Information night for China trip

By Stephanie Dubois

Posted -54 second ago

For some high school graduates, choosing a career can be a hard choice but for a few local students, a gap year was the right choice.

For the past three years, students from Leduc, Beaumont and Devon have been given the opportunity to teach English to elementary students through the TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) CIEO school (Canadian International Educational Organization) in China.

With 11 students currently abroad and more student teachers needed, an upcoming information session on June 27 will inform interested students about the traveling possibilities.

“They go over there and they get paid during their training, and they get paid well. They only have to work 20-25 hours a week and they’re working with Chinese students at training centres. The demand to learn English is so huge. It’s really a fantastic experience,” explained Stephen Lindop, mentor to the students.

Once abroad, students are accommodated in Western style housing which is located in a gated community.

With connections in the Chinese city, the former principal at Calmar Secondary School said the students are not only paid well for their time abroad, but they are also given ample time to travel in Asia and elsewhere.

“This is a fantastic opportunity. Many of the kids went last year and many of them loved it so much that they signed on for a second year. They’re coming home for the summer to visit with their families and then they’re flying back to China,” he said.

The idea to share the world with local students came to Lindop three years ago after one of his former students made the move to China and later helped Lindop to get students teaching.

“A lot of people graduate from high school and are not really sure what they’re going to do. Here’s a way to see Asia, travel the world literally, travel all throughout Thailand and Vietnam and have an amazing experience and really grow with who they are.”

Lindop emphasizes the value of the trip is not seen in the travels but also in the increased maturity level of the students after they are finished their work experience.

“One of the major benefits is their maturity level skyrockets because they are in a foreign country, in a foreign culture, having to deal with all of that and having to deal with independence, living on their own, paying their bills. It’s a great teaching experience too.”

The information sessions will be held Monday, June 25 at the Westin Hotel at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday in Devon at 6:30 or Wednesday at the Executive Express at 6:30 p.m.

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