Volunteer Work in China

Volunteer work in China: Teach English

English is of growing importance in China. It is taught as a mandatory subject from year three upwards. Your volunteer work in China will include teaching English at schools in and around Shanghai; in the rural province of Si Chuan (Sezuan), about a three-hour flight from Shanghai; or in the city of Zhengzhou, 16 hours from Shanghai by train.

Your volunteer work in China will include teaching 11-15 English lessons per week on your own. It is sometimes possible to teach sports lessons instead of English. You will prepare lessons and organise leisure time activities for the children. Class sizes vary. One class could have up to 50 students, and there could be even more students in each class in the more rural schools. During the Chinese summer holidays from July through August, you will have the option to volunteer do volunteer work in China in a pre-school, in a facility for disabled children, or at a Chinese summer camp. At these camps, children and teenagers learn English in a playful atmosphere.

During your volunteer work in China, you will stay either in a shared room directly on the school premises or in a shared flat.

 

Schools in and around Shanghai

After the orientation days, our partner organisation will take you to the location of your volunteer work placement, either in or around Shanghai. The places where you could do your volunteer work in China are very spread out - for example, you could be placed in the city centre in Shanghai or on the islands of Chong Ming, Chang Xing, or Heng Sha, approximately 1-2 hours from downtown Shanghai via bus and ferry. Other volunteer work in China is located in Su Zhou, a city of several million known as the Venice of the East, about 30 minutes away from Shanghai by train.

Your volunteer work in China will be in primary schools and in schools for older children. The schools are generally well-equipped with computer rooms, libraries and laboratories.

Schools in Si Chuan

Volunteers who will be doing volunteer work in China in the central province of Si Chuan must organise their own flight from Shanghai to Chengdu or Mian Yang. Upon your arrival, you will be picked up by a member of our partner organisation and will receive a short introduction to the conditions on location before you start your volunteer work in China. The province is situated to the east of the Tibetan highland plateau, on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River.

Volunteers teach at primary and middle schools, as well as in pre-schools. In contrast to the schools in the highly-populated Shanghai area, the schools in Si Chuan do not have very much money. The teacher-to-pupil ratio is very high, so you will need to be capable of improvising during your volunteer work in China.

Schools in Zhengzhou

If you do volunteer work in China in Zhengzhou, you will head straight to the heart of China's textile industry after your orientation in Shanghai. The city of Zhengzhou lies about 20 km south of the Yellow River, and about 1000 km northwest of Shanghai, a distance you will travel by train. With over 9 million residents, Zhengzhou is surrounded by cotton fields. As a volunteer here, you will teach English in a middle school.