3 sides by mountains creating a mild tropical climate and extremely fertile lands and the area has been a cultural centre for over 3000 years leaving numerous archaeoligical sites. Travellers are also attracted to the area buy its national parks and the famous Wolong Panda reserve.
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Su Zhuo, Jiangsu
Our most recent Chinese volunteer location is the central Eastern coastal province of Jiangsu. Our volunteers will be located in the historical city of Su Zhuo, famed for its network of ancient canals that criss cross it surrounded by traditional style white washed houses.
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Volunteer Programs in China

English Teaching
We teach English at schools throughout Shanghai and Sichuan, ranging from kindergarten through to college age students. There are also opportunities at many of the schools to teach other subjects including sports, music and drama. Volunteers receive a teaching induction at the start of their placement and will then typically spend their first one to two weeks observing and assisting other teachers, before teaching their own class. Each volunteer usually teaches between 11 and 15 lessons per week.

German Teaching
We have 3 schools in Shanghai which offer German lessons - 2 secondary schools and a primary school. Learning German is not common in China, and there is no National Examination for the students to study for. The main goal of the project is develop students interest in other languages and in the German culture. There is no German National Curriculum so you are free to bring your own teaching materials and encouraged to brings things such as coins, pictures and flags from Germany. It's also possible for volunteers to organize a German culture month in the schools.

Volunteers will teach around 11 to 15 lessons a week (35 to 40 minutes per lesson). You also can combine this project with teaching English in the primary school.

French Teaching
In Shanghai we have 2 schools where volunteers can teach French - one secondary and one primary school. Both the schools are language schools, so they are keen on building an environment for their students to learn more languages. Unlike English, French is not a core subject in the Chinese national curriculum, so volunteers will prepare their own lessons. Any games, songs, dancing, pictures from France are welcomed. The schools are also happy for volunteers to organize a French culture month when they are there.

Volunteers will teach 11 to 15 lessons per week (35 to 40 minutes per lesson). The French teaching can also be combined with English teaching.

Work with Disabled Children
Travel to Teach sends volunteers to the CereCare Wellness Centre for Children in Shanghai. This center is a facility specializing in the care and education of children suffering from Cerebral Palsy. CB is a condition caused by a brain injury that occurs before or shortly after birth. Because physical development is impaired a child with Cerebral Palsy has trouble controlling the muscles of the body.

Depending on what part of the brain is affected, a child might not be able to walk, talk, eat, or interact in the way most kids do. As a volunteer at the Centre one can help take care of and play with the children, help with the children’s personal development and hygiene education. Volunteers can also help the staff design the curriculum and help with the centers website by updating the information and writing reports and articles for it. Volunteers trained in nursing or medicine may be able to help with the children’s treatment plans. This is a truly worthwhile and rewarding project to take part in as a volunteer.

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