Tell Me About Teaching
HOW MUCH TIME WILL I DEDICATE TO THE PROGRAM AND TEACHING ITSELF?
No more than 20 hours/five days a week. Time preparing for your classes and making lesson plans is not included within this time. The time it takes you to prepare is outside those hours, which usually takes approximately an additional hour a day.
Each week, there will also be an optional outing to a cultural center, outdoor activity, or social event — all outings will include both the community of students and teachers. We encourage you to attend these events to promote cultural exchange, friendships, and see Hanoi from a local view. Otherwise, volunteers will have lots of free time to explore Hanoi and relax.
WHERE WILL I TEACH?
As a volunteer, you will teach at a variety of classes. Some classes will be held at a community classroom, which is within walking distance to the volunteer apartment. Other classes will be taught at local schools; these classes are a 15-45 minute drive for which we will provide transport.
HOW MANY STUDENTS ARE THERE PER CLASS?
It depends on the class and the level, but on average there will be anywhere from five to thirty students.
WHAT AGE ARE THE STUDENTS?
In our community classes, students range from their teens to thirties. In the local schools, you will teach students ranging anywhere from kindergarten to young adults.
WHAT DO WE REQUIRE FROM OUR VOLUNTEERS?
We require that you speak English to an advanced level with a clear accent. This allows our students to have the best quality education and experience that we can offer. No teaching certificate required!
I DON’T HAVE ANY TEACHING EXPERIENCE OR A TEACHING CERTIFICATE, CAN I STILL TEACH?
Volunteer teachers are not required to have any prior teaching experience or a teaching certificate. Upon arrival, fellow volunteers and staff will guide you until you are adjusted and understand your lesson plan. In our community classes, you will almost always be with a fellow volunteer. In local schools, you will have the assistance of a local teaching aide.
If you are looking for other assistance, the VCV apartment is stocked with resources like: teaching materials, computer, printer, and wifi access.
WHAT ARE THE COMMUNITY CLASSES?
Community classes are for adults in Vietnam to learn English. The government does not allow public lessons for adults past university, so you have to study privately. We have set up a community classroom for those that wish to learn English at a very low price or completely free. These classes help the community engage in conversational English which is lacking in the education system of Vietnam. Through your teaching, we hope to improve their English and confidence in communicating. University students improve their English to increase their future job prospects and business professionals are hoping to be more competitive in the workplace. Class ages are from children to adults. Topics are varied and there are plenty of opportunities to share your experiences, exchange language skills, and gain knowledge of our culture and way of life.
Tell Me About Living
WHERE WILL I LIVE?
All volunteers will live in the volunteer apartment in exchange for teaching. The apartment is located in the Nam Từ Liêm district of Hanoi. It is a quiet area of town and across the street from Keangnam Hanoi Landmark Tower, the tallest building in Vietnam.
The apartment is located in a very safe complex with a big courtyard surrounded by a lot of cafes and a corner store. Within a 10 min walk are: banks, grocery stores, a local market, clinic, pharmacy, malls, gym, yoga centre, movie theatre, bowling, swimming pool, etc. The VCV Community Classroom is also within walking distance of the apartment.
WHAT AMENITIES WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE?
The apartment comes with WiFi, laundry, hot water, AC, & TV. The volunteer apartment is co-ed and will have three to four volunteers per room, with a maximum of ten volunteers living in the apartment. Each volunteer will get their own bed with blankets and pillows. There are two washrooms in the apartment with showers and toilets.
WHAT WILL WE EAT?
Volunteers get three meals a day: breakfast, lunch and dinner. Breakfast is usually light — coffee, tea & bread and fruit. Lunch & dinner will be served family style for all of the volunteers, together. Meals are mainly local foods like; pho, spring rolls, fried rice, curries, stir fried meats and veggies. We are accommodating for vegetarians, vegans or those with food allergies.
WHAT ARE MY LIVING EXPENSES IN VIETNAM?
You will be provided with accommodation, daily standard meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner), WiFi for FREE, so most of your expenses will likely be travel or food related when you are go out with students, other volunteers or in our day-trip with the students or pay for your own expenses in the apartment. However, restaurants and clothes in Vietnam are not expensive at all! Meals are only $1.5 – 5 (or 30k -125k Vietnam Dong) per dish.
Tell me about transportation
HOW WILL I GET AROUND?
There are many forms of transportation available. The bus stop is a three minute walk from the apartment and has 11 different routes available to go throughout the city. (Bus 22A takes you directly to Old Quarter, which is where you will most likely be frequenting.) Bus tickets around Hanoi are VND ₫3,000/USD $0.15 and to nearby provinces VND ₫15,000-₫25,000/USD $0.65-$1.10. The bus station that takes you to nearby provinces and out of town is a 15 minute walk away, which can facilitate your travels around the area.
We would recommend downloading the Grab (similar to Uber) application and setting it up before arriving.
ARE THERE TAXIS OR RIDE HAILING SERVICES?
The most popular ride hailing app is Grab, it is the biggest ride hailing app in Asia. It can be easily downloaded and used from your smart phone like Grab, Be, Gojo,…
WHICH AIRPORT SHOULD I ARRIVE ON? HOW CAN I GET TO VCV FROM THE AIRPORT?
The Airport is named Noi Bai (Hanoi, Vietnam).
It is easy to get to VCV from Noi Bai Airport. There are some forms of transportation available. You can get two buses (the cost is 0.5 US dollars, it takes over one hour) or you can get a taxi (the cost is 12-15 US dollars, it takes about 30 minutes).
Tell me about anything else
HOW LONG DOES A VOLUNTEER STAY
Our program requires a minimum stay of two months (Hanoi project) or three months (other projects), but you can volunteer up to six months or one year.
THINGS TO DO AROUND THE APARTMENT
The cinemas across the street has new releases for $3.50 US a ticket. You also go to a nice outdoor swimming pool (open in Summer), malls, yoga centre, gyms, or walking to the park where is 20 minutes far from us. There are lots of coffee shops around in VCV area.
WHAT SHOULD I WEAR DURING WORK AND DURING LEISURE HOURS?
You should bring some clothes like shirt, T-shirt, long trousers, jeans, dress, when you teach in our class. In the volunteer apartment, you can wear a casual clothes.
You also should bring some clothes for Hanoi winter, from November to January, when the temperature is about 10oC – 22oC but you will get colder when you are on a motorbike.
DO I NEED VACCINATIONS BEFORE GOING TO VIETNAM?
We suggest that you ask your local health council or general practitioner for advice based on your personal situation.
DO WE INTERACT WITH THE COMMUNITY OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM?
On Sundays, we try to have one social outing or day trip to museums and/or sights. This is a less formal opportunity to share experiences and culture. This is a great chance to interact with your students within the VCV Community.
WILL WE BE ABLE TO TRAVEL ON THE WEEKENDS OR TAKE TRIPS?
Yes, sometimes you have to plan ahead to get your days off together, but we try to be very accommodating as we know that you also want to travel and see our country!
WHAT DOES MY PLACEMENT/PROGRAM FEE GO TO WARDS?
There will be no costs incurred upon you other than your flight, insurance, and visa here. All food (home cooked), accommodation and WiFi are completely free. You also pay for your own food/drink if you go out in our outside activites. We will also have staff present from 9 am – 9 pm to assist you with anything that you may require aid with.