Young Taiwanese expatriates from the US and Canada are encouraged to volunteer to teach English in rural parts of Taiwan, the Overseas Compatriots Affairs Committee (OCAC) said yesterday.
This is the fourth year that the OCAC has joined hands with an alliance of Chinese schools in southern California and the Ministry of Education to recruit young Taiwanese expatriates to volunteer to teach English in Taiwan.
Alliance president Yang Hsien-yi (楊賢怡) said the goal was to recruit 275 volunteers this year. Applicants must be between the ages of 16 and 27 and residing in either the US or Canada.
Yang said the project has generated much interest since its inception four years ago, when only 25 volunteers signed up to teach English to disadvantaged children in remote parts of the nation.
Last year, he said, more than 270 English teaching volunteers were dispatched to 44 different junior high and elementary schools throughout the nation, benefiting nearly 2,000 students.
Applications are being accepted from now until Feb. 29.
Applicants can obtain their applications in person at any Taiwan Economic and Cultural Representative Office. The application is also available for download at the OCAC Web site at www.ocac.gov.tw, or at the North American Expatriate Youth English Teaching Volunteer Service Program's Web site at www.aidsummer.org.
Participants are responsible for their own travel from their country of residence to Taiwan, as well as expenses for accommodation and travel fees if they choose to arrive before or depart after the program dates.
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