In 2019 OSCA will hold projects in Mainland China (most likely Beijing), Japan (Kobe) and Hong Kong (different locations!). You will be able to find much more information about each of these projects on their separate pages on this website. Here we’d like to give you a quick overview of each project to help you decide which projects might be better suited to you.
Dates
The exact dates for OSCA 2019 will be confirmed closer to the time (the schools usually confirm exact dates in late February/ early March), but based on previous years we expect the dates to be roughly as listed below:
- Hong Kong: we will have programmes starting on the 26th of June and on the 9th of July. All will be between 4 and 6 weeks long
- Mainland China: 1st of July to the 5th of August 2019
- Japan: 15th of July to the 20th of August 2019
Brief project info:
Hong Kong: there are several camps in Hong Kong, with a very wide variation of teaching experiences across both primary and secondary schools. Around 4 weeks of teaching in as many schools, even people with a great deal of teaching experience will feel pushed out of their comfort zones as you teach across many ability and age levels. Each Oxbridge volunteer is paired up with a local volunteer making OSCA Hong Kong an intense cultural exchange experience. This is also a good programme if you enjoy nature as most volunteers go on a few hikes every year (Hong Kong is a green, mountainous city with amazing hiking opportunities!)
Japan: this is one of the most varied projects, and is not so much one camp, as 12 separate volunteer experiences. You will be teaching in much smaller groups than in other OSCA camps (in some schools with one or two other volunteers, and some volunteers will be teaching on their own some weeks). This is a great project to become fully immersed in the local culture, with most volunteers enjoying home-stays with Japanese families. In the Japan project the students' ages vary more widely than in any other – from young secondary school students, to retired seniors!
Mainland China: this is a semi-residential project, in that you’ll be living in the school where you teach, but working in a day-camp (the students go home after the camp finishes). The teaching is intense, with long days running varied activities for secondary school students that will push you out of your teaching comfort zone. The cultural immersion is strong in OSCA Beijing, this programme is recommended to those who love teaching and other cultures. Chinese cooking classes, hiking along the Great Wall or learning Kung Fu and Chinese caligraphy are some of the many things OSCA Beijing has to offer.
All projects: demanding, tough and challenging – definitely not suited for those who are just after a free holiday. In all projects you’ll work long hours and you’ll need heaps of energy to remain bouncy and enthusiastic to play games with your students (teaching English the OSCA way!). All projects are fantastic in their own way, so a final recommendation from the OSCA team would be not to stress out over your project choice: they are all great, and all of them have been referred to by past volunteers as ‘the best thing I’ve ever done’.
Some camps are residential, with Oxbridge, local volunteers and students living in the same schools the camps take place. Residential camps are great fun and tend to lead to strong friendships and bonds with the other volunteers as you spend so much time together. You also get to know the students really well and since you spend longer with a group of students you make a greater impact on the students joining the camps. Residential camps are however quite intense, with longer days than in non residential camp. Some camps are residential for Oxbridge volunteers but not for students. Some camps are day camps for volunteers and students.