Seòna McKechnie, from UK, 2008

The TTC staff, as well as being a truly fantastic bunch of people, put themselves out to help you when you have a problem. They are very accommodating and I’m glad I had that support behind me. My school was incredible and if I could take it home with me, I would! The teachers were extremely friendly and the students are affectionate and inquisitive. Everybody wants to be your friend and learn English from you.

Two students have even told me that I should live in China permanently instead of going home.

Living in China certainly tests you sometimes; plans change last minute, often without an explanation; it can be especially frustrating when others shrug everything off saying “That’s China” but it’s just a case of accepting the Chinese way of life and rolling with it. It’s a fun ride.

The whole experience has been made of both good and bad parts but when things go wrong, it only adds character and priceless memories. Overall, it has been absolutely amazing. Teaching in China was not what I had intended doing with my gap year, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.

Robbert Cornelissen, from Holland, 2006

China is amazing, but even better if for some time you can really be part of it. I decided to go to China although I wasn’t really sure, looking back it is one of the best decisions I ever made. Comparing different cultures is great, I learned a lot about the eastern cultures and about my own.

I was placed at a Kindergarten, and although it wasn’t my first choice it was fun every day and I’m still amazed by my students’ level of English. The students in the kindergarten pick up new English words very quickly and they love having English classes with a foreign teacher. For my classes I used a lot of songs and flash cards to teach them new English.

The organisation even helped me with a part-time job so I could teach adults in the evening.

I still talk/email every week with people all over the world who I met during my Teach and Travel program, and made friends for life.

Lea Maria Schroeder, from Germany, 2006

Well I guess I have been really lucky. In my opinion Zhongshan and the southern area is the best place I could have come to. My school and the people I met (from the program and the locals as well) are great. We got almost everything that was in the contract. I am also more than happy about my students and their age – I love teaching kindergarten and primary school. So for me everything worked out perfect.

I would suggest to TCC, or probably more to my German company Step In, to emphasise the details of the TEFL certificate and activities in Beijing. It didn’t even really come through that I’m going to receive an important certificate like that and I didn’t expect all the great tours, dinners and trips in Beijing to be included. I could imagine that more people would be interested if all of that would be noticed.

Talking about the progress I personally have made… In the beginning I did not think that I was that great of a teacher. The teachers’ training helped but it was a short time to prepare a big group of people to teach all different ages. I have made progress though and now I really enjoy teaching. My stay in China has changed my opinion and view on Chinese people and living. When you see how people grow up and live you can tell why they are the way they are. I really like the fact that we are a big group of interns down here. That makes everything a lot easier for all of us.

Lisbet Heilskov Soerensen, from Denmark, 2006

The students are not worse than other students and I haven't seen signs of them being spoiled rich kids. They have welcomed me the best way and most of them are very well behaved. Actually, I often find letters and gifts from a student on my desk. I only have 2 classes that I don't enjoy teaching as much as the others but nothing serious. They are mostly just being kids. Most people at the school have welcomed me and most of the teachers like having me there but think some of them think I’m too young to teach. The locals stare a lot but that I’m use to now.

I don't have many cons about my school. Most of the negative is the Chinese way of doing things and you can't really do anything to change that. It is very hard to get involved in activities with the kids in this school because they have classes all the time and don't have enough free time to play basketball, table tennis or anything else. The classes are too big and it is very hard to play games with them.

Pros: we don't have as many problems as a lot of the others. The apartment is great, it's close to the school and it looks nice. nice kids and teachers.

Sahra Hjort Normann, from Denmark, 2006

They’ve welcomed me very well. English teachers are very interested in improving their English, especially by talking to a foreign teacher. Some of the teachers are very helpful by showing us around in the city etc. Everyday I improve my Chinese by talking to them. My students are aged 2-6 years. The 2 years olds are impossible to teach; some of them don't even speak Chinese yet and they can't sit still or keep focus for the time a lesson takes. But from 3 years and up it gets better and more fun to teach.

Daniela Wigger, from Germany, 2006

I think this is a good program. Without the company I wouldn’t have had the chance to come to China, let alone have the chance to teach English here, because I never could have organized it by myself. I think it’s hard to get in contact with Chinese people, because of the communication-problems. But with you it was possible. That’s really great.

Fiona Boyle, from UK, 2006

So far, I have gained a lot of self confidence from the program, not to mention met some amazing people and generally just having a great time. The programme provided me with a lot of support to make it as problem-free and enjoyable as possible. After being here a while, I now know that it really takes a lot to get things running smoothly in China and I would have been completely lost without them! The teaching is great; I have learnt a lot more about working with young people, meeting and moulding to the culture here. My biggest piece of advice is to keep your mind as open as possible, and be ready for knocks and shocks because you will get them. But, at the end of the day, they make the experience all the more interesting, and definitely makes for brilliant stories back at home. Be patient with the culture and the people here, they are more helpful than necessary sometimes, but they always mean well and are amazing fun if you go with the flow.

Ruth Wyllie, from UK, 2006

First of all, I was very surprised at the numbers of Beijing citizens who wanted to talk to us in the English Corner. (I thought we might be talking to ourselves for the majority of the time) I spoke to a variety of people - reporters, schoolchildren and students. They were all keen to practice speaking English and to improve their English. Most people wanted to know about the education system in UK and what I thought of Chinese education. They were also very interested in my view of Beijing and why I liked it. The students all wanted to complete their studies and travel to other countries - mostly United States. I was very impressed with the play "Snowhite and the Seven Dwarfs", which some ordinary Beijing citizens acted in. They had made all the costumes themselves and some of these citizens were aged 70 and over. This indicates to me, a real desire, on the part of Beijing people to learn English. I was left with the feeling that many ordinary citizens are keen to learn/improve their English, but that there are not the English language resources in Beijing. I believe affordable, or even better, free classes should be made available to everyone who wants them, especially with 2008 and the Olympics coming up. I think it would be good for Beijing to have the majority of their citizens able to speak basic English and not just the taxi drivers, who, I believe are having English lessons. The government is putting up new buildings all over Beijing, but this is not enough. They also need to address the English language skills of their people.