Alumnus and British Council Ambassador, Jasper Gogol-Sicklen, recently gave a talk to our current students, sharing his experiences as an English teacher at Chongqing Foreign Language School in China, and his travels across Asia-Pacific countries.
During his time at the University of Kent, Jasper took a Mandarin course and, in 2016, he successfully applied to become an English teacher through the British Council English Language Assistants programme. Jasper thoroughly enjoyed teaching, living, and travelling in China during those three years and encourages more young people to go out there and explore the world.
During the webinar on 20th January 2021, Jasper gave an informative presentation, from the planning of the application to moving and teaching in China all the way through to useful information about living in the country, and travelling to different places. Jasper also emphasised that it is not essential to know the language to teach in China, but strongly recommended to learn Mandarin before going there. Jasper told the students how language skills and knowledge of basic culture are very helpful to quickly make new friends and immerse yourself in the community. After this motivational talk and Q&A, many students expressed their desire to go to China or abroad in general to pursue an adventurous start of their careers.