Exclusive Teacher China Study Tours

Make real use of your holidays.
Expressions of Interest to participate in Teacher Study Tours to Shanghai and Northern China for 2006, 2007 and 2008

With China wanting to develop closer cultural and friendship ties with Australia ECES through its relationship building its educational friendship links developed over the past five years with Chinese schools and importantly the Shanghai Council can offer Australian teachers a unique blend of cultural study and leisure tours to China and Taiwan. They have hosted study tours to Australia by Chinese schools and Chinese council delegations from Shanghai and Quandjong who request reciprocal visits by Aussie teachers, and educationalists.

Educational:

• Improve your knowledge of Chinese culture and teaching competence and confidence.
• Visiting various schools. Interactive classroom visits teachers will be matched with class of their choice Primary or Secondary.
• Opportunities to teach simple lessons English, Art, Music etc or just observe

There will be opportunities for observation and interaction with classes which may involve assisting teacher or participating in conversational English exercises eg recounting life in Australia , teaching Australian songs, demonstrating and having students participate in Australian art eg simple Ken Done, Aboriginal dot art etc

• Opportunities to develop sister school relationship……The educational experience would make it possible to begin to develop closer relationships on a sister school arrangement providing many worthwhile reciprocal cultural and educational opportunities between the teachers and their schools. 
• Develop links with teachers to allow students/classes to develop friendships and communicate through email and video diaries, share insights on their lives and a variety of environmental, cultural or social issues.

Through video diaries students/classes can share insights on their lives on a variety of environmental or cultural or social issues. Eg. Both countries experience common problems with the environment. Expressing and sharing ideas through video presentations and video diaries on ways students/schools/communities are committing to change and manage the environment can offer students great opportunities to express and communicate their knowledge to a global community.

Leisure and Recreational:

• Visiting a variety of cultural sites to include favourites: Beijing Forbidden City, Great Wall, Terracotta Warriors etc
• Glimpse the diversity, contrasts and vastness of modern China . Experience the contrasts of rural and urban, ancient and modern, and the rapid change that is enveloping the country. From life in high tech Shanghai to life in rural and more remote areas. Visiting farms and schools.
• Because of the Chinese love of dining there will be opportunities to meet and eat with various teachers to establish and develop ongoing relationships.
• Some time with typical Chinese family…teacher….

Apart from developing environmental and personal development programs ECES have recently developed close cultural and friendship ties with schools in China and are in a great position to offer study tour opportunities to our teachers and students private and public schools. As China is now Australia 's major trading partner and we should be looking to developing closer ties with our Asian neighbour. We feel that educational study tours are valuable and can contribute much to developing closer friendship ties between our two countries.

In 2002 the Principal of Shanghai Fudan Secondary College offered us the opportunity to host and organise a study tour for their students. Because of the environmental focus of our programmes they requested that the tour included a conversational English component centred on the environment.
Many of our Westlake 's families from Toronto , Morisset, Warners Bay volunteered to act as host families and some still communicate with students and all agreed that it was a most worthwhile experience for their families. Some of our schools were visited and Holy Cross Primary School Glendale had a particularly memorable experience.
The visit received great support at all levels of government. The visitors created many friendships and the study tour has since benefited the Hunter region through the development of export business opportunities and higher education links to encourage more International Students to use Hunter educational facilities including public and private high schools.

Our experience extends to successfully hosting a trade delegation, which involved business and educational representatives. In 2004 we were able to take two trade tours representing business groups from the Hunter region to Shanghai . The tours also presented the opportunity to explore the feasibility of teacher/educational tours between the two cities.
In March this year we will host an environmental study group from Shanghai Council for an extended environmental study tour in partnership with Newcastle Uni and TAFE. Only recently a school in Taiwan approached us inviting a reciprocal tour arrangement between Taiwan and Newcastle .

We are advantaged in that we have developed relationships based on friendships and the study tours can have great benefits for participants and countries alike. Our experiences have shown that cultural confrontation breaks down many barriers and provides many opportunities for dialogue and the sharing of ideas. The experience must be memorable so that it adds to and enriches the teachers /students life story that will in turn assist them in clarifying their perceptions of a different culture so as they might better understand and embrace that culture. Teachers and students are then enabled to contribute positively to cultural dialogue and engage from a knowledge base rather than the stereotypical negative viewpoint of media images and hearsay.

Importantly once a teacher has experienced the culture then they are more confident and enthusiastic to teach it. Therefore the Teacher Tours will combine sightseeing and fun with full cultural, social and educational immersion.

The China study tour will provide participants with a glimpse of the diversity, contrasts and vastness of modern China . The group can experience the rural and urban, ancient and modern, and the rapid change that is enveloping the country. By meeting with local communities, leaders, teachers and students, the group will also be able to gain a greater understanding of the current social, educational and political issues facing contemporary China and view the many diverse and contrasting images of China .