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[Shroob]

Hello everyone,

I've always viewed TEFL as a career (well, at least for 10-15 years), not like a gap year or a working holiday. However, I see myself teaching in Europe for most of this period. My question is will my experience teaching in China count against me when applying for jobs in Europe?

A little more information on myself: I am from the UK, graduated with a First Class degree in History and completed a CELTA course in July. As this would be my first job, I wanted a position in Europe, however, most (if not all) jobs required 1-2 years experience. Having been turned down for the jobs I applied for due to lack of experience (I had some, 6 months voluntary), I turned to China. China's a country that I have always wanted to go to, so it wasn't a 'last resort option'. However, reading around the internet and a few posts on here, I'm concerned that my work in China won't be valued as much as if I had been working in Europe. Or even valued at all.

I was wondering how many people have successfully made the transition from China to Europe? I'm presuming people have, but I'd like your thoughts on this.

Thanks for your advice.

[Scott 1955]

WW

[xjgirl]

many have made the successful transition from china to social welfare

[Shroob]

[cps82856]

To answer your question directly: No, your experience teaching in China will not count against you when applying for jobs in Europe.

After five years in China I made the move to Europe, specifically Munich, Germany. I spent two years there, and only there, so you can gauge my tidbits of advice in that context.

I found that, in general, my experience in China was an asset and was helpful in getting my foot in the door in several locations. Several times an interviewer would read my resume and we would spend most of the time talking about my time in China. I was also able to get several assignments because of my experience in China. (I'm an American citizen, so I was a freelancer in Munich. As a UK citizen, you'll have more opportunities for full time employment.) In Munich, there are several German companies sending employees to China for assignments, including BMW. I even worked with a computer exec who had been recently hired by Huawei to work in their new office near Munich, so it could go in both directions.

One of the things you'll have to deal with is the adjustment from teaching to a Chinese audience to teaching to a more diverse group. While the majority of my students were German, I had students from, literally, all over the world, a minimum of two dozen countries. I think you'll find German and Eastern European students (Czech, Slovak, Pole, Russian, etc.) to be a bit more demanding�expect to be asked �Why?� a lot more. They were also more focused on grammar, so make sure you don't lose your �chops� explaining present perfect continuous while you're in China. In general, I found the level of English skills to be higher in Munich, and it was a bit easier to get the students to do the �production� part of PPP (if that's the method you use).

As you are probably aware by now, your two biggest weaknesses at this stage of your career are your youth and lack of experience. So in my opinion, any experience, no matter where you gain it, is only going to help. My advice would be to keep your mind, eyes and ears open and try to soak up the real culture of the place, but on a personal level. Try to get your students to open up so they show their way of thinking about the world to you.

Anyway, that's my two cents. Hope it helps. Good luck.