NATIONAL ECONOMICS UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGESENGLISH FOR BUSINESS DEPARTMENT FACTORS AFFECTING SHORT-TERM INTERNATIONAL VOLUNTEERS’ EXPERIENCES WHILE TAKING PART IN GLOBAL E
The number of experiences as an IV before CSDS
The chart below demonstrates how many times the participants have experienced as an IV before taking part in GEP in CSDS.
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Figure 4: The number of experiences as an IV before CSDS.
Overall, a significant number of participants considered their experiences with CSDS as the first global volunteering experiences in their life.
The participants who have never taken part in any global volunteer programs before made up just under two thirds, 63.75% It might be a positive signal that volunteers believed that CSDS could make their first experiences become fantastic and indelible Perhaps, the participants hear the feedbacks and comments about CSDS from the previous CSDS IVs CSDS might also provide volunteers with suitable projects and enthusiastic supports Moreover, more than a third, 35%, of IVs had from 1 to 3 times when they did voluntary works in other countries before they found have found out CSDS and come to Vietnam Their aforementioned experiences might be wonderful or not; however, they could influence their expectations about works and experiences in CSDS Besides, only 1 out of 80 IVs had more than 3 experiences as a outside country volunteer.
It might be an evidence that Vietnam being a developing country in Asian is a tourism and volunteering attraction However, the result could also reflect the fact that the quality of the projects provided by CSDS and the general quality of the experiences in GEP.
The short-term international volunteers’ experiences in GEP
IVs’ attitudes toward the importance of experiences as an IV
The pie chart below illustrates the importance of global volunteer experiences in IVs’ view.
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Figure 5: IVs’ attitudes toward the importance of experiences as an IV.
As described in the figure above, the majority of [Vs put emphasis on the significance of doing voluntary work in other countries They supposed that this is a practical adventure, which helps them to gain knowledge, exchange cultures, practise soft skills and get indelible memory.
It is evident that no one denied or underestimated the importance of their experiences For volunteers, the experiences were always useful and worthwhile.
Volunteer experiences are highly valued by respondents, with 30% strongly advocating for their importance Volunteers emphasize the unique knowledge and skills acquired through immersion in different cultures and environments, which cannot be replicated in traditional educational settings Additionally, 57.5% of respondents view volunteer experiences as invaluable lessons, providing opportunities to apply theoretical learnings in practical situations and foster personal growth However, a small minority of 12.5% hold a neutral stance, suggesting that volunteer experiences have limited impact on their development.
To sum up, almost all [Vs emphasized the importance of the experiences and take advantages of those trips to expand their knowledge and develop their social skills It is not difficult to realise the enormous values of the experiences As a result, IVs strongly desired for magnificent volunteer experiences in a strange country.
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The general quality of IVs’ experiences while taking part in GEP
IVs found their volunteering experiences to be highly valuable, providing them with unique and fulfilling adventures These experiences were universally praised by IVs, who expressed overwhelmingly positive evaluations of their time in the Global Exploration Program (GEP).
Figure 6: The general quality of IVs’ experiences while taking part in GEP
As it can be obviously seen, the result is entirely unexpected Almost all surveyed IVs supposed that their experiences in GEP at CSDS is perfect 63 out of 80 IVs got super marvelous experiences when becoming participants in GEP. Consequently, it is visibly proved that the general quality of the program is wonderful This leads to the customer satisfaction In addition to this, the number of IVs who supposed that their volunteer experiences were great accounted for exactly 17.5% Doing abroad voluntary work in CSDS brings participants a great deal of benefits which are not financial or material gain.
However, the rest of [Vs comprising roughly 4% in total respondents expected that the quality of the program needed to be promoted The improvement in the quality of GEP can meet their expectation of the experience.
According to interview result, 100% of interviewees shared the same point with
63 IVs aforementioned 10 out of 10 IVs appreciated the time they worked as volunteers in GEP They supposed that all they gain from their experiences in the program is well worth spending time and even money.
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In short, although the quality of the experiences of IVs in GEP is actually high,there are 4%, equivalenting to 3 [Vs who felt that their experiences have not fully met their expectation As a consequence, CSDS needs to try to find the weakness and develop the program and the projects However small the risk or weakness was, it could destroy the plan and the experiences of IVs.
IVS’ experiences i (ŒEP << si mg 22 3.3 Factors affecting IVs’ âXD€FẽICS GGG G0 00888956 25 3.4 Suggestions to improve the quality of experiences in GEP
In order to find out the weaknesses of the program, the author mentioned ten statements in the content of the table below The table reveals the further detail about the assistance and facilities which are served in the host organisation.
According to the chart, [Vs evaluated the further detail of the quality of the service on a score scale from 1 to 5 for each mentioned statement The average score for each supply provided by CSDS was exceedingly high-level.
In each statement, it is a clear signal there was non the poorest mark which was given Everything provided by CSDS does not cause hardship for the participants. Besides, airport pick up, orientation, city tour, project work, project staff, support from local supporters and CSDS coordinators were highly appreciated by more than 80% of IVs who gave the best mark.
