Affordable Volunteer Opportunities Abroad
Africa, Latin America, Asia

Our volunteers in China teach in a variety of schools with a range of class sizes and student age. The placements are made in kindergarten, primary, high schools and colleges. At the moment, there are about 15 affiliate schools in both urban and outskirt area of Yantai. Some of the schools are located in the city while others are located in the towns and suburbs of Yantai. All schools have safe and secure settings and healthy environments with easy access to public transit.

We aim to customize every placement to the individual wishes of each volunteer. Our program schedule varies from school to school, but generally volunteers usually teach between 14 hours and 20 hours per week. The teaching timetable is discussed personally with the school principal, and can be tailored to the preference of each volunteer. There may be some evening and weekend classes in your program.

It is usually possible to begin at any date but different schools have different procedures so we would have to check the dates you give and then find a specific placement for you. Please note that our spring semester is from late February/early March till end of June/early July, and the autumn semester is from early September till the end of December. Our summer program is from mid June till early July.

Minimum Program Length: 4 weeks
Start Date: 1st and 3rd Monday of every month
Arrival Date: 1-2 days prior to your Start Date (Saturday or Sunday)
Minimum Age: 18 years old
Volunteer Gender: Male and Female

Accommodation:
International volunteers will live in an apartment building on campus at each school. The accommodations in some schools are equipped with private bathroom, TV, phone, computer with internet access, bedding, simple furniture, and even an air-conditioner, while others have only basic facilities. We assure that each volunteer has his or her own private room. Volunteers should be prepared to live in the houses with a lower standard than what most westerners are used to. Remember that you are not only tourists, you are somebody volunteering.

Most rooms are equipped with the washing machines, and you may use the washing machine for your own laundry. If there is no washing machine in the room, volunteers may go to the laundry facilities at their schools for service.

Food:
Volunteers will be provided with three Chinese meals in the school cafeteria with the Chinese teachers and students. They should follow the dining schedule at each individual school. A variety of food menu are available including egg, meat, fish, bread, rolls, all kinds of vegetables and soups. Vegetarian food is also available in the school cafeteria. The school’s cafeteria will be closed during Saturdays and Sundays, and the school will provide volunteers with kind a snack such as bread, milk and noodle and or fruits such as apples and oranges. Please be aware that all Chinese schools cook traditional food and dishes. During weekends, some school cafeterias are closed, and the cooks will go back home. In this case, volunteers will not be provided with food for Saturday and Sundays and must be prepared to buy their own foods for weekends. However most schools do provide food and keep the cafeterias open to volunteers during the weekends. Food and meals are very inexpensive in China in comparison with western countries.

Pick-up Info:
Our representative will be at the airport in Yantai to pick you up and will return you to the airport, train station etc. upon the completion of your volunteer experience.

Project Schedule:
Hours vary but volunteers normally teach around 14 - 20 hours of classes per week. During the weekends, volunteers are free to travel to explore local communities and explore the area.

Suggested Donations
Any stationary, books, sports equipment, board games and any other educational materials are welcome.We will provide a detailed list of suggested resources for donation with your program information.

The type of teaching you will be expected to do will consist of helping the students practice comprehension and pronunciation. You may be required to do a little more, but if so, you will be guided by the teachers and school principal. You will not initially be the only teacher in the classroom but as you gain experience you can take control of a class and this may be expected of you by the teachers at your school. There are Chinese teachers of English in the schools that also take these students for English on other aspects of the language. If you have no experience and you are nervous at the idea of teaching, do not worry, you are not alone. Our reps in Yantai and the teachers at your school will be more than happy to help with ideas for classes and moral support! All our teachers have greatly enjoyed their experiences and we are sure you will too!

Suggested Skills and Interests

All our placements take part in the city of Yantai, a pretty coastal town in the north-eastern province of Shandong with good transport connections and regular flights to and from both Beijing and Yantai. Bordered by the Yellow Sea and the Bohai Sea, the city faces South Korea and Japan across the water. Yantai is important as an agricultural, industrial, commercial, and scientific centre, and is also a popular tourist destination with lovely scenery and beautiful beaches. The city has two growing universities and many schools and prospering businesses and there is a great demand for English speaking teachers in almost every school in the area. The lively night-market, main street shopping and fun night life are but a few of the attractions the city has to offer!

Please refer to the following two governmental links at and for more information of Yantai. Volunteers may also choose to do local hiking and excursions during their free time, and there are many local scenic and relics to visit such as Penglai Pavilion, Nanshan Grand Buddha, and Mou’s Manor, Kunyu Daoist Mountains and Horsing Raising Island and Tashan Park, Yantai Hill Park and Changyu Winery Museum and so on. Shandong Province itself also provides a number of interesting tourist attractions, such as Qingdao, a former German Concession port, the Penglai Pavillion (a Qing Dynasty fortress) and Qufu, the home of Confucius.