Question 1

What makes Elite Journey better than other similar programmes?

Accepted Answer

Elite Journey is truly passionate about education and is renowned as being  incredibly fun and a rewarding experience to take part in as a teacher. With our long history of running camps, we have a wealth of experience in running high quality camps, both in terms of the education we provide for our students, and in terms of the organisation, welfare, training and support for our teachers from the UK. EJ offers a shorter, yet more intense camp, than similar programmes in China, meaning you have more time to travel and experience the culture of China during your summer and winter breaks! As well as this, EJ offers cultural classes and activities as well as a small number of day trips to local sites to explore the local culture with students. Whilst our programmes during the summer are short, we offer a more holistic and long-term approach to education, with chances to interact with our Chinese students beyond the camp experience. Many of our students from the summer camps go on to visit the UK on a Winter Exchange Programme where they attend a reunion with all of the teachers at a complimentary formal dinner. One of the things that makes EJ great is that we try to bring some of the Cambridge University experience to China. We do this in a number of ways; the first of these is by having a college system so you will have a small class that you can work with closely. We also have a matriculation ceremony and a Cambridge-style formal dinner towards the end of the camp. As Cambridge students, not only is a certain level of academic rigor expected from our classes, but the ability to be original, creative and enthusiastic. One could argue that this is a major divergence between the British and Chinese education systems and this difference is why our programmes are so successful and memorable.

Question 2

What is the daily schedule?

Accepted Answer

The residential camps at Elite Journey are usually around 2 weeks. The nature of our camps mean they can be quite intense, but extremely rewarding! You will come away from our camps having created extremely good friendships with your fellow teaching team and making a real connection with the students who take part.   Each of our camps have a slightly different schedule. As well as the normal teaching days, we often defer from the regular schedule to undertake  fun activities such as:   - Formal Dinner - Volunteering and Charity Days - Cultural Exploration Days Upon completion of the camp, EJ will also organise a free teachers holiday and excursions for all staff at the camp to somewhere in the destination country. In the past we have organised trips to the beautiful Guilin and Yangshou.

Question 3

What level of English will the students have?

Accepted Answer

It is often difficult to ascertain the exact English-level of the students on our camps prior to arrival. The students on our camps will be aged 8-16 and streamed in classes based on ability, and age.   In general, our academic and debate camps are aimed at higher ability students and the EJ drama camps are aimed at lower ability students.   It is important that teachers on our camps are flexible with their teaching style in order to accommodate the varying levels of English ability.

Question 4

How does the college system work?

Accepted Answer

Upon arrival at the camp, the students will be assigned a college, which will act as their class throughout the camp. They are assigned based on English-ability and age. We aim to have students of similar ability in the same college to make the lessons more enjoyable and rewarding for the students.   As a teacher, you will be assigned as a ‘College Master’ for one college, along with a bilingual teaching assistant (TA). Both you and the TA will be in charge of the college for the duration of the camp when taking part in activities, competitions and day trips. As a teacher you will also have the opportunity to teach the other colleges during lessons. This offers both the students and the teachers the unique opportunity to really get to know each other and foster a strong sense of team spirit.

Question 5

What infomation will I receive prior to departure?

Accepted Answer

We will provide you with a handbook prior to departure containing essential information regarding what to pack, etiquette in China, and general health and safety advice.

Question 6

What are you doing regarding the COVID-19 pandemic? Are you still taking mentors from all over the world to China?

Accepted Answer

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we will continue to follow government guidelines and only send mentors from across the world when it is safe and responsible to do so.   Whilst mentors will not be travelling internationally with Elite Journey this year, we are continuing to recruit mentors who are local to our programmes. We are continuing to expand our range of online courses and competitions during the pandemic and we are actively seeking mentors to take part in these virtual experiences.   As an educator, we realise the role we have to play in reaching and connecting as many students across the globe as we can in this new virtual world that we find oursleves in, and we would love for you to get invoved.   If you are interested in getting involved and joining our courses, contact info@elitejourney.co.uk

Question 7

What subjects might I be teaching?

Accepted Answer

Upon applying to be an Elite Journey Mentor, either for our Online Courses or our Camps, you will be be able to see the subjects we are hiring for and therefore select the subject you have the most knowledge in.   For our multi-subject In-person Camps, you will be able to suggest the subjects you have the most knowledge in and therefore would be best suited to teach. For example, if you currently study or have studied Biology you would be encouraged to teach our pre-prepared STEM lessons on our Summer Camp!

Question 8

How are your Onlines Courses taught?

Accepted Answer

We use the purpose built online platform ClassIn. Similiar to Zoom or Google Meets, but with the added benefit of being specifically built for online teaching.   This means you have an interactive board to help draw or write notes and a range of tools to assist you in the lesson, from coutdown clocks to poll functions to rolling a virtual dice!   All materials are prepared by our in-house academic team and shared with you prior to the course starting. There's no need for screen sharing resulting in a lag, you simply upload the materials to ClassIn and present!

Question 9

Will I need a visa to go to the camps? If so, how does it work?

Accepted Answer

Depending on the location of the camp, the Elite Journey team will work with mentors and students on an individual basis to ensure they have the correct visa for the country they will be travelling to.   Mentors will be given one-to-one suport by our Head Office team during the visa application process. The fee for the visa will initially be paid for by the mentor, however this fee is reimbursed as part of the Mentor Reimbursement Package.   Students travelling to a country where a visa is required for entry will be assisted by our Head Office team, with the cost of the visa incorporated into the total camp fee.

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