Job Discussion Forums

[nomad soul]

[MsHoffman]

The OP said Guangzhou was their preferred location. I'm about 20 minutes away from Guangzhou and I know a lot of teachers in this area.

The competition here is fairly tight for university positions, for many good reasons. Less pollution, higher pay than universities in the north, close to Hong Kong, lots of foreigners and western stuff, etc. While the TEFL may or may not be required (I really don't know about the legalities of this issue, sorry), I can tell you that from a job market perspective, a TEFL cert is essential in this province, at least if you want a good position.

My boss told me that the universities have a checklist: TEFL, BA, MA. If you have these three things, your chances of getting hired increase exponentially.

As for prior university teaching experience canceling out the need for a TEFL: I have to agree with some people on here and say that I use *a lot* of stuff I learned from the TEFL course.

Before I moved to Guangdong last year I taught English and Italian at two different four year universities. I had professional evaluations, student evaluations, and letters of recommendation from both positions. I was a *university adjunct professor*

I didn't want to be bored to death in the TEFL course. I thought I knew everything I needed to know about teaching. I was wrong and I am so glad I put in the time. And I definitely wasn't bored.

So bottom line? Like many people on here, I say firmly that moving to China, even for a "one year adventure", is a time consuming and (somewhat) expensive process. There is no way around that, so if your friend is too busy, then perhaps an easier destination (like the ones mentioned by others), would be a better plan for you both.

Oh last thing about the online TEFL courses - many have a student teaching component where you choose the school, so your friend could possibly do his teaching/observation hours in his normal job, (if his normal job is teaching English). That should help with time management issues.

Best of luck in whatever you decide

--MsHoffman