Gap year in China
 

We are researching a gap year (between high school and college) for our daughter. She has been studying Chinese for 3 years and I understand from her tutor that she actually speaks fairly well.

As a parent, I'd like her to be in Shaghai with a family, or with a really reputable program. Unfortunately AFS is for kids who are still in high school. Also unfortunately, some of the reviews I have read of programs I've seen online make them sound pretty sketchy. I think she would like to teach English or work with younger kids. She could get a TESL certificate pretty easily.

We are also talking to her high school guidance people, but our small midwestern high school has limited (ie no) experience with programs in China.

Curious if anyone has any good tips for us? Especially with all these programs that advertise on the web.

Thanks.

I assume you mean your daughter speaks Mandarin, a Chinese dialect. There are hundreds of other Chinese dialects, but Mandarin is promoted as the “national” language and is understood by many (if not most) people living the PRC. It is also, I believe, the main dialect learned by people studying “Chinese” outside the PRC. (If she studied another dialect, like Cantonese, then going to the south of China, e.g. Guangdong Province, would be a better idea.)

Have you looked into options like Fulbright Scholarships, Rotary Scholarships or Ford Foundation grants? While these are often limited to college students or graduates, there may be some programs for high school graduates. Also try the US State Department’s academic exchange program, see http://exchanges.state.gov/academicexchanges/index.html

She could also consider enrolling in a PRC college or university for a semester or two. Not sure what their requirements would be, or how much it would cost, but this could be interesting. If she has already been accepted by a US college (or is just looking at some colleges now), they may have a reciprocal program with a Chinese college, and perhaps she could enroll there and get credits toward her eventual US degree. Enrolling in school would give her a student visa, which would simplify matters for living in the PRC.

She could also consider volunteer work. There is a good book published by <i>Lonely Planet</i> which describes all kinds of volunteer programs in various parts of the world. My recollection is that it is called “Volunteering” or something similar, but if you look on the Lonely Planet website I am sure you will find it. Other places to look would be:
United Nations Volunteer Program at http://www.unv.org/
Oxfam International at http://www.oxfam.org/
Habitat for Humanity http://www.habitat.org/
Red Cross at http://www.ifrc.org/
Earthwatch Institute at http://www.earthwatch.org/

Getting a job teaching English is certainly possible, but unless she needs to work, I think there are more creative and interesting ways of spending a year in the PRC. Apparently a promise of a job teaching English is somewhat of a scam in the PRC. See the info published by the US embassy in Beijing at http://beijing.usembassy-china.org.cn/teach.html.

There are also several websites run by or for people teaching English at foreign schools around the world. Take a look at Overseas Digest (overseasdigest.com) which has a section on teaching overseas. The site has lots of information, links and contacts about teaching and living overseas. This site may be more applicable to people with college degrees.

I would also say she could consider living in Taiwan (where Mandarin is also spoken) and which may offer more or different exchange programs or volunteer opportunities. Going to school in Singapore would be another possible option, although she may not use her Mandarin nearly as much. (Volunteer opportunities would be quite limited in Singapore.) Or do a year living/travelling in all three places to give her exposure to different cultures.

I would look up a few big name American universities- a lot of them have "summer school" programs in China, and some (not sure which) are open to high school graduates as well- NYU, Harvard come to mind.
Also, if you google "gap year" you will come across some of the big name organizers- they can set up teaching English arrangements/volunteering- for a fee, of course. But at least they give peace of mind in that accommodations and such are set up.
Location wise, I would go for a smaller town outside of a big city, since Chinese cities are huge and rather overwhelming.
I would not go to Taiwan unless she has been learning traditional characters.
When traveling in China, we ran into a lot of foreigners studying Chinese in Yunan province, more than anywhere else (Dali and Kunming come to mind).
Good Luck!

<<<As a parent, I'd like her to be in Shaghai with a family, or with a really reputable program.>>>

Why Shanghai specifically? Just curious.

My only suggestion would be to help your daughter do the research, don't do it for her. If she's old enough to go for a gap year then she's old enough to do the research. That way she'll learn what's out there a bit and she might pick up on things that sound interesting to her.

Thank you both for very thorough and thoughtful responses. Yes, she is studying mandarin. I thought Shanghai because I have heard it is a nicer city- and we have some contacts in case of emergency.
She is doing lots of research on her end, I'm just supplementing here, hoping to find some personal experiences. She finds lots of gap year programs, but I am very concerned that some have bad reviews and it is hard to sort it all out, without feedback from people who have done the programs.
Thanks again-

Just keep in mind that locals in Shanghai speak Shanghaiese. While most do and will speak Putonghua (the standard Mandarin), it may not be helpful for your daughter if she ends up staying with a family that speaks mainly Shanghaiese in the house.

Sorry, the correct term for the dialect is Shanghainese.

MORE to think about- thanks- I'll have her keep that in mind and discuss with her tutor.