MianYang Educators & Xu Bo Staff Look for Ways to Improve Volunteer Experience

On the 10th of November, 2010, three supervisors from Mianyang came to Shanghai to exchange their experiences with our volunteer program supervisors in Shanghai. They shared their valuable experiences with volunteers in MianYang and discussed things that might be done to improve volunteers' experiences in the future, suggesting ways of making the volunteer's life more convenient and ways to enrich their experience volunteering in China. At the same time, they discussed what kinds of activities and teaching methods might be most effective for English-learning students. The three supervisors from...   read more below...

Mianyang were Liang Shengrong, director of the Teachers' Teaching Centre in Mianyang, Zeng Shengqiang, principal of Zi Yunlu Primary School and Lu Ying, Vice-Director of Cheng Mianlu Primary School’s Teaching Affairs office.

Xu Bo’s director Jessie Duanmu started things off by introducing the five-day’ introduction course that Xu Bo volunteers participate in when they arrive in Shanghai. Jessie also showed the visitors the accomodations provided for the volunteers while they learn about volunteering during their first week in China. In the discussion that followed, the MianYang supervisors asked questions and learned more as Jessie and Xu Bo volunteer coordinators explained the value of our introduction course, which has been developed and improved over our five years of experience hosting foreign volunteers in China. It was hoped that Xu Bo's experience could help the MianYang supervisors understand what volunteers need and help them improve their own schools' introductory courses. It was agreed that a good introductory course would include general information about the school or institution where the volunteer would be working and offer useful tips for getting around town by taxi, etc. Just as importantly, the course should make clear to the volunteers what is expected of them during their volunteering tenure.

The supervisors and Xu Bo staff also received a tour of the Peng Pu Primary school in Shanghai, led by the school's headmaster. Peng Pu is one of Xu Bo’s partner schools in the volunteer programme. In a later meeting there was discussion of effective teaching approaches and activities of benefit to volunteers, such as teaching using PowerPoint (PPT) lessons and exchanges of ideas. In the conference, the principal of the primary school attached great importance to details in taking care of volunteers. For instance, a bilingual address note should be given to the volunteers in case they get lost. She also pointed that the main purpose of such a programme can be categorized into two components: 1) volunteers obtain satisfaction from their teaching and experience another culture and, 2) students broaden their horizons by experiencing another culture and language.

Through PPT lessons with children and volunteers’ joyful faces, the director of the Creative Kindergarten showed us an amazing activity entitled “One World Day”, which provided an opportunity for volunteers to demonstrate their own cultures to the children. During the Chinese “National Day”, the volunteers showed the children their own national flags and played games unique to their home country.

The supervisors from MianYang said it was a very rewarding visit and they learned a lot from their sharing of experience in the volunteer programme. Xubo Art and Culture Exchange, as a coordinator between volunteers and schools, is very happy to facilitate such sharing of experiences and and hopes it will help us improve our efforts to benefit both students who are yearning to learn more about other cultures, and volunteers who want very much to experience Chinese culture while serving as a benevolent force for spreading cross-cultural understanding.