English Camp Taiwan

I was in English Camp Taiwan a while ago and I will say that it was one of the worst experiences in my life.

First of all, they have no structure in how they run the program. The people that are in charge of the program basically only deal with the logistical stuff of overcharging parents for a English summer camp, finding schools that will help scam these poor kids, and find accommodations for the interns aka the English teachers.

All of the curriculum, activities, and schedules of what the kids are going to be doing throughout the summer camp is the responsibility of the teachers. The people in charge though will not help you at all. They force you to come up with lesson plans and fun activities on the spot and will criticize you. This means that you have a bunch of inexperienced college students teach young kids English with a lesson plan that they came up with the night before. English Camp Taiwan will just make you do everything and overwork you from early morning 8AM all the way until around 9PM.

The accommodation that we had for the first week was also filled with tarantulas and spiders. There was no running hot water and we all slept on the ground. It was very unhygienic.

I once had a headache and asked if I could stay in the accommodation for just an hour or two to rest because I was so overworked and dehydrated. I got a call from the person in charge and he scolded me telling me that I was not allowed to take a break even though I was feeling sick.

All in all, there is so much more to this organization and how unorganized it is. I would not recommend anyone to do this even if they are desperate for an internship or job. It is not worth your energy and you will just be helping them scam these kids' money.

The English Camp Taiwan experience was a rollercoaster ride in the best way possible. You'll have your bad days on camp, when the kid aren't cooperating, or the right materials for an activity aren't there, or worst of all, a typhoon hits the city. But the thing about ECT is that you're never alone. You can always count on someone to help you out, whether that be your directors, co-counsellors, or even the founder.

That being said, the majority of your days will be a blast. As long as you keep up with your camps daily game plan, take advantage of all the rest you can get after camp hours (because working with kids WILL drain all your energy), and build great relationships with your co-workers, you're guaranteed a good time.

Outside of camp, you get the chance to live with various host families. ECT does an amazing job at pairing you with the most compatible families so that everyone gets a rewarding experience. All four of my host families have been fantastic and to this day, we still stay in touch!

Finally, the best part about ECT (que the cheesy part), is that you'll make these crazy once in a lifetime memories with absolute strangers who become your bestfriends. You'll get every other weekend to plan trips with your coworkers and these can include staying overnight in mountains and temples, relaxing at beaches, trying out hot springs, eating your heart out in a night market, and so much more. The key is that you get as much from the experience as you put in.

This was a fantastic opportunity to travel, meet new people, and experience Taiwan. As someone who did not have too much experience teaching, I learnt a great deal through the 4 camps. We were given a lot of autonomy in planning activities and lessons which really brought our teams together and allowed us to made the camps our own. I cannot overstate how fantastic the experiences with my fellow counsellors were, as well as the close relationships built with my host families. As a political science student and travel enthusiast, the ability to travel around Taiwan, meet locals, and experience the unique culture and history of Taiwan was incredible.

I would be cautious going into this program if I was you as a minor. I am a past participant and would have to say this camp was poorly organized. I felt that the leader came across as a generous older mentor with good intentions? How I was wrong, definitely inappropriate most often he would drink and get drunk with us. The more I got to know him the more I realized that he was not who he made out to be, a lot of fake promises and I would not put it past him to try and make a move on you or pay you in alcohol at the end of the camp.

Camp Taiwan gave me the ability to experience every day living in Taiwan in a 3 month period to decide if teaching overseas would be a realistic option for me it seemed like a comfy idea. As a post grad teacher I loved the experience and the host families brought me back to my exchange student days during high school. David was a fantastic mentor throughout the whole experience in ensuring the process was run efficiently and smoothly. I was able to be immersed in the culture the 2 week camps in city to city gave me an insight into Taiwan. As we were over staffed their was opportunity to take 2 weeks off to travel and explore Taiwan on my own was an option. I appreciated this time stepping away from the camps and other expats to again see more Taiwan beyond the camp. My recommendations for this camp is to be independent enough to explore Taiwan beyond the camp otherwise you will have limiting knowledge/appreciation.