Job Discussion Forums

[JesseM]

For those who have taught or are presently teaching in China;

You're a 20 year old female (use your imagination!) embarking on her first esl asia adventure. You have a degree in English, a TEFL certificate and small amount of teaching experience. You're determined to be a good teacher and can't wait to experience China, but are obviously anxious about ending up tied to a school/contract that makes you unhappy. You're going away to volunteer in Africa for two months so don't have a huge amount of time to do loads of research on every school offering jobs, and hope to start teaching in the new year.

What school/organisation would you go with?


p.s. I do realise that many people will say 'you just have to just do your homework' and i appreciate tht there isn't really an easy way to get a job - but if anyone has had a good experience somewhere i would really really appreciate your input. Thanks!

[Roger]

Comparing apples with pineapples...

FIrst thing: I don't know why any African country would rely on native English teachers for English instruction, but whenever it does happen they have to be VOLUNTEERS.
There are reputable NGOs that place you in African countries.

As for CHINA, you come here and get paid, and if you don't get paid you are being abused and cheated. Even so, there is a lengthy list of recruitment organisations in anglophone countries, Belgium and Japan that place instructors of foreign tongues in China.

So, in your case you should check with the relevant office or government department in your home country which NGO has the country's favour!
In America it often is the Peace Corps, isn't it?

[JesseM]

what are you talking about? I'm going to Africa to do voluntary work in a Community centre for children orphaned through AIDS, not for ESL teaching... and that was just an aside to explain why i don't have a whole lot of time to research. I do appreciate the reply, but your talk of Africa and NGOs confused me.

[Don McChesney]

JesseM,
Good Luck with your African adventure. Re China, could you narrow down the field by telling us which age group or teaching you hope to do, and in which region of China you would like to be.
There are many good workplaces, and as long as you read a contract carefully, you should have few worries.
I am sure FT's from what you are looking for (as above) will reply to you.

[bubblebubble]

my friend is with Red Cross but hers isn't a volunteer position. do you want to teach in africa or help out with other specific things?

[Babala]

I second what Don said. Let us know region/age/hour preference and I'm sure that many people here can help you out.

[JesseM]

Thanks for the replies - please don't worry about the Africa thing, that's not what i was asking about, as it's all sorted. As for china - to be honest i'd be happy to teach any age group, but think that maybe younger would be better, as i'm only 20 myself. Likewise, am not really looking at any region in particular - the most important thing at the moment is to find a school that hopefully someone can reccommend. I found one advertisement from a school called Beijing New Oriental Foreign Language School at Yangzhou, which sounds like a great contract; 5000 per month, private apartement with internet, three meals a day and an American assistant principal, but unfortunately i can't find anything on the net about them - good or bad.

Anyway, still really grateful for any suggestions.

[Spiderman Too]

[JesseM]

Hey spiderman.

Don't suppose you could use your spidey sense to reccommend any kindergardens that you've heard of by any chance?!

Yes, i know i'm looking for the very easy road, but most of the posts on this site have almost made me not want to risk it...

[voodikon]

hey jesse. since you're not looking for anything very specific, have you tried posting your resume on sites like this one and others (there are links at the top of this forum to similar sites)? it's a lot easier to have the jobs come to you and then you sift through which you feel most comfortable with than to seek out individual employers/recruiters.

in general, i'd say it's better to communicate directly with employers rather than go through recruiters ... that just seems logical to me as recruiters tend to promise things that might or might not have been approved beforehand by the employer.

also, beware the advertised free meals: they'll in all likelihood be in the school's cafeteria, and you most likely won't want to eat them daily, let alone three times a day. so i'd say don't let that influence your decision to greatly. but yes: look at your comfort level/trust in the employer, location, number of teaching hours, salary (i do it in that order)--and then technicalities, like number of students per class, age group, subjects to teach, etc., to make sure you can deal with all those variables.

[JesseM]

That's a really good idea, i hadn't realised i could do that. Thanks for all the help, it's really appreciated.

Jess

[klasies]

jessem

You are 20 and have a degree in English. Means you started University when you were 16? Explain.

[Chris_Crossley]

[mmm... pancakes]

I'm from New Zealand. It's quite conceivable to have graduated high school aged 17, and most Bachelor degrees take three years to complete at university. I was under the impression this was the norm for undergraduate degrees in universities outside the USA. It certainly is in NZ and Australia.

Also, several people in my high school were a year ahead of their peers, and it's possible that so was the OP.

New Zealand universities don't require you to have spent a minimum amount of time studying, they just require a certain number of points, which are gained as you complete your courses, so it's possible to take more courses than are recommended and complete your degree faster than others.

Anyway, I applied for a job in China when I was twenty, having completed high school and earned my BA, and shortly after I arrived I celebrated my 21st birthday.

Entirely do-able.

[klasies]

ok