Teach English with Trellis - Volunteer in Vietnam

I can not recommend this program enough. I worked for them for just under 4 months during which I lived in a great apartment, was given 2 weeks of thorough teacher training and taught multiple individuals from age 6 to 25 at two universities and an orphanage weekly. Trellis gives you the opportunity to actually have a visible impact on members of the community, which is rare to find in many programs. Furthermore at the end of the program Da Nang felt like a second home to me due to the ideal balance between independence and guidance that Trellis offers.

I was able to make friends and engage with the community in a way that I haven't been able to before whilst traveling abroad. I was also given a considerable amount of responsibility, being able to plan my own syllabus and classes. I was an 18-19 year old girl when I took part in this program, which was daunting to say the least, but Trellis made me feel safe, comfortable and confident. This is an experience I am so lucky to have had and would recommend it whole heartedly to anyone who wants to step outside their comfort zone in a positive way. I am undoubtedly a better person for it.

Hello!

I was part of the first round of volunteers for Trellis. I'm a military spouse from the USA. Unfortunately, I had to leave a month early to help a loved one recover from major surgery. Now that I'm not a full-time nurse, I've decided to leave a review.

The program begins with a crash course into teaching, including basic lesson plans and how to adapt lessons from a textbook. It focuses on the teaching aspect, not so much on the evaluation aspect. As a new teacher, I had to guess student's English fluency and try to make lessons to their level.

My background is education and biology, so I expected to do well in Trellis. However, the program was really difficult for me. When I first started, there were not as many lesson activities and resources as I thought there would be. I'm good at designing lesson flows once I understand how to incorporate activities, but if I don't fully understand how the activity works then it's harder for me to adjust it to a student's level. I asked for help and I mostly got it. At first I was mostly told to Google lesson plans. Most of what I found online tended to be aimed at kids. Maybe I'm not good at Googling. I was persistent in asking for resources and ideas on how to modify the activities, and eventually received more help. Trellis is a program where you have to advocate for yourself. If you're not comfortable asking for help when you need it, then this program may not be for you. If you ask for something and you're not getting it, then you have to be persistent.

In college, I was trained to have well planned lessons. I became a bit of a perfectionist by the time I graduated. I thought my attention to detail would serve me well in Vietnam, but it hindered me. Teaching in Vietnam is very different from America, it's more laid back. The expectations are low, to the point where teachers aren't really supposed to take the teaching part too seriously. I did, and I struggled because of it. Eventually, I learned that teaching there means focusing less on grammar and vocab and more on creating opportunities for them to practice. It took me a while to find activities appropriate to their fluency level, but once I did I used them in rotation.

Trellis provides transportation to and from the hotel, and volunteering is like working a 7am-4pm job. Most of my time was at the University, if not teaching then preparing lesson plans. I'm not someone who's good at "winging it," and I think that added to my struggle. I like having activities ready ahead of time and at least ideas for back up activities if students aren't at the level I think they are (and frequently, they weren't). Others could just grab supplies and throw things together, but alas I could not. At least, I couldn't until the end of my time there. Eventually I came to understand how each activity worked and how it could be adjusted, but a lot of what I learned came from trial and error.

As far as the country of Vietnam, it was really overwhelming to me at first. Growing up, my parents always pointed out certain parts of town to stay away from, especially since I was a girl. To me, most of Da Nang looks like the parts of town my parents told me about. It's a developing country, and I didn't really quite know what that looked like until I was there. It took me a bit to feel comfortable enough to walk and explore on my own. Once I gained that confidence to explore, I discovered that the locals are some of the most friendly and outgoing people that you'll ever meet. People approached me and invited me to join them frequently, whether it was at a coffee shop or for an early morning beach walk.

If you do go, I'd recommend getting to know the locals. One of the easiest ways to do that is through your students. I know, it's looked down upon to socialize with students in Western countries, like mine, so it can feel uncomfortable at first. But really, if you want to know the best places to shop, eat at, or just explore, they're probably your best resource. Most of them want to get to know you too, so take advantage of it and invite your class to eat out with you, or just go to the beach on a weekend.

