Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia

Report 1

The placement involved English language tuition and additional activities over a period of six weeks. I taught three classes of English, totaling around eleven scheduled hours per week. Students ranged in age from 12 to 19 years and in classes of intermediate to advanced levels. In addition to English teaching, the placement involved other activities for the students such as excursions and individual coaching, as well as activities related to the dharma teachings of Panchen Otrul Rinpoche. Asral NGO is engaged in various poverty-alleviation projects for the poorest people in Ulaan Baatar, as well as outlying areas. This placement was new to the ELST volunteer scheme in 2005, and the Asral administrators have expressed a desire to host ELST volunteers again in the future.

Report 2

The Trans-Siberian railway took us safely from Moscow to Ulaanbaatar, and we arrived to discover that many people lived and worked at Jampa-Ling centre we were going to spend the next 6 weeks. There were four of us teaching English, although Jampa-ling’s main activities are based around teaching Buddhism and running different projects aimed at helping people to escape from extreme poverty.

The centre’s gates encompassed about 1/2 acre on the Western edge of the city. It was surrounded by nomadic tents (gers) occupied by some of the poorest people in Ulaanbaatar. The building was divided into three floors. Volunteers lived on the top floor, the middle floor was a temple where people would gather together to chant in Tibetan, and listen to the teachings, and there was large classroom on the bottom floor, an office and a room where Padma taught sewing.

Every morning I taught about 10 children aged 5-15 years old, the children were lovely and really wanted to learn. In the afternoon I had a class of three Mongolian ladies. The main difficulty was overcoming the difference in pronunciation, and many a lesson was spent giggling at each other!

There is a lot to do in Ulaanbaatar. The area surrounding the Asral centre has internet cafes, restaurants, clothes shops and Karaoke bars! Located about a 30 minute walk or short taxi ride from the centre of town you can find practically anything that you would want at the State department store on ‘Peace Avenue’. There is also a concert hall where you can watch traditional Mongolian dancing and throat singing.

Working as a volunteer in the Jampa-Ling Asral charity cantre was an enjoyable and interesting experience. You realise that you have become accustomed to living there when seeing a ger set up in the middle of the street is not a surprise! The Mongolians are very friendly and hospitable people (as long as you are in bed by 10pm!) and the Asral centre is a nice place to live. We also got some Buddhist teaching which was hugely insightful and beneficial, which really added to, and complimented my ELST Mongolian experience.

Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies (CIHTS), Sarnath

2 ELST volunteers taught English at CIHTS

I think the main benefit was just giving the students a chance to speak English: among themselves they speak Tibetan, they speak Hindi to the local people and their English lessons run by the university are more like lectures which do not involve conversation on the part of the students. I have remained in contact with the students, who have told me how much they enjoyed the classes and how useful they found them. I was encouraged by the number of students who emailed or visited us outside the class hours – there was a real enthusiasm to learn. The students made us feel very welcome – we went for meals and a visit to Varanasi and spent a lot of time talking to the students. We were also welcomed by the staff of the institute, including the father of our contact Tenzin who worked in the library and gave us a guided tour and showed us many of their archived books and documents, including a set of beautiful mandalas.

From a personal perspective I feel like I have gained a great deal from my ELST experience. On a practical level I learnt a lot in organising the placement, and I feel like I have really improved my teaching skills and general communication. I also feel very privileged to have visited the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies and to have met the students: it exposed me to a completely different culture and way of thinking and I made many new friends. It definitely deepened my understanding of Tibetan culture and the plight of the community in exile, as the students were very willing to talk about their personal history and their views on the situation in Tibet. I would recommend the ELST programme to anyone who is interested in teaching English as a second language, finding out about other cultures or interested in Tibet in particular.

I would love it if ELST volunteers could go to the Institute in the future: it is a wonderful place and the students would be very grateful.

Dharamsala, India

An ELST volunteer spent six weeks, from 1 August to 13th September, in Dharamsala, H.P., India, working on two projects :

Volunteering at the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD). This involved extensive research and the writing of a report on ‘Torture of Tibetan Political Prisoners since 1987’. I also assisted with a report on ‘The Death Penalty in China’ and gave editorial assistance with the monthly ‘Human Rights Update’ newsletter.

Volunteering at the Department of Education (DoE) of the Tibetan Government in Exile. For the DoE, I produced an information brochure on ‘Education in Exile’ In an additional project, I helped to refine the language of the new Tibetan Education Policy Document, whilst retaining the meaning of the original Tibetan version.

I also gave informal English conversation classes to a Tibetan lama (monk).

Men Tsee Khang, Dharamsala

3 ELST volunteers taught English to staff at Men Tsse Khang

Report 1

I took part in a teaching placement at Men Tsee Khang (MTK), the Tibetan Medical and Astrological Institute based in Dharamsala, North India in July, 2005. ELST provided a generous amount of funding and very useful pre-departure training (advice on teaching materials, introduction to working in India, classroom management etc.). Upon arrival at MTK, I was welcomed to the institute and treated with kind hospitality. The accommodation provided for free by MTK was very good – I had an en-suite room with hot shower to myself! Every evening, I would teach the staff at MTK - very keen learners! Many of these people wouldn’t have normally had the opportunity to receive English tuition, and will be able to pass on what they have learned to the students at MTK for many years to come. There was a healthy balance between my various commitments and free time. I had a lot of freedom to organise my days, and I enjoyed spending my free time with the Tibetans.

