Job Discussion Forums

[AllwaysRollingBall]

I am currently applying for jobs teaching English in China, but have never taught before . I recently completed my tefl certification and feel eager to get started. Finding a vacancy doesn't seem to be so much of a problem, but I would like some advice.
Once I choose a school and arrive there, what should I expect to happen? Will the school expect me to have arranged 20 lessons ready for the first week, or will I be trained first? Will I be in at the deep end or lowered slowly? they would of course know that I have a tefl cert but no BA or teaching experience.
Any help from teachers who were in a similar position or know of those who were would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

[naturegirl321]

Try the China forum, first offf. Second, every school is different. You probably won-t be trained, just told about the books and classes, talk to teachers, that helps.

If you-re applying for a teaching job, they-ll expect you know what to do.

Expect a couple of days to a week to get used to things before you teach. Also, about no BA, you-ll have a tough time finding a job. Most schools want you to have a BA. Do you have lots of life experience? That would help/

If you have a TEFL, you should have at least 6 hours of teaching experience too.

[Littlebird]

Naturegirl, why do you always use a dash instead of a appostrophe ? I 've noticed now in several forums. Is your keyboard on the blink ?

[naturegirl321]

I-m in the US and can-t get used to the keyboard here, I go back to Peru on the 16th where my keyboard is normal. I-m sure I COULD change the keyboard on my parents-, but am technologically challenged

[AllwaysRollingBall]

Thanks for the advice naturegirl. I did 9 practice lessons for my TEFL certificate, but they were spread out over 2 weeks, and for schools, it's 20 per week. Of course I have life experience, I can't judge how much, probably more than most, but I'm just curious as to how the school would approach a teacher once they have hired him, knowing he is in-experienced and what they would be expecting from him.

I would particularily appreciate hearing from anyone who was in the same situation as me (young, tefl cert). I am eager and willing to put in the work required but want to know more beforehand to prepare better.

[naturegirl321]

For China, life experience would mean that you-ve had work experience for approx 10 or 20 years.

Expect to be thrown off the deep end, then if you get training, you-ll be pleasantly surprised.

I started teaching in China at age 20, but had graduated with a double major and done a TEFL Dip. Just finished HS and uni early. I was there for 1.5 years. If you have specific questions, you can PM me or arioch36, he-s been in China for a while.

Good thing, or maybe not, in China is that rote learning is ok. I say, you repeat type of thing. Students may feel put on the spot if you move to far from this.

Another thing, you probably won-t be teaching 20 different lessons, so you can teach the same lesson a couple of times, meaning, less planning.

[denise]

If you're lucky, you'll end up with a school that will realize that you are a new teacher and not immediately dump 20+ teaching hours on you. My first school in Prague did that (I suppose it helped that I was hired mid-semester...). They gradually gave me more and more hours over the first few weeks until I had just around 20.

I agree with naturegirl in that they will expect you to know how to plan a lesson, though. Again, if you're lucky, you'll have helpful, supportive supervisors and colleagues and a decently stocked resource center (again, I was lucky in my first job and had those things) to help you, but it's really up to you to get the hang of efficient lesson planning. You should expect and be willing to put in some extra time in the beginning.

d

[Madame J]

[robot]

my two experiences;
1.) I arrived in the country on a Saturday after 26 hours traveling, and was teaching 30 classes a week on Monday, with no assistant/help or training just here are the books, here are the students. pretty much the definition of thrown in the deep end. The kids were great for the first 2 months or so while i figured out what to do, if they weren't it would have been hell.
While i really enjoyed the year, could have been even better. Too hard to plan so many 'fun' lessons.

2.) Arrive in the country, two weeks of training and orientation meet other teachers etc. team teach 15 classes a week with qualified teacher.

I guess the point is it depends on your school, both my bosses were nice just one was incompetent.

[nickpellatt]

As stated, experiences will of course vary tremendously.

I first arrived with no real experience, and was at a middle school. I had about 4 days before my classes began, and on the second day a friendly Chinese English teacher asked me would I like to meet some students.

Naturally, I said yes, so he asked me to meet him at 19.45 and took me to a classroom. That classroom has around 50 students waiting for me, expecting to meet the new foreign teacher. He took me to the door....and said 'go in, Ill be back in 30 minutes!'

'But, but, what do I do?' I said.

'Just speak English!', tends to be the standard answer in such circumstances. Lots of people will have encountered this! After that, I had each of my classes once a week, and they were all the same grade. Although I was given no teaching materials, I only had to plan one lesson a week, which I taught 14 times.

My second job in China was different. I had 3 different grades so had to take students of differing abilities. This meant preparing a little more, but I did have books to teach from (although I still had freedom to do other things too).

I would suggest having a few simple ideas for an introductory lesson, preferably one that doesnt involve you asking 50 students to stand up and introduce themselves. They will probably be excited to see you, so you can get away with a less than polished lesson first week...As they get used to you, their attention span may wander though.

Hopefully they may use some teaching material / book. During the first lesson you should find the class monitor, and if there is a book, simply find out where they are up to. No need to re-invent the wheel, if they have a book, follow it until you become more confident, and able to add useful tasks and exercises to complement their existing curriculum.

And have fun!

[jpvanderwerf2001]

That sort of thing happened to me quite a bit when I was a fledgling teacher. While splitting a class with a local teacher they'd say something like, "I'll do the grammar/listening (for example), and you just talk to them for that other hour." As if sitting in a classroom for an hour talking with a bunch of false beginners is both easy and productive.
Of course, now, I don't let that happen, but it was hell when it did.

[rhubarbjane]

In Nov I did a 1 month TEFL course in Greece. I had been abroad for a year and wanted to continue living outside North America (I am Canadian ). ESL seemed perfect, as I'd worked in Girl Guides for several years and loved the teaching side to it.
Before enrolling in my course I inquired about the necessity of a degree. The response I received was:
"A degree in addition to certification is required by employers in some countries such as South Korea, Japan, Vietnam and the UAE, however, in many other countries TEFL/TESOL certification alone is sufficient."
I'm finding this soooo not the case! I have started an on-line diploma course to increase my TEFL qualification, but I doubt it will be enough. I'm looking at doing the BA, but only if I can use my 3 year college diploma for some course exemptions. At the age of 36 I'm not ready to commit to 4 full years of school, again!
I'm really not happy back here and would love any input as to how I can best get into the ESL field without a degree.

[father Mackenzie]

Have you tried Indonesia?

[Madame J]

[rhubarbjane]

Seems to be the same thing I've been told. After completing the course I would have done that, but being unemployed and traveling didn't work at the time. Hopefully i'll be working in Canada again soon and I can save save save to take off again