TEACH ENGLISH ON
THE COLOURFUL AND
EXOTIC ISLAND OF BORNEO IN MALAYSIA
Teaching placements take place in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. You'll
teach in rural primary or secondary schools,
located in rural village environments in the northern part of the state.
This is an excellent project where you get to be immersed in the local
way of life and at the same time gain some very valuable experience:
"I
really had the best time out there, think I achieved all the things I
wanted to, and feel a better person because of it. I would definitely do
it again, despite the fact I got bitten on my legs more than any volunteer
on record! So tell them to bring a mossie net if they ever want to be
able to wear a skirt in public again! Thanks for all your
help, I had the best time ever!"
Paula Cullen
You'll be given a
timetable of lessons and will have the freedom to plan and take your own
classes (with assistance, if required).
Your main focus is on assisting with conversational English
but you may also be asked to help within other areas, such as sport,
drama and music, if you have an interest in these.
No qualifications are required
to do this teaching project.
Teaching placements are
available in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. You will
teach in rural primary or secondary schools,
located in rural village environments in the northern part of the state.
Travellers work with two schools in particular, one located close to the
capital city, Kota Kinabalu, and one which is further north, towards Kota
Marudu.
English is taught in all schools, but in
rural areas the children have no need or opportunity to speak the language
outside the classroom, so they get very little practice in pronunciation
and speech. Thus having exposure to you as a native English speaker is
very beneficial to them and helps them raise their grades, which is a big
plus given that in the rural areas, the passing rate of English is only
60%.
The two main schools that Travellers volunteers attend are
from the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) Christian group, and each school
holds around 350 pupils. They comprise Kindergarten, Primary and Secondary
Schools and teaching can be arranged within any one of these areas. You
will usually be expected to work about 10 – 15 lessons per week, and you
will soon find that you are in demand wherever you go! The
children at these schools are not used to seeing westerners and so you may
find that people stare at you at first, but they will welcome you into
their school and you will soon find that Malaysia feels like a second
home.
You'll be given a
timetable of lessons and will have the freedom to plan and take your own
classes (with assistance, if required).
Your main focus is on assisting with conversational
English but you may also be asked to help within other areas, such as sport,
drama and music, if you have an interest in these. Both Science and
Maths
are taught in English, and as such assistance with these subjects at basic
level is really appreciated. Some of the
classes will be conversation based and some
tuition based to groups or individuals formally and informally outside
the classrooms.
You will be given plenty of assistance from the principal and teachers
until such time as you have gained
confidence in your own abilities.
Outside the
classroom you can assist the pupils in language
group work, debating, public
and choral-speaking, pronunciation practice, reading
aloud, discussions, games
– e.g. board games for language practice, broadcasts on
the school radio, drama productions and
presentations, and quizzes and general knowledge
competitions. You may also help with English
‘camps’, supervising study periods, assisting
in the library and helping during tests and
examinations.
Paula Cullen on her placement in Malaysia:
"I
really had the best time out there, think I achieved all the things I
wanted to, and feel a better person because of it. I would definitely do
it again, despite the fact I got bitten on my legs more than any volunteer
on record! So tell them to bring a mossie net if they ever want to be
able to wear a skirt in public again! Thanks for all your
help, I had the best time ever!"
If
you have additional skills, such as Football
andMusic (or in any
other subjects), these would be very much appreciated and the children
would love some additional after school coaching. Tim
Reese volunteered at Sabah Adventist Secondary School (SASS)
and said of his placement "Borneo
is fantastic, if not a little hot! We started teaching yesterday and are
involved in the house football competition, but we are all in different
houses so as you can imagine there's a bit of competitive tension in the air!"
The
academic year runs from January through to November. The dates in
2008 are as follows;
Term 1: 3rd January to 7th March Term 2: 17th March to 23rd May Term 3: 9th June to 15th August Term 4: 25th August to 14th November
Please compare the above dates to your teaching placement as teaching is
not available during School Holidays. If you do not want to
teach in a conventional school we also have some placements in other
centres and institutions. For example, we could arrange for you to work
with children who have mental disabilities such as down syndrome, or if
you have practical skills you could teach vocational subjects such as
woodwork to young male adults who have not
successfully completed conventional schooling,
or who have severely underachieved. Please speak to us
for more information if you would be interested in either of these
options.
