Volunteer to Teach English and Exchange Cultures in Vietnam

Volunteering at VCV is highly recommended to new teachers looking to gain some experience or even existing teachers looking for a unique experience in Vietnam. I spent a total of about 5 months at VCV over two seperate stints. Ms. Hay is lovely and provides volunteers with delicious meals and accommodation. I met some great people while volunteering there, it is a highly social place with volunteers often going out together for coffee, food or drinks. The students are also friendly and there is a good level of banter. The teaching materials are provided and new teachers can feel at ease by asking fellow volunteers for teaching advice, as well as Ms. Hay. It was my first experience teaching and it helped so much, leading me to find paid teaching work in Hanoi straight after volunteering.

Mrs Hay and the crew at VCV really know how to run a great volunteer organization! I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to teach and learn in such a welcoming and relaxed setting. The accommodation provided was great and food was delicious. VCV offers a space where you can teach and connect with students of all ages and other volunteers from across the globe. The workload is relatively small which gives plenty of time to volunteers to explore the city and surrounding areas. If you want to travel with a purpose and give something back to the communities you are visiting, don't hesitate to join the VCV family.

I volunteered with vcv for a few weeks whilst i was travelling around south east asia.it was a wonderful experience and i regret that i did not get to stay longer. the team at vcv are so supportive and kind and helpful, nothing is a problem. The team are so kind george, lam and houng are there if you need any questions regarding the program or life in hanoi. every week we had four to five classes which is not a lot and with everyclass, either george or houng join in the classes and help with any translation problems as they are locals who live nearby.
miss hayley is very kind and respectful and very willing to help. I would highly recommend vcv to anyone interested in teaching english and learning about vietnamese culture as quite often we have weekends free and its a great way to visit the surrounding cultural hotspots like sappa and the island of catba.

From the minute I arrived at VCV I felt welcomed and like part of the family. Everyone at VCV is so kind and caring. The apartment we stay in is very homey, clean and spacious so you feel like you have your own space. I loved all of the classes I taught, my students were so enthusiastic about learning English which made teaching them amazing. I was lucky enough to build a good relationship with my adult class so we would often go out for dinner and drinks after class. The food provided at VCV is incredible, I would say some healthiest and delicious food I’ve ever eaten. At the weekends lots of us tended to go on little trips, I visited Sapa, Cat Ba, Ninh Binh and some of the Vietnamese helpers home towns. All in all my experience at VCV was incredible and out of my 7 months traveling teaching english in Hanoi with this amazing organisation was a huge highlight of my entire trip. I would highly recommend VCV to everyone!

This was my first experience volunteering/teaching overseas and it was an amazing one! The teaching is well organised and everyone is provided with books to follow and help with lesson planning. Theres also always Vietnamese teaching assistant in class to help you out which is really helpful so it was a lot easier to teach than I expected.

I particularly loved living with 10-12 other volunteers; it means theres always company and some one to show you around Hanoi. Its also a great way to meet interesting people from all over the world and I'm so grateful for the friends I made there and as the lessons are predominantly in the evening theres plenty of free time in the day to explore the area together. Ms Hay and all the other Vietnamese teaching assistants and students are very welcoming and happy to help you with anything and recommend places in and around Hanoi. The food on offer is so delicious and also they catered very well for a vegetarian diet which was great for me.

VCV allowed me to gain a very genuine experience of Vietnam and I'm very grateful for the 8 weeks I spent there:) Would recommend it to anyone!

“I spent six fabulous months with VCV and became part of an international community that gifted me with friends all over the world! Ms. Hay has an incredible vision for lifting up the Vietnamese people and she runs a wonderful program. The teaching time commitment is extremely manageable and you will most likely have the chance to teach both the kid and adult classes. Ms Hay has curriculum available that makes it easy to dive right in even if you have never taught English before. In my experience, the other volunteers are always willing to lend a hand as well. Not only do you get to hang out with the students during class, Ms Hay facilitates day trips every Saturday with the adult students! These were great opportunities to get to know the students on a more personal level as well as get some sightseeing in.
If you're considering how long to stay, I 100% recommend going longer to really give yourself the chance to become enveloped by this wonderful community!"

Ms Hay and I have become long term friends after my initial volunteering with VCV in 2014.

I started to work with VCV as volunteer when they had just started - I chose them because it seemed it would be a personal experience and I hoped I could help in some way. I'm unsure if I had helped in anyway but I am sure that VCV was the perfect choice, a great experience and definitely one of the reasons why I decided to move to Vietnam to live my life.

My volunteer experience was only meant to last one month, I stayed nearly 6 months and have now been living here for 2yrs already.

Hay and the students really made me experience Hanoi and I hopefully helped them develop the students language skills. I know some of them have become my long term friends and can see how some have gone from not being able to communicate to fluent conversations.

The experience at VCV is great. Teach for on a fair schedule, be easily assisted with your class room planning and activities and someone will always help. Engage with locals, the community, get a real feel and enjoy local places. Look no further, volunteering in Vietnam? VCV.

From the minute I arrived at VCV the atmosphere felt so warm and welcoming. In the VCV apartment everyone helps each other and looks out for each other it’s like one big family. I loved all the classes I taught, all of my students were so lovely and enthusiastic about learning English. I became good friends with my adult classes and would often go out for dinner and drinks with them after class which was fun. Besides teaching, at the weekends we would go on trips to different places in Vietnam. Me and some other volunteers went trekking in Sapa, to ninh Binh, Cat Ba and lots of other places for weekend trips. The food provided at VCV is incredible. Honestly some of the best food I’ve ever eaten and so healthy. All in all, I think if you’re wanting to teach English in Vietnam you should go for VCV. You will leave with a second family and feeling extremely happy.