In the GEP program, all international volunteers (IVs) rated orientation, project staff, and project work highly They received comprehensive orientations on CSDS and Vietnamese culture, as well as specific project information IVs expressed satisfaction with the project work's significance and their ability to make a meaningful contribution Additionally, they valued the welcoming and supportive attitude of the project staff.
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Support by your CSDS coordinator was prompt and effective Ì 72
Support by local supporters (if any) was effective
Project staff was welcoming and accessible
Accommodation was clean and comfortable 8
Meals at CSDS were good and varied 20
City tour was interesting and well organized
Orientation was well scheduled and informative
Airport pick up was smooth 4
Explication: 1 being the poorest and 5 being the best Figure 7: IVs’ experiences in GEP
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The majority of participants, accounting for 92.5%, picked up smoothly at the airport; nevertheless, four people have the trouble when they were picked up, and only 2 out of 80 participants gave the score 2 Indeed, CSDS always requires the staffs or inters to pick up the IVs at the airport no matter what time it is, even at midnight However, sometimes there is no available staffs and interns in order to come an individual In that case, CSDS will offer a private taxi to pick up IV and give IV the information of the private taxi and exactly the place the driver will meet IV It is still completely uncomfortable because of the lack of the capability for using foreign language of the driver.
The city tour, support from local supporters and the CSDS coordinator, and meals at the CSDS received above-average ratings, ranging from 3 to 5 points CSDS staff, interns, and local supporters provided enthusiastic introductions to Vietnamese culture and must-visit destinations in Hanoi, despite lacking professional tour guide experience While support was generally effective, 50 individuals (62.5%) rated the CSDS meals below the maximum score, likely due to the diverse dietary preferences of the international volunteers As CSDS caters to volunteers from around the world, satisfying everyone's taste preferences can be challenging.
The number of participants feeling discontented with Vietnamese lesson is the same as the number of participants being dissatisfied with accommodation It accounted for a very tiny percentage of IVs taking part in the survey, only 2.5% They thought that Vietnamese lesson was useless, and accommodation supplied by CSDS was unclean and uncomfortable In addition to this, the number of the maximum scores for Vietnamese lesson and house did not live up to CSDS’s expectations, occupying 60% and 50% IVs in turns Those numbers were lower than the number of IVs giving score 5 for the other factors Through this data, CSDS needs to design the better teaching plan for Vietnamese lesson although it takes only approximately a half hour to teach and cleaner volunteer houses.
Under interview approach, the answers of 10 interviewed IVs were absolutely detailed All 10 IVs totally appreciated and were grateful for the supports from
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CSDS staff, interns as well as local supporters, agreed that the significance of the experiences can not be underrated For them, the staff always helpful and friendly, especially they are so careful when they are sick.
In summary, the table went into detail of meticulous and adequate assessments of the quality of GEP through IVs’ viewpoints After conducting a detailed analysis of the results, the author think that it is clearly evident that GEP assistance and facilities could give IVs satisfaction of their experiences However, it also is undoubted that GEP assistance and facilities are needed to gain higher quality.
Then, the next table demonstrates factors affecting volunteer experiences in GEP and how influential they were The author suggested all elements which were believed to have an effect on the quality of the global volunteer experiences in
CSDS Therefore, elements could be more than the author mentioned.
Among influential factors, support from the Chinese Students and Scholars Department (CSDS) was paramount, accounting for nearly two-thirds of respondents CSDS provides comprehensive support, including housing, meals, airport transportation, staff and intern assistance, local supporter connections, and orientations While 32.5% of respondents recognized the importance of CSDS support during their volunteer experiences, they also acknowledged that excessive assistance could potentially hinder their independence and self-assertion However, all respondents affirmed that CSDS support had a positive impact on their international volunteer experiences.
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Supports from the sending organisation
# Veryinfluential Influential Neutral Lessinfluential 8 Not influential at all
Figure 8: Factors affecting IVs’ experiences in GEP
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Besides, [Vs highly appropriated the influence of certain elements such as motivation, expectation as well as well-prepared 0 out of 80 IVs supposed that those factors were not influential at all Nonetheless, the remaining IVs held the view that those were highly influential factors According to chapter
Motivational factors and expectations vary widely among participants in voluntary experiences Some seek to overcome past challenges, while others crave adventure or professional development These diverse motivations can lead to contrasting experiences and evaluations High expectations can hinder satisfaction, making it crucial for participants to research thoroughly, prepare physically and mentally, and embrace potential challenges to avoid unrealistic expectations and potential disappointment.
On the other hand, two factors including language barrier and previous volunteer experience were supposed to have a neutral influence on the experiences of IVs in GEP Those percentages which are ranked in order were 30% and 40% In addition to that, at less influential level, these factors accounted for accurately 15%. Volunteers did not believe that speaking language was extremely vital for their experiences because they could enable to understand what local residents wanted to say by using body language Indeed, if volunteers had tremendously marvelous experiences before applying for the voluntary work in CSDS, there would be a tendency for IVs to raise their experiences too much This might lead to displeasure at their experiences in CSDS.