It can also be tempting to want to stay with the group of other teachers (or other expats) because they're familiar. I didn't really get to know the locals until I ventured off on my own, and I'm so glad I did. I learned so much more about the country's richness and a surprisingly lot about myself. Unfortunately, right about the time I started adapting to life in Vietnam, I got some bad news about a loved one and had to leave early. I wish I could have stayed.

Although most of my time with Trellis was a struggle, I'm really glad I went. I don't think I'm the same person I was going there, I'm much more capable and confident. I'm handling the recovery of my loved one and the uncertainties of my personal life surprisingly well, and I think a bit of that comes from my growth abroad. I am grateful for my experience there. If you're up for a challenge, then I recommend that you go too.

(Also, ladies: options for feminine products are limited, so bring your own)

In this internship program, we gained valuable experience not only teaching Japanese but also developing a new project from scratch. In order to teach well and make the students understand concepts better, we always needed to pay close attention to students, their learning environment and other teachers and find problems that needed to be solved. Then, we discussed solutions, decided our next actions and improved the quality of our language program. This is our mission. We came up with different activities in extracurricular activities in the Japanese Club and school trips to provide with opportunities to know more about Japanese and Japanese culture. I tried to make these activities something that students could enjoy a lot and also learn Japanese. I came to think about how I can make the most of this wonderful experience with Trellis in Vietnam for my future. I began to think that I would like to be a police officer and be of great help to Vietnamese students studying in Japan in the future. Having more dreams for the future will be a drive to your life. I hope more people will join this program and expand the possibility of their future.

I had a great experience and met wonderful people as a Japanese intern in Danang, Vietnam. The organization is still at its early stage and we were their first interns. Of course, the system was not perfect but Trellis provided us with a comfortable environment where we could reach out the staff if there were any issues and they dealt with them right away. We needed to be proactive as volunteers and Trellis listens to our opinions and respects them. I could nourish my skill to come up with my own ideas and put them into practice during my time there. As one of Trellis' Japanese volunteers, I was fortunate to have an opportunity to work with English volunteers, Vietnamese teachers and students. I also had a chance to meet a lot of Japanese living in Danang. It was an extraordinary experience to understand different traditions and cultures there. It was the best internship in terms of gaining experience.

To begin, let me start by saying that I was a member of Trellis' pilot program, and it will only get better with future programs. That being said, my experience was great. I found Trellis while searching online for possible location to teach English, without even having a destination country in mind. Not knowing if teaching would be something I would like to do for more than a few months, I though I would give it a shot.

The hiring process was very quick, and gave plenty of time upon my acceptance of the offer to prepare to come to Vietnam. I arrived a few days before the program started, and found temporary accommodations waiting for me. The day the program started, I moved into the housing that Trellis would provide for the next few months: a spacious, well-furnished studio apartment with some of the friendliest staff I have met.

A two-week training period kicked off the program, with one of the teachers from Trellis' parent company in Japan travelling to Vietnam to give a crash course in teaching basics. The classes themselves consisted of between 8 and 10 university students between the ages of 19 and 22. They were very entertaining to speak to and become close to, and they loved the system of "learning disguised as games" that Trellis uses.

Vietnam itself is a beautiful country. Da Nang is a seaside city surrounded by mountains on one side and the ocean on the other. Travel inland a few miles, and you will be surrounded by dense jungle. Be sure to travel to Hoi An and check out the silk tailors! Or take a ride up to the Lady Buddha on Son Tra Mountain and explore a very peaceful monastery.

Overall, I enjoyed my time with Trellis in Vietnam. Upon completion, you will have a chance to work in Japan teaching English in Kanazawa, a small city in western Japan that is rich in culture and heritage. Having been in Kanazawa for just over a week now, I can say that I made the right decision volunteering with Trellis.

Note: This is a truthful depiction of my personal experience of Trellis's Fall 2017 volunteer program. I understand that this program's other two volunteers’ reviews will be drastically different, as they are now currently employed by Trellis’s parent company, Lesson4U. Everything in this review is true to the best of my knowledge.

Trellis… "Travel with Purpose."

While the concept is a promising one — Trellis fails to deliver on its promises.

In August 2017, I had the opportunity to be part of Trellis’s initial foray into the non-profit volunteer space. While it started off rather well, it quickly fell into a state of chaos, disorganization, and ultimately, frustration.

