Teach English in China 2023

So you're interested in working as an English teacher in China, eh? A few of my previous teaching jobs were in China. There are certain things I accomplished quite well, while others I did not do so well with. I'd love to assist you avoid making the same errors I made! If you want to call me prejudiced, you may, but I believe that the greatest advise comes from those who have "been there, done that" rather than from corporations that are trying to make a fast buck off of you. If you are interested in teaching English in China, the following are some of my most important recommendations.

Plan every every detail of it.

I am aware that planning may seem dull.

However, if you don't put enough thought into the planning, you're setting yourself up for failure (or however the saying goes).

Which of the following environments would you like to teach in: the steamy tropics (down south), the arctic tundra (far north), or somewhere in the middle?

China has a diverse climatic range due to its vast landmass and topography. Therefore, select your city with caution. Public schools and private language centers in China couldn't be more different from one another when it comes to the kind of institutions at which one might work as a teacher.

For instance, employment in the public sector pay less but require much less hours of work, whereas positions in the private sector pay more but need significantly longer hours of work, including work on the weekends.

Pick the age range of the pupils that works best for you. If you are youthful, full of energy, and really like working with children, then instructing at a Chinese kindergarten can be the perfect job for you. On the other hand, if you are older and have less patience, maybe teaching at a university might be a better option for you. After you have limited these items down, you will be able to focus on other aspects, such as the income that you anticipate to get (I will speak more about wages in the next paragraph).

There are other factors to consider than the pay.

One of the worst decisions you can make is to choose a teaching position in China based only on the compensation that it offers.

There are certain positions that could seem appealing since they pay twice as much as what is being offered at another institution. However, you need to carefully consider all of your options since the universities that provide the best pay often anticipate that you will work forty hours each week. There is a possibility that this will include something that is referred to as "office hours," which is defined as the required amount of time spent in the staff room preparing lessons and grading papers. In addition, weekend labor is often required for higher-paying professions, in exchange for a couple of days off during the middle of the week. Consider working fewer hours in exchange for a lower compensation in China if you're hoping to strike a better balance between your professional and personal life.

Participate in an intensive TEFL program.

Although strictly speaking, a TEFL certificate is not legally necessary in order to teach English in China, it is one of the most important prerequisites. The majority of individuals who are interested in teaching English go for the path that is the most convenient and economical, which is to say that they enroll in an entirely online TEFL program. This method is OK, however it's possible that doing a combined TEFL course might be more useful. A mixed course is one that incorporates both theoretical study conducted online and hands-on classroom experience. In most cases, the minimum amount of time required to complete a TEFL course in China is 120 hours. This typically equates to 100 hours of material that must be completed online and 20 hours of practice time for a combined course. If you have never held a teaching position before, I believe it to be foolish to take all of the training online on the assumption that you would like working in a classroom setting.