According to the result, supports from sending organisation impacted greatly on the experiences of IVs That factor had a moderate and extremely influential effect on their experiences in GEP, made up precisely 80% equaling 60 individuals. However, a modest proportion (only 2.5%) of volunteers supposed that sending organisation had no impact on their experiences The sending organisation had supported them to apply the program and select the project as well as complete the legal procedure before they arrived the host country In fact, the sending organisation always assist them in taking care of their voluntary process and whether everything is smooth.
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The volunteer houses should be cleaner and more comfortable The bed and mattress were very hard for volunteers The number of IVs in the room should be
Tran Thi Ly - 11163259 - Business English 56B kept under 6 IVs In addition, the wifi connection should be better and the food should be more various In fact, the accommodation and food have an effect on physical and mental IVs’ heath.
CSDS should give more chance to the participants in order to exchange cultures among different countries through extracurricular activities Those activities can make IVs, staff and interns stick together by small talks and opened sharing.
Besides the suggestions summarized from the results of the survey, the author would like to supply some recommendations First of all, CSDS had better share with IVs the challenges and limitations of NGOs which prevent CSDS from meeting all their demands Instead of that, CSDS always shows out the carefulness and attention to how the IVs are and feel.
Furthermore, the host orgainsation should hold mandatory feedback sections after the first week Coordinators should be hold it in order to get honest and authentic sharing about the projects from IVs with the purpose of making sure everything smooth and dealing with the problems immediately.
Lastly, every week, coordinators who are in charge of different work placement projects had better to hold an activity to get IVs in the same project together They can share about their difficulties in their project in order to find the way to tackle them, as well as their pleasantness and their feelings Joining this activity can provide new volunteers with an objective view from former IVs and learn from their experiences.
4.2.3 Information about CSDS and GEP
To facilitate proper preparation, CSDS should provide the sending organization with comprehensive information regarding the work plan, program details, and potential challenges This information should be presented in both written and visual formats, including photographs of the work placements, living spaces, and amenities By providing this realistic depiction, CSDS manages expectations and allows IVs to envision their surroundings before committing Furthermore, IVs are empowered to select their preferred accommodation options, enhancing their comfort and satisfaction during their stay.
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4.2.4 Connection between IVs and CSDS’s partners
Another advice for the host organisation is that CSDS should become a bridge to connect IVs and CSDS partners such as English teachers in the universities. English teachers’ attendances are necessary at the orientation about work placements such as universities Instead of giving IVs the available lesson plans, teachers can discuss more about the lesson plan with them and determine the goals. Moreover, the volunteers can come from English speaking countries; however, they might not have the ability of teaching or teaching skills and experiences As a result, checking their level of teaching English and training well for teaching skills is extremely crucial for IVs taking part in teaching projects.
In conclusion, it is obvious that the host organisation, CSDS, is responsible for the general quality of IVs’ experiences At the same time, CSDS seem to be an instructor and a companion who accompany IVs during their experiences in Vietnam.
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This part shows the summary, limitations of the study.
After the internship period in Center for Sustainable Development Studies CSDS, the author has a chance to work and talk with the international volunteers from many countries all over the world Global Exchange Program, a service supplied by CSDS, gives IVs interesting experiences However, the author realises that CSDS have not ever research on the IVs’ experiences As a result, this study is aimed at having a deep look at the current quality of experiences of volunteers participating in GEP in CSDS, then ascertaining the factors affecting IVs’ experiences while participating in GEP and find several effective solutions to assist IVs as well as CSDS to get the better volunteering experiences.
In general, the quality of GEP and the quality of IVs’ experiences are rather good. However, they can be better if CSDS and IVs can solve mentioned weaknesses. From the research study, it points out that IVs really have concerned about the significance of abroad volunteering experiences Besides, based on collected data, it would be concluded that those factors consisting of motivations, expectations, previous experiences, support from CSDS and the sending organisations, projects as well as language barriers have a sharply huge influence on the experiences of
During the research period, the author outlined methodologies for both IVs and CSDS, emphasizing the crucial role of IVs' willingness to learn and engage The author's findings indicate that IVs' receptiveness to new experiences directly impacts their ability to overcome challenges and achieve success.
All in all, all researching purposes have been achieved The author hope that the results of the study could make a small partial contribution to the organisation.
Due to the time limitation, the lack of researching skills, experiences as well as knowledge in this field, the author could not achieve the results as perfect as expectations and avoid some shortcomings.
Due to time constraints, the study was conducted with a limited number of short-term volunteers This limited the generalizability of the findings Additionally, the abbreviated timeframe hindered the author from fully exploring the topic and obtaining a comprehensive understanding of the subject matter.
Tran Thi Ly - 11163259 - Business English 56B collecting the answers of IVs from almost all of countries where the sending organisations cooperating with CSDS are As a result, the author did not analyse the collected data relating to IVs’ nationalities and cultural factors is ignored.
Furthermore, at the time the research was conveyed, the spread of coronavirus pandemic has discovered around the world International flights have been forced to stop As a result, there is no IVs in CSDS It led to the online interviews and sharing was not as effective as expectations.
Besides the lack of researching skills and experiences, the research method stopped the study from covering almost all aspects of this problem.