Job Discussion Forums

[steward]

HI,

I am moving to HK in 2 months with my wife, who was transfered there for her job. I am keen to do some ESL teaching in Hong Kong (or nearby China?) This is my situation: I will have a work permit and I have an english degree but no teaching experience at all. I am not under pressure to get a job quickly or to get a very high paying teaching job. Part time teaching is fine.

Any advice on how things work and the best way to approach it would be appreciated. These are some questions I have.

what are my options- what is the best approach? does pre-certification help?- can i do any courses there or should i do an oxford type thing here?- are any particular certifications more effective there? what is the deal with different ages, and private lessons.

Thanks a lot.
Steward

[BCinHK]

Steward:

When your wife receives her employment visa, she can then apply for a dependent visa for you (i.e. she sponsors you). With the DV you are permitted to work, but it is not a 'work permit'. Your wife's employment visa ties her to one employer; if she wants to change employers, she must go through the visa application process again. But a dependent visa allows lots of freedom: you can work at one or more part-time jobs and quit working anytime you want.

Since you still have a few months in your home country and no experience, I would suggest doing some volunteer work before you leave home.

There are opportunities in private tuition schools as well as kindergartens, primary schools and secondary schools. Right now Chinese-medium secondary schools have pots of money to offer extra-curriculum English activities to their students and many are having difficulty finding ways to spend the money. Develop a program (musical performance, comic juggler, animals expert, etc) and flog it to schools.

[steward]

Thanks a lot for your advice.
That sounds intriguing. Is there anywhere I can find more info on this or a list of these schools. I am actually somewhat of a animal/bird expert. So, would something like a bird watching/ nature walks fit the bill- or is it more like a presentations at the school.

Thanks again
steward

[Smoog]

you'll find that most, if not all, extracuricular activities are held at school after normal school hours and usually just for 1 hour (eg 3.30 - 4.30).
The ones held at the weekend aren't much different - usually 1 hour classes on different topics (which can range from academic - say, English catch-up - to art, judo, scouts). Rarely will HK public schools go out on an excursion. Always worth a try.
In your case, I'd suggest you approach one of the tutorial centres that place teachers into schools for these extracurricular activities. English For Asia is one that I personally know of and is run very professionally. They might even be able to help you set up some sort of course based around your expertise and flog it to the schools.
Otherwise, look through classifiedpost.com for p/t teaching jobs.