What's this about?
China's Amity Foundation arranges a 4-week intensive English program for middle school teachers of English in small cities throughout China in July of each year.  Amity places teams of three or four native English speakers where a teacher's college or county board of education has agreed to sponsor a summer institute for sixty to eighty of its English teachers.  Native English speakers are volunteers with appropriate qualifications (including college education and commitment to cross cultural work) who pay their own way to come to China and spend five weeks there.
 

Why is this important?
Middle school teachers of English hold particular keys to getting off the farm for youth in China's western countrysides. Teachers in general are the underrated heros in rural development. Outsiders can substantially help them in their life-giving work through spending four weeks with them in intensive English learning .

China is "the future." In four weeks, sharing common concerns in close contact with particular people, insight and attachments will grow. Volunteers become part of a badly needed network, building understanding and peace.

How to learn more?
* See the website of the Amity Foundation: www.amityfoundation.org
* Find the pages on Education: This gives a good general background on teaching in China, though this is describing Amity's longer two-year teaching program. http://www.amityfoundation.org/frm/atp.html
* See the Handbook for Summer English Program ("teaching resources): http://www.amityfoundation.org/frm/aaw_tr.html. (Click on "Summer English Program 2002 Handbook," and look at Section 2 "The SEP Teaching Program.") This gives in detail the description of the courses that summer volunteers teach.
* See Hugh Wire's description of Chinese middle school English teachers at www.oocities.org/hughwire/middleschoolteachers.html.

Cost?
Participants will contribute $1050 to the Amity Foundation to cover all costs in China, including orientation in Nanjing, travel to their work site, housing and meals, debriefing in Beijing, and some program costs. Participants also pay for airfare to Shanghai and from Beijing (about $750 round trip from San Francisco this fall). Participants will need to arrange for their own medical insurance.

Interested?
Contact Hugh Wire at hughwire@yahoo.com, -- 510-845-8958, 2617 Le Conte Ave., Berrkeley CA 94709

Tell about your interest in this program, and also about your experience in any teaching--ESL or other-or in giving social services, living in a 3rd world country, or working cross culturally. Talk about your health also, because living in China could be strenuous, with long days of work during the week and temperatures in the 90s in the classroom.

I in turn can either put you in contact with a denominational sponsor that can help you apply, or I can help you become part of a group that is not church related.
Deadline for applying is February 1, 2003!

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