If you are a fluent English speaker interested in offering a month of service in China then please consider joining with BMS World Mission and Amity – a Chinese Christian Organisation – in the Summer English Programme for Chinese Teachers of English.
Every summer BMS World Mission and Amity run a SEP – a Summer English Programme – to promote cross-cultural dialogue between English speaking volunteers and Chinese teachers of English and to help these teachers to develop their speaking and listening skills. This kind of person-to-person communication can be enough to change a life in a way that no text book or other course ever could.
Volunteers gain a deeper understanding of an important and growing nation and the Chinese Christian church that is often misunderstood and misrepresented. Small seeds of faith and friendship are sown in these summer conversations. The Chinese Teachers are able to spend three weeks working closely with English speaking Christian volunteers.
Are you interested in:
- Experiencing China first hand?
- Helping rural English Teachers in China to improve their speaking and listening skills?
- Strengthening international relations through personal friendships?
- Finding out about the church in China? (FAQ are here)
- Journeying with Chinese Christians toward greater faith and understanding?
Then please find out more about Amity and the SEP.
Who can consider applying?
- You must be a native speaker of English and have good, clear standard pronunciation.
- You must be 65 years old or younger.
- You need to have a college or University Degree.
- You need to be in good health and be able to work in hot and humid conditions.
- You will need to pay for the cost of your trip including medical insurance. The cost this year was about £1500 plus extras for pocket money and personal expenses. However, Jane has funding for one Volunteer and so all expenses will be met for one suitable candidate.
- You need to be available from the first week in July. The course this year runs from 4th July to 2nd August, which covers part of the period when the Chinese Teachers have their summer break.
- You need to apply via BMS World Mission or directly to Amity Foundation.
- You do not have to be a Teacher. Teaching experience is helpful and desirable but not essential to being accepted. For the benefit of those who do not have a teaching background, Amity provides some basic teacher training during the orientation prior to the start of the teaching programme itself. What the Chinese participants need most is practice in listening and speaking; as a fluent speaker of English you already have the basic skills necessary to provide that practice.
- Volunteers work in small Teams – usually made up of 4 to 6 members.
- Orientation is normally held in Nanjing and a de-briefing period is held in Shanghai before returning home to the UK.
- The course itself runs for three weeks and you will teach for 5 hours each day – 3 in the morning and 2 in the afternoon plus some optional workshops and evening activities.
- Each volunteer normally has a class of 25 Chinese Teachers but some volunteers may prefer to act as ‘Teaching Assistants’ and support a more experienced volunteer.
- Amity provides a Course Manual and teaching materials and so you do not have to worry about what you will be teaching.
- Amity takes the decision as to the placement of the teams within China. You will normally find out the location about 8 weeks before you are due to travel. You are not able to specify a location or city.
- Most volunteers come from USA, Canada, Ireland and the UK.
Click on the image to see the full size versions. Please note these are quite large files so they may take some time to load.
Side ‘A’
Side ‘B’If you have any further questions?
A good place to start is the Amity website: www.amityfoundation.org
When you initially reach the website, choose the English version and then look for information about the SEP. You can also find the SEP Handbook and teaching materials under ‘Teaching resources’.
Speak with Jane Coates Tel: 0113 2688642 Email: jmcoates41@hotmail.com
Jane has taught on the programme for the last 6 summers and regularly teaches on their Orientation Programme. In case you missed it you should visit this page and watch the video on Jane’s latest trip to China to lead a team of volunteers in the programme. You can find out more about Jane here.