China

Placement Locations

Placements are in one of seven provinces: Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujan, Guangxi, Yunnan and Sichuan. The cities where you will work are generally medium sized, with populations ranging between 250,000 and 400,000.

Roles Explained

A basic knowledge of Mandarin is required for these placements.

English Teacher

You will be based at a primary school (ages 5 to 11), middle school (11 to 18), vocational school (16 to 18) or college/university (19 to 23). Several of the colleges also offer teacher training. In collaboration with the Chinese teachers of English, you will be teaching conversational English. You will also operate ‘English Corners’, offering enthusiastic students the opportunity to have more informal discussions and to learn about western culture and traditions, which Chinese people are often very interested in. In return, there will be opportunities for you to practice your Mandarin Chinese in language lessons that suit your needs.

Chinese students enjoy team games and competitions. You may have text books to support you in planning lessons, but you can also use role play and songs and word games which help students practice the language they have learnt in other lessons. Volunteers in China are regarded as teachers, not students, and having Lattitude Global Volunteering volunteers in their school is considered a privilege by students.

There is a huge demand and need in China to learn English and as a result volunteers are very popular and treated very well. There are also opportunities for volunteers to get involved with other aspects of school life, such as joining the teacher football team or other clubs.

The schools Lattitude Global Volunteering work with In China are generally very large and as such there will always be activities going on that will keep you busy!

Placement details

We offer a range of different placements teaching English throughout China. Depending on your personal interests and goals, you will have the choice of teaching primary school children, secondary school pupils or students at teacher training colleges and universities.

If you opt to teach in a primary school, you could be placed in our host school in Huai’an City. This school is responsible for the education of 500 students and you will form part of a team of 300 staff members. Your duties as a volunteer would involve teaching around 14-16 classes of English per week to different age groups and different ability levels as well as helping to run and lead “English Corners”. These corners are informal English conversation groups that allow students to work on their speaking and listening skills in a relaxed setting outside of the classroom.

You might decide that you would prefer to work in a middle school, teaching students between the ages of 15-19. Our placement in the town of Longyan in the Fujian province, for example, would involve helping existing staff members teach the school’s 2700 students English. You would be expected to take 12 lessons per week, with groups of around 50 students, as well as helping with English corners on Wednesday lunchtimes. The school is also keen for volunteers to organise extra-curricular activities for pupils.

On the other end of the scale are our placements in teacher training colleges or universities. One of our host placements in this category is Yibin University, which has 11,000 students between the ages of 16-23. Your role in this placement would be to teach English as a foreign language to college students training to be kindergarten and primary school teachers. You would take between 16-18 classes per week from Monday to Friday and may also be asked to teach some classes in the nearby middle school.

In most cases meals are provided by the schools, usually in the school canteen. Alternatively, you can self-cater or eat off-site relatively cheaply. Most volunteers live on-site in a furnished flat. These usually have air conditioning, a fully equipped kitchen (including washing machine, fridge and microwave) and separate bedrooms. In most cases you will be placed with another Lattitude Global Volunteering volunteer. Your partner may be from the UK, Australia, New Zealand or Canada.

The living conditions volunteers experience are usually on a par with those offered to other full time teaching staff and as a consequence are very good. Most placements will also pay volunteers pocket money too.

Is it for me?

If you are looking for a new cultural experience then China is for you. It is best to go to China with an open mind and open eyes. You will gain a lot from immersing yourself and viewing things from a Chinese perspective and to understand Chinese ways of thinking. In China you will constantly find new doors opening for you. It is a truly unique cultural experience and will give you the opportunity to improve your students’ English language skills and future prospects. It will suit those who are enthusiastic, engaging, can think on their feet and have the confidence to teach up to 50 children at any one time.
If you are looking for a new cultural experience then China is for you. It is best to go to China with an open mind and open eyes and be open to understanding the Chinese way of thinking. It is a truly unique cultural experience and will give you the opportunity to improve your students’ English language skills and future prospects. It will suit those who are enthusiastic, engaging, can think on their feet and have the confidence to teach up to 50 children at any one time.

Need to know

Travel

China is a vast country with lots of exciting things to see and do. Although the country’s size may make it difficult to venture too far at weekends, most of our placements are situated not too far from a local airport and there will be plenty to get involved in in your home town. As well as festivals like Chinese New Year, Qing Ming Festival and the Dragon Boat festival, you will have the opportunity to visit local sights such as the beautiful Longkongdong caves near our placement in Longyan.

Most of our placements will also be located in towns where there are all the local amenities and conveniences you would expect back home such as bars, restaurants and leisure centres. There will also be the opportunity to learn Mandarin in your free time.

During your holidays when you have more time to explore China’s expansive breadth, the country offers some of the world’s most breath-taking tourist destinations. Among China’s must-see sights, the Great Wall, Xi’an’s Terracotta Warriors, Hong Kong and the Yuanyang Rice Terraces of Yunnan are good places to start!

Costs

Lattitude Global Volunteering fee:
All departures: £2,300

What’s included?

• Processing of your application and interview
• Pocket money (provided by host and at selected placements only)
• In-country support
• Police check
• Assessing your suitability and matching you accordingly
• Registration with InterHealth (our travel health partner)
• 24/7 emergency helpline from our office in the UK and from our travel health partner
• In-country orientation
• Assigned Volunteer Coordinator to help with all pre-departure support and offer guidance
• Pre-departure briefing
• Debrief workshop once you are back from your placement
• Airport pickup
• In depth matching process to align your skills and interests with a placement that really suits you

Accommodation and food: the service provided by Lattitude Global Volunteering does not cover food and accommodation. However, we negotiate terms with each host organisation and in the large majority of placements the host will provide food and accommodation at no charge. Where this is not the case, you will be clearly informed in advance.

Other costs

• International Flights
• Onward travel to placement (if applicable)
• Travel insurance
• Inoculations (if applicable)
• Teaching Skills Course fee (if applicable)
• Language course (if applicable)
• Visa (where applicable)
• Pocket Money for weekends/holidays/post-placement travel
• Accommodation & food during holiday periods (may not be provided by host)

For an estimated break down of all costs you may have to budget for please click here

Fundraising

As a charity we always recommend our volunteers fundraise to help meet the costs involved in volunteering overseas. In many ways it is part of the whole experience. For more information and fundraising ideas please click here

Volunteer in China: Planning your trip

*Application deadline refers to the time by which your application must have been accepted and the £25 interview deposit paid.

Please note that the deadline is the last possible time allowed to get an application form in that allows us enough time to match volunteers and begin sorting out visas.

We always recommend applying as early as possible in order to secure your place.