I took a very diverse group of students - some students knew the alphabet and a few words, whereas a couple of others were almost fluent. The students all felt a strong need to be able to express their feelings and communicate to others about Tibet, their experiences and their family. The first few lessons were spent getting to know the students, and it was fascinating to listen to their experiences, talking about their families, life in Tibet and their move to India. Hearing my students’ emotional accounts was a stirring experience and it is hard not to empathise with them nor understand their grievances about the political situation in Tibet and the plight of the Tibetan people. I felt honoured to have been able to learn firsthand about these things. I especially enjoyed the friendships formed through teaching – often I would teach in the student’s apartment, meet their family and get a greater insight into their lives. I definitely felt welcomed and part of the community at MTK. I also believe they enjoyed learning more about life in the UK, and the opportunity it gave other family members to practise speaking English.

The placement was a fantastic experience. I have certainly gained greater insight into Tibetan culture, awareness of the issues currently facing the Tibetans both in Tibet and the refugees in India, and have made lasting and valuable friendships. Through having to organise and direct groups of people, and from having to live and adapt to a different environment, I have grown in confidence, become more relaxed and have a greater appreciation of my own life. I firmly believe that everyone involved in the project has greatly benefited. I would heartily recommend MTK as an excellent place for future volunteers to stay and have no hesitation in recommending the ELST volunteer scheme to other people. Many thanks ELST!!!

Report 2

I was based as a volunteer teacher at the Men Tsee Khang Tibetan Medical and Astrological Institute (MTK) in Dharamasala from 5th -29th July. The responsibilities I was assigned at the MTK involved running Advanced English classes for staff members. This I supplemented with daily vocabulary and pronunciation sessions for two medical students of the MTK who approached me independently for help. One day was also spent running a CV and Cover letter, Interview skills and Presentation workshop at the MTK that the staff found exceptionally useful. However, I decided to also devote my energies in other spheres and began giving daily one-to-one lessons to a Tibetan monk living in Mcloed Ganj. My time at the MTK was very enjoyable. Those students who came to class were very eager to learn and receptive to my teaching methods.

I really enjoyed the placement and the opportunity that ELST gave me to find out more about a different culture and way of life. During our stay we were lucky enough to attend the celebrations of the Dalai Lama's 70th birthday, and I went to several of his teachings on Buddhism that he held in the mornings and that attracted huge crowds. I would certainly recommend the ELST scheme to others!

Report 3

I taught one beginner class of 3 to 5 adult MTK staff, and one intermediate class consisting a monk and a young woman recently arrived from Tibet. I taught mainly through repetition and a lot of speaking practice, which gave my students a strong foundation and when I left they were happily chatting away in broken English.

I am immensely grateful to ELST for making this opportunity available to me. I think it is one of the most important experiences of my life so far.

Bylakuppe Settlement, Mysore, India

2 ELST volunteers spent 2 weeks teaching in Bylakuppe

We taught two adult classes in Old Camp No. 2, and two classes of teenagers in the Central School (Camp 1). We each taught for 4 hours a day, one hour to each class. The teaching matter consisted of grammar, conversation, vocabulary and presentation giving. On our days off we explored the beautiful settlement and its monasteries and temples and once made a trip to Mysore to a seminar on Global Peace, where the Prime Minister of the Tibetan Government in Exile was speaking. We were made to feel very welcome and wanted, and had a lot of fun both in and out of the classroom. English standard was highly variable and the challenge of pitching to various abilities was partly solved by streaming, and by slow and clear speaking at all times. Feedback at the end of our trip from all students was very positive – they said they learnt a lot and enjoyed it.

Tibetan Children's Village, Ladakh, India

2 ELST volunteers taught 7-9 year olds in the Tibetan Children's School in Ladakh

With the assistance of ELST, I made my way to Ladakh in North India, to teach in the Tibetan Children’s Village school. I had hoped to contribute by teaching English and to learn about Tibetan culture. But the experience was so much more than what I had imagined it would be. I have now come to respect and admire Tibetans, their society and their perseverance.

I was teaching two sections of class III. I was given the syllabus that I was expected to teach. Therefore planning lessons became easier, since I could incorporate what I wanted to teach with the syllabus I was given. The speaking and listening aspects of the students’ English improved noticeably during my time at the school. By the end, they were finding it easier to chat with me and to express themselves. Some of the weaker students had begun to respond to the extra attention I was giving them, and I wish that I had had more time to continue with my teaching and had a chance to observe and nurture the progress!

The teaching experience was absolutely eye opening and wonderful. I realised that I love working with children. It taught me the value of patience and respect for all students. I also realised how much children at that age depend on their teacher for inspiration and learning, and how influential a teacher is in their development