Job Discussion Forums

Quagles · Joined: 11 Nov 2012 Posts: 11

First of all I would like to point out that I have been reading many other topics regarding working in China as a non-native speaker. However I could not find my answer to all of my questions, or had conflicting answers. Furthermore, some of my answers are rather specific so I figured I would post them here.

Anyway as I specified in the topic title, I am non-native speaker . I have graduated with a bachelor degree in what you could essentially say is “Japanese Studies”. However, currently I am the middle of studying for a second bachelor degree in Computer Science which I will finish summer 2015. I am male, white and of European descent. In addition to English I can also speak Japanese (non-native), German(non-native), and have began learning Chinese this year.

Either way, I have decided that I want to do a year or two teaching ESL in China after I graduate with my second degree. The reason is simple. My girlfriend is born Chinese and also currently lives and studies there. She is still in University and will graduate around the same period as me, summer 2015. Anyways, to make the story short we agreed that I should try living an extended period in China, and that she should also try living an extended period in my country. Thus, the easiest solution we came up with was me teaching ESL a year or two in China, and she doing her graduate degree after that in my country.

On that occasion, I would like to ask you all a few questions regarding ESL work in China so that I know what to expect and what limitations I might have as a non-native speaker.

1) From what I have heard, there is a requirement of two years of post-graduate work experience. Does this include any type of post-graduate work such as part time, volunteer, or is it strictly limited to full-time work experience? Also I assume in this case it is the date that is written on the diploma which is the one that counts right?

2) I realize that as a non-native speaker it will be much more difficult for me to find a job, and that the risk of being exploited is likely much higher compared to if I was a native speaker. What I however do not know is, will I be limited to where I can work? (Referring to say for instance, Universities, kindergarten’s, language schools etc..)

3) Related to the question above: As a non-native speaker, are there places in China where I can pretty much rule out immediately? My girlfriend seems to have a preference for living in Guangdong, preferably Guangzhou or Shenzhen. My initial thought was that there is no way that I am going to find anything there, but I figured I should ask just in case anyway. If this is not possible, what are some realistic Tier 2 cities that you could recommend? Preferably in Jiangsu, Zhejian or Fujian province. I suggested Suzhou, which she did not seem to object too much against.

4) Is there any point at all in applying for jobs that specifies that they want native speakers with passports from US,UK,Canada etc?

5) Would you recommend me doing my TEFL/CELTA/Whatever in China or does it really not matter where I take it?

Finally, I know that I might have given the impression in my introduction that I am just here for a year due to my girlfriend, and that I am not taking ESL seriously at all. However, I beg to differ. I honestly love languages, I love learning them (which is one of the other reasons why I want to teach in China for a year or two), I love talking about them and I love teaching them. In the same way as I love languages, I love travelling, I love experiencing new cultures, and I love the fact that winter does not last almost 6 months every year.

Either way, I appreciate any type of feedback.

Bud Powell · Joined: 11 Jul 2013 Posts: 1736

Look for jobs in third tier cities. I worked with Swedes, Filippinos, Cameroonians, and Germans. Find a good recruiter to place you. Recruiters usually handle many of the the hard-to-fill jobs.

Non Sequitur · Joined: 23 May 2010 Posts: 4724 Location: China

Quagles · Joined: 11 Nov 2012 Posts: 11

Non Sequitur · Joined: 23 May 2010 Posts: 4724 Location: China

When I was in Qingdao which is the 2nd level city in Shandong I met students from Yantai which is a step further down the food chain from Qingdao.
I was surprised to learn that there are four or five universities or vocationals there.
I know there is a list of Chinese universities but you may not recognise their location just from the name.
My method has been to bring up the Wikipedia entry for the city eg Yantai and then select the sidebar tab for 'Education'.
This will give the names of schools. They are not links, so you will have to re Google to get into a website if one exists. Clearly you can cope with Chinese and English web pages.
On the coast I expect 3rd tiers are much like Yantai. As to the Western provinces??