While it is understandable that the program is still in its infancy, there are some major flaws that must be worked out, in order for it to be considered a fair exchange of time.

Trellis is engineered to funnel free (volunteer) teachers (recruits) into their school by offering them teaching positions at their Kanazawa office, after they’ve completed the three month program. Unfortunately, this is the their primary goal – NOT impacting developing communities, as listed via their marketing materials.

Trellis "loosely" (non-contractually) promises its volunteers the following:

1) An opportunity to travel with purpose.
2) The safety and well-being of its volunteers.
3) Transportation to and from its volunteer teaching obligations.
4) Adequate living accommodations.
5) Training as an English Language Teacher.
6) A secured job at the end of the program, signed off and agreed upon prior to the last month of volunteering.

Unfortunately — in my personal experience — Trellis was only able to deliver two of the six aforementioned items: the living accommodations and training as an English Language Teacher.

We started with a team of four volunteers. Three males and one female. By the end of the program, only two of the males remained. Half of us quit — myself included. This leaves Trellis with a 50% approval rating for their first program.

My full contract term was not fulfilled due to administrative and professional business ineptitude that led to unsolved issues related to my legal visa status and program management, more specifically, but not limited to:

• Ineffective leadership and mismanagement
• Dodging of responsibilities and the well-being of volunteers, regardless of their decision to part ways with the program (i.e. getting them home safe and sound)

• A steep program fee cost, with zero guaranteed return and no clear refund policy ($2,000, plus airfare, international insurance, living expenses)

• Poor orchestration of teaching schedule; locking volunteers into an 11-hour window of free labor (6:45am-5:45pm), five days a week

• Failures in getting important legal documents acknowledged and signed (the acting manager forgot/neglected to have me sign the Terms & Conditions Agreement)

• Transportation costs not being reimbursed in a timely manner (we often had to find our own way to the school, on our own dime)

• Lack of adequate teaching materials (whiteboard markers, erasers, printing paper, etc)

• Onsite training limited to about week or two, as acting manager is rarely in the office to administer continued training

• Acting manager showing up late (hours after volunteers clock in) on a 4/5 (weekly) ratio (volunteers show up at 6:45am/acting manager does not arrive in office until 8am or later)

• Agreements have not been crafted or cleared by attorneys. No legitimate contract. No legal disclaimers or failsafes. Grey areas all around

• If something goes wrong, "it's the volunteer's fault, not the company's"

CONCLUSION:

At the current moment, I do not believe this program is worth the requested investment (time/money).

I will be requesting a full refund and compensation for my time, program fees, and expenses – as the acting manager did not present and mutually agree in advance any formal terms and conditions documents.

That said, I am grateful for the learning experience and the opportunity to try something new. Your actual experience will most likely be different, if the issues mentioned above are resolved to present a program that is as fulfilling as promised for all parties involved.

Let me give a brief synopsis of my experience as a volunteer for Trellis and I hope it will convince you to take this opportunity! I had always wanted to travel abroad, and I especially have always wanted to go to Japan to teach English. However, I knew I lacked experience in teaching and I'd also always been interested in Vietnam as well, so when I learned about Trellis, I truly felt like it was right for me! My experience so far in Vietnam has been everything I had hoped for, and my journey will continue on to Japan in January of 2018! From the day I arrived in Vietnam, Trellis has been there for me every step of the way, but not in a way that is overbearing or gives you the feeling that you can't have your own experience. However, if you feel at anytime that you need someone, they are always there to help you.
As for the teaching experience, I feel that as a volunteer Trellis has given me the opportunity to develop my own teaching skills and given me the tools that I will need in any future teaching job. It is the perfect opportunity to develop classroom management skills as well as develop lesson plans and ideas for any ESL classroom setting. I now feel confident in my ability to lead a classroom, whereas I did not before I began volunteering at Trellis.
To say Trellis has impacted my life in a positive way would be an understatement. I have seen and learned so much in such a short period of time while in Vietnam. Not only has my volunteer experience been life changing, but Trellis has impacted my future as well by enabling me to secure a teaching job in Japan! I implore you to consider a position with Trellis, as it could very easily change your life like it has mine!