The USCCC Summer Program of 2016 provided me with an array of opportunities this year. Getting on board with the program took little to no struggle getting set up and ready to go. The staff in this organization kept up with me over email and would answer my phone calls to address any questions or concerns I had a the time. Arriving in Beijing, the agency I was placed with help me get things on track for success as a tourist and a English teacher. They helped me and others set up demo classes for the potential schools we could work at. In no time at all, I had landed my job at 21st Century International School of Beijing. The staff and teachers here were extremely kind and assisted me in settling into my role there. The resources provided to me in and outside the classroom were vital in my teaching the children in an immersive English environment. The USCCC helped me achieve not only my personal goals, but my professional goals as well. These experiences I have had on this adventure are ones I will not soon forget, and taught me many valuable lessons about myself and the world. I will definitely recommend this organization to my friends in the future.
The idea of going to China had been on mind for several years. The first time was back in 2000 when my parents told me of their fascinating experience there. The last time was in 2014, when I saw a sign on a van about teaching in China. So after fourteen years of simmering, it was finally time.
In March of 2015 I was on my way to what would become a memorable and fulfilling journey. While my final destination was to be the city of Zhangye, I first spent one week in the capital city of Beijing. That week was exhilarating - the magnitude of the city, the abundance of people, the wonderful variety of food and so many people riding bicycles ( not as a means of recreation, but as transportation)! Besides the main sites, I also visited the campuses of Peking University and Renmin University and a popular English training institution.
The next part of the journey started with a 24 hour long train ride from Beijing to Zhangye city in the province of Gansu. The ride offered a visual array of beautiful landscapes and sites along with an opportunity to see first hand the massive development projects of roads/bridges/ infrastructure and buildings. I knew it was a big country, but it seemed more immense and boundless than I had imagined.
Once in Zhangye, I began working the following day by visiting several public schools in the city along with fellow teachers from my host school. I took note of how things are done in the school, classroom, teachers approach, students behavior and response, resources utilized and so on. This went on for about 5-7 days and gave me a fair understanding of the similarities and differences in educating between our two countries and guided me in formulating my approach to teaching my students. Tuesday to Friday was spent preparing lessons, presenting an "English Corner" session to my fellow teachers, helping with marketing events, and classroom preparation. My students ranged in age from 7 to 16 and I found them to be much more disciplined in the classroom than their American counterparts. The students were generally very excited to see a foreigner on the street, much less in their classroom and thus classroom participation and interest was quite high and fun.
I learned as much from the students as they learned from me. I learned that Chinese students and parents have many of the same hopes and dreams as any other, but they spend much more time on studying than American students. I found the people to be very family oriented, friendly and curious. I made friends that I hope will be long lasting and I would recommend the experience to anyone.
As in any place, nothing is perfect and one must be sure to have a clear understanding of expectations in terms of duties/responsibilities, accommodations, class hours, pay schedule and other things before making a commitment. A successful experience will be predicated largely on how well prepared you are and your flexibility.
Initially I signed up with the CCC in 2010. At first I was a bit reluctant because I hadn't spoken to someone in person. However, after going to their main office in Columbia SC. (near my home), I met [redacted] and saw that this company is legit. [redacted] offered me some material about the program, and answered all my questions .The next week I attended her Chinese language course, and the week after that I was offered a job in China. Fast forward, 5 years later and I am still in China. I have been promoted twice, and even opened my own coffee shop on campus.
The CCC has always been very helpful, and I am grateful for the opportunity they have provided me with. I have known many teachers to come to China through them (around 50 in my school alone), and these teachers usually finish their contracts with a sense of accomplishment and pride. Now, my 6th year is approaching and I am looking at relocating, and CCC will help me relocate. I am happy to have chosen CCC, and they deserve an A+
Just wrapped up my five-week summer camp experience with the Little London English School in Hohhot, capital of Inner Mongolia. I was the lead teacher of a 10-member team with an amazing American coordinator, Lauren S[redacted], of Columbia, S.C., and a creative Chinese camp director, Yang Na, of the LLES's Office of Foreign Affairs. This was a first for LLES and a huge success. Thanks, Lea W[redacted] and the Chinese Culture Center, for the wonderful opportunity! :-)
USCCC was able to get me and my 2yo child to China and into a well-paying position in Wuxi which is approximately a 30 min bullet train ride from Shanghai. I was teaching English courses to junior high students who were always interested in hearing stories or just having a general conversation. The school provided me with an apartment and much assistance with getting to know the area. While there I was able to make many weekend trips to Shanghai and many other smaller surrounding cities. Most of the people I met were very friendly and willing to help me find things or get places. I had unfortunately ran into some issues with my visa but USCCC was very helpful in getting things worked out. Overall my experience in China and with USCCC was positive and I plan to continue to work in China for a couple more years so I can travel more and meet many more people!
Working with the Chinese cultural center has been an overall great experience. It allowed me to be completely immersed in the culture. The cultural exchange provided me with personal and professional growth that inspired me make more efforts to continue teaching aboard.
One highlight of the program was the Chinese program leader [redacted]. She was an excellent mentor and was a full time support to all the teachers in the program. Alongside that, the friendships and experiences I made have been life changing. I would definitely recommend this program to any ESL teacher.
Honestly, I could not have been happier with this opportunity. I've gained valuable teaching experience and made friends with a lot of Chinese teachers. Not only I was able to reinforce my teaching skills but I was also able to travel all over Beijing. Thank you to everyone who had helped me before the trip and during the trip.
