Job Discussion Forums

[danhoopes]

Hey everyone, I'm 22 and a recent college grad (bachelor's in history) looking to teach English for a year in China.

I feel that I should first emphasize that have no desire to make a long-term career out of this, but rather only intend to gain some experience teaching, working on my Chinese (I've taken two semesters of it at school), and just in general have radically different life experience in a new culture while I still can.

I've noticed some ambivalence here towards this kind of attitude, as if it doesn't properly respect the hard work and professionalism that many devote toward TEFL - and I really don't want to make this impression. From what I've read, it just seems most important to be honest with yourself your own expectations before you can truly begin to embark on such an undertaking.

That being said, my main question is: what certification should I pursue at this time, that suits my situation? I am aware that I need a TEFL certificate to secure my Z-Visa, and most people recommend the CELTA course as a sort of gold standard in TEFL, but as I'm only working part time right now and don't plan to make a future out of this, isn't there a cheaper, middle of the road option for a TEFL certificate that isn't considered worthless or a scam?

Despite all that I've read on these forums, it's still hard to navigate the various programs and websites offering certificates. Some people even maintain you don't even need TEFL to teach in China, which may be true but I'm not really willing to get into a legally questionable situation like that. If anyone has any recommendations or advice for programs to explore, I would really appreciate it.

Thanks for reading
- Dan

[tacoeater]

That being said, China requires two (2) years of teaching experience to obtain legal working credentials, along with a TEFL-type certification.

[Zero]

You need two years of experience before you are allowed to teach in China. Generally they require you to be 25 years old. So you can't do it. Sorry.

[danhoopes]

Is this a universal rule? I just feel like I've heard of people under 25 doing this, and I haven't found a reference to age on the website of the Chinese Embassy.

[chinanoodles]

[morrisonhotel]

[bryanjspen]

From what I've gathered after a few months of research & accepting a job: if you are TEFL certified you can work in Jiangsu province on a Z visa but the TEFL certification (from what I can tell) needs to be CELTA or from a specific program in Beijing. They use this certification in lieu of the age requirement - but generally still do prefer 23/24 over 22.