Job Discussion Forums

[woodylm]

Hi

I'm looking for as much advice as possible on finding a placement in rural China. I have a degree, am native white English speaker (male) but no teaching experience or tefl/esl qualifications, except for an uncredited term or so on a tefl module at university.

I've read that rural areas are looking for teachers, but I can't seem to find any placements. I'm not interested in living in a Chinese city at all, and would much prefer somewhere rural.

Any advice on salary, hours and the procedure or best agencies for securing a rural placement, as well as what it's like generally to work in a rural chinese school would be much appreciated!

Thanks in advance

[IvanaShaanxi]

do you want a village, or some less developed town? chinese rural areas don't need foreign teachers.
I worked in a school in Shaanxi province, in a small town with only 80000 people, 1,5 hour bus ride to the nearest "bigger" town

[FreakingTea]

How rural is rural to you? Population size may not be the best indicator here. The town I'm in is about as big as a smallish city in the US, but there's only one KFC, and it's not close to the school. To some, this would seem pretty rural compared to the bigger cities with their fancy subway systems and McDonald's.

[Non Sequitur]

I've worked rural, but only for a language school that wanted a point of difference for their summer programme.
Very hard to get official population figures for these smaller places as they are usually lumped in with the nearest big city.
This one was 3 hours by train from Dalian but administratively still part of that city.
I estimate about 300,000 pop and none of the high schools employed FTs and there were no tertiary institutions there.
My advice is get a bog standard uni gig and look around for your rural move after you complete your first contract.

[Big Worm]

Don't take this the wrong way, but have you ever been to rural China?

When I hear people say things like this, I often think they have a different idea of what they are asking for than what they will get in reality. Rural China (I mean REAL out there rural Chia) will most likely have no other English speakers for miles and miles and miles, no western toilets, bad or no internet, um "different" ideas of hygiene and sanitation, possibly no heating (in the south), possibly no hot water (in old hutong rural areas), limited public transport, limited food choices, uneducated racist people... Possibly still have the same problems of pollution, traffic, etc. Your salary will reflect the living standards of the community (low).

It's doable, but the idea of living in a rustic rural traditional Chinese village up in the mountains somewhere may not be what you think it is. Not trying to ruin your day or burst your bubble. Just trying to give you a realistic picture of what you MIGHT encounter. There's a reason why all the young people are moving to the city.

Most likely you want a smaller city, not rural. But hey, go for it. Make sure you post here to tell us about it. I'd be interested to hear how it goes.

[teenoso]

I agree with most posts here - proper rural areas don't have enough Chinese teachers , so they don't need and can't afford foreign teachers . Some of my former students have volunteered to be 'village teachers' , with minimal pay and basic conditions .

Your best bets could be Tibet, and Inner Mongolia , maybe working as a volunteer, but again they need probably teachers of basic literacy and numeracy skills , not English.

Yangshuo in Guangxi is effectively a small town in a rural setting. 'D-M' on this board teaches there , but he may have left for England. Certainly many foreigners go there (to Yangshuo) to get the rural , quiet experience, and there are plenty of language schools there .
Maybe Lijiang in Yunnnan is similar (?) - small town in a rural mountainous setting, with enough tourists to bring in money.
Finally, think about Hainan island , which outside the main city and resorts is possibly what you are looking for .

[woodylm]

[rtm]

[woodylm]

I know, I wouldn't expect it to be very luxurious - usually I can make do with a bed and some food. But a decent salary is important too

[muffintop]

As long as you understand that a bed = plank of plywood.....cool.

But you're not likely to find a decent salary in a rural position. Seriously...I'm not so sure you understand what 'rural' means in China.

Either way, good luck!

[Banner41]

As other posters stated, a rural school is unlikely to be able to afford to employ a foreigner (not just salary but visa and housing as well). And if salary is important to you I would think twice.

[muffintop]

Rural...
[url]
http://www.chinasmack.com/2012/pictures/chinese-schoolchildren-must-bring-their-own-desks-to-school.html[/url]

[Non Sequitur]

[Mr. English]

I worked in rural China, far northwestern corner of Sichuan Province, properly Tibet, for the 2007-8 school year, teaching Tibetan high school students in a town of about 3,000. Salary as salaries go in rural China was good as I was working for an American NGO. Jobs are regularly posted here at Dave's for a city or two in Xinjiang Province, properly East Turkestan, and salaries look to be okay … for rural China. Figure to save a little if you are reasonably frugal. Housing should be decent, and if it isn't you don't want the job; electricity should be paid by the school so you can heat the joint as you like (and in some places there might be central heating), buy your heater locally for less than 100 yuan with the help of one of your students; restaurants dirt cheap but if you really want to save go to the market and cook for yourself; beer is strictly Chinese, Snow Beer was the best of the lot where I was. A fine experience but not a money-maker.

[jg]

At best, emotionally enriching and eye-opening. At worst, children of the corn. You can get your Chinese skills up to snuff pretty quickly too.

That is rural China.