The USCCC Summer Program of 2016 provided me with an array of opportunities this year. Getting on board with the program took little to no struggle getting set up and ready to go. The staff in this organization kept up with me over email and would answer my phone calls to address any questions or concerns I had a the time. Arriving in Beijing, the agency I was placed with help me get things on track for success as a tourist and a English teacher. They helped me and others set up demo classes for the potential schools we could work at. In no time at all, I had landed my job at 21st Century International School of Beijing. The staff and teachers here were extremely kind and assisted me in settling into my role there. The resources provided to me in and outside the classroom were vital in my teaching the children in an immersive English environment. The USCCC helped me achieve not only my personal goals, but my professional goals as well. These experiences I have had on this adventure are ones I will not soon forget, and taught me many valuable lessons about myself and the world. I will definitely recommend this organization to my friends in the future.
[redacted]
Teaching in China
March 21, 2016
My Experience
(as an English teacher in Zhangye)
The idea of going to China had been on mind for several years. The first time was back in 2000 when my parents told me of their fascinating experience there. The last time was in 2014, when I saw a sign on a van about teaching in China. So after fourteen years of simmering, it was finally time.
In March of 2015 I was on my way to what would become a memorable and fulfilling journey. While my final destination was to be the city of Zhangye, I first spent one week in the capital city of Beijing. That week was exhilarating - the magnitude of the city, the abundance of people, the wonderful variety of food and so many people riding bicycles ( not as a means of recreation, but as transportation)! Besides the main sites, I also visited the campuses of Peking University and Renmin University and a popular English training institution.
The next part of the journey started with a 24 hour long train ride from Beijing to Zhangye city in the province of Gansu. The ride offered a visual array of beautiful landscapes and sites along with an opportunity to see first hand the massive development projects of roads/bridges/ infrastructure and buildings. I knew it was a big country, but it seemed more immense and boundless than I had imagined.
Once in Zhangye, I began working the following day by visiting several public schools in the city along with fellow teachers from my host school. I took note of how things are done in the school, classroom, teachers approach, students behavior and response, resources utilized and so on. This went on for about 5-7 days and gave me a fair understanding of the similarities and differences in educating between our two countries and guided me in formulating my approach to teaching my students. Tuesday to Friday was spent preparing lessons, presenting an "English Corner" session to my fellow teachers, helping with marketing events, and classroom preparation. My students ranged in age from 7 to 16 and I found them to be much more disciplined in the classroom than their American counterparts. The students were generally very excited to see a foreigner on the street, much less in their classroom and thus classroom participation and interest was quite high and fun.
I learned as much from the students as they learned from me. I learned that Chinese students and parents have many of the same hopes and dreams as any other, but they spend much more time on studying than American students. I found the people to be very family oriented, friendly and curious. I made friends that I hope will be long lasting and I would recommend the experience to anyone.
As in any place, nothing is perfect and one must be sure to have a clear understanding of expectations in terms of duties/responsibilities, accommodations, class hours, pay schedule and other things before making a commitment. A successful experience will be predicated largely on how well prepared you are and your flexibility.
Initially I signed up with the CCC in 2010. At first I was a bit reluctant because I hadn't spoken to someone in person. However, after going to their main office in Columbia SC. (near my home), I met [redacted] and saw that this company is legit. [redacted] offered me some material about the program, and answered all my questions .The next week I attended her Chinese language course, and the week after that I was offered a job in China. Fast forward, 5 years later and I am still in China. I have been promoted twice, and even opened my own coffee shop on campus.
The CCC has always been very helpful, and I am grateful for the opportunity they have provided me with. I have known many teachers to come to China through them (around 50 in my school alone), and these teachers usually finish their contracts with a sense of accomplishment and pride. Now, my 6th year is approaching and I am looking at relocating, and CCC will help me relocate. I am happy to have chosen CCC, and they deserve an A+
Just wrapped up my five-week summer camp experience with the Little London English School in Hohhot, capital of Inner Mongolia. I was the lead teacher of a 10-member team with an amazing American coordinator, Lauren S[redacted], of Columbia, S.C., and a creative Chinese camp director, Yang Na, of the LLES's Office of Foreign Affairs. This was a first for LLES and a huge success. Thanks, Lea W[redacted] and the Chinese Culture Center, for the wonderful opportunity! :-)
USCCC was able to get me and my 2yo child to China and into a well-paying position in Wuxi which is approximately a 30 min bullet train ride from Shanghai. I was teaching English courses to junior high students who were always interested in hearing stories or just having a general conversation. The school provided me with an apartment and much assistance with getting to know the area. While there I was able to make many weekend trips to Shanghai and many other smaller surrounding cities. Most of the people I met were very friendly and willing to help me find things or get places. I had unfortunately ran into some issues with my visa but USCCC was very helpful in getting things worked out. Overall my experience in China and with USCCC was positive and I plan to continue to work in China for a couple more years so I can travel more and meet many more people!
Working with the Chinese cultural center has been an overall great experience. It allowed me to be completely immersed in the culture. The cultural exchange provided me with personal and professional growth that inspired me make more efforts to continue teaching aboard.
One highlight of the program was the Chinese program leader [redacted]. She was an excellent mentor and was a full time support to all the teachers in the program. Alongside that, the friendships and experiences I made have been life changing. I would definitely recommend this program to any ESL teacher.
Honestly, I could not have been happier with this opportunity. I've gained valuable teaching experience and made friends with a lot of Chinese teachers. Not only I was able to reinforce my teaching skills but I was also able to travel all over Beijing. Thank you to everyone who had helped me before the trip and during the trip.