Several local retired teachers are off to New Westminster's friendship city of Yunfu to teach English.
A delegation from the Retired Teachers Association New Westminster and the City of Yunfu signed a memorandum of agreement at New Westminster City Hall in July.
"They would like some teachers to come from New Westminster to work with students on their oral and conversational English, and to work with teachers in helping them see what we do in western style of teaching," said Dale Lauber, past president of the Retired Teachers' Association of New Westminster.
The Retired Teachers Association of New Westminster is comprised of retired teachers who have either taught in New Westminster or have retired and now live in the city. The association is a branch of the British Columbia Retired Teachers' Association.
"It was done because the Yunfu delegation was here," Lauber said. "This was one piece of the work that delegation is doing. It's very exciting to us."
Lauber said the local group is excited with the opportunity of forming an association with its teaching colleagues in Yunfu. Six retired teachers will be visiting Yunfu from Oct. 8 to 19, during which time they'll work with students in the morning and teachers in the afternoons.
"They are going to be working in pairs in a classroom of 30 students. There will be 30 teachers observing," he said. "In the afternoon, they will be working directly with the teachers. The Yunfu teachers in the morning will simply be observing."
Coun. Lorrie Williams, who is a retired teacher, helped set the exchange in motion.
"A lot of the credit for this goes to Lorrie. It was her idea that got it started," Lauber said. "We are so appreciative of the work the city has done to make it happen. It's very exciting what this can do. We think it is unique - we are working with both the teachers and the students."
Lauber stressed that the teachers are volunteering their time, and won't be paid to teach in China. Yunfu is paying for the teachers' airfare and accommodations.
"The only thing we bring is our lesson plans, our materials, our skills, our style of teaching and our goodwill," he said.
Yunfu, which has a population of about 2.6 million, will be selecting which students will participate in the English classes with the visiting teachers. Retired teachers Orrie and Kerry Babiuk, Ted and Sharon Yeadon (who is the association's new president and helped arrange the trip), Margaret Ross and Jenni Lynnea will be visiting Yunfu as part of the teaching trip.
In 2008, the City of New Westminster established a friendship city relationship with Yunfu, which is located in the Guangdong province of China.
Williams believes the exchange further strengthens the city's connection to Yunfu.
tmcmanus@royalcityrecord.com