Shareen and Alice (2 ex-volunteers) outside one of the school classrooms,
ABOUT YOUR
ACCOMMODATION
Shareen in the volunteer house
Accommodation will either be on site in
school accommodation or you will live with a local family - it depends
which school you're placed in. If you have a
preference for one or the other we can ensure this is arranged for you.
If you live in school accommodation, you will
usually be with other volunteers and will also
socialise with the teachers in the evening - you
won't be left on your
own! Because English is taught in all schools, all the teachers
have good spoken English and so communication won't be a problem. If you're
living with a family, you'll participate in their way of life. In both
these types of accommodation, because you'll be in a rural village
environment, you'll become involved in the local life. Very often this
is one of the most attractive aspects of our placements in different
cultures because you get to experience the country in
a way that you would never be able to do as a tourist.
You may have your own room or you may share a room
with one or two others. If you live with a family, you'll probably share
a room with another Travellers volunteer.
There
is a surprising amount of action in the evenings in Malaysian villages,
including coffee shops, karaoke bars, and bustling open-air markets that are fascinating!
ARRIVAL: YOUR INTRODUCTION TO THE COUNTRY
When you
arrive you will be welcomed at the airport by Albert, our Malaysia Manager.
He will take you to your accommodation in Kota Kinabalu where you will
spend the first few days of your trip. Albert will give you an induction
during this time, so that you can learn about the country and its culture,
as well as useful information like how to use the phones, transport system
etc.
You will
then be taken to your school and accommodation and introduced to everyone
concerned. You will be made to feel very welcome by all!
Our projects
in Malaysia are very popular and you
are sure to have a wonderful time during your stay in Sabah.
You have the option to arrange your
own flights or we can assist you with your flight arrangements. If you would
like us to do this for you, we will liaise with you regarding available flights
and dates to suit you. All arrangements for your flight bookings/payments will
be fulfilled by Murray Rogers Travel Ltd., ATOL No. 6856. (Read more about Murray Rogers Travel Ltd.)
Where possible, we arrange for two or more people to travel on the
same flight and we will let you have the names and telephone numbers of other
volunteers on your flight, so that you can chat to each other or even meet up
before leaving for your placement.
We can also arrange your flight
dates to give you additional time at the end of your project for travelling
around and sightseeing - this is a fascinating and wondrous country!
You will fly into
Kota Kinabalu International Airport where you will be welcomed by
Albert, our Travellers Organiser
and Malaysia Manager. Albert will settle you
into your accommodation in KK for the first few nights of your stay.
As there is so much to do in Sabah and the surrounding
region, we recommend that you do some travelling around the country
once your placement has finished. If this is the case, we can arrange your
flights accordingly.
Travellers' Malaysia Manager Albert
and friends!
Where possible, all flights we arrange for you
have changeable return tickets because many of our volunteers choose to extend
their stay once they are in their destination country. Changeable return tickets
enable you to do so, within the limits of your visa and the level of your air
ticket, of course. If you choose to book your own flights, you should endeavour
to get a changeable ticket. We meet you at the airport regardless of whether you
make your own travel arrangements or not.
VISAS:. Visas are not
required for stay of up to 90 days if you are a British Passport Holder.
If you want to stay longer in Malaysia, or if you are not a British
Passport Holder, please speak to us about specific visa requirements, if
any. We will make the Visa process very easy for you!
To read about the extensiveSupport & Backup we provide in our countries,
please click here.
PRICES:
To see the Prices of this project and all
our other projects in Malaysia, please
click here
Prices
include
Food & accommodation while on your project,
2 T-shirts, if required
for your project
All support and backup
during your programme
Meeting you at the
nearest airport, where appropriate, but exclude international travel.
.
+44 01903 502595
