Job Discussion Forums

[James Mc]

Hi, I am quite new to TEFL and to these boards in general but I have been searching and reading for the past few days with an idea of moving to China.

I will be 25 when I want to go to China in January, have CELTA, BA, 4 months (two summer schools and some covering) experience and plenty of good office/corporate experience to back it up. So I want a town with authentic Chinese culture but with something for a young guy to do, people to meet and a good nightlife. If it's not asking too much, I would like good music when I go out

Firstly I thought Beijing was a good idea but from reading the boards I am less positive. Dalian looks quite nice and I am hearing good things about that and Nanjing. So I am looking there.

I want to 1) enjoy myself teaching in China/not get ripped off or have a bad experience 2) soak up a lot of authentic culture and learn a bit of Mandarin and 3) save a bit of money.

So, my main concern now - having looked into the bigger reputation schools (Aston, EF, Wall Street) and found bad reports about them all over - is finding a good school where I won't be overworked/underpaid and have an awful time but where I will have my Visa sorted, flights paid for and at least help finding accommodate if not paid for.

So, what I am asking is for is know-how to find GOOD EFL schools that I can apply to, whether Dalian or Nanjing is best for me, and whether I can expect any of this at this stage in my career, please!

[nickpellatt]

Hi James

Ill offer some advice to a place I think is good for new teachers, and especially good for people new to China.

Yangshuo.

Its only a very small town, but its right on the backpacker trail and as such, it is geared up towards English speakers. This means there are genuine bars to play pool enjoy a pub quiz and a quiet drink. Regular bars dont exist everywhere in China. This slant toward Western life also carries over to restaurants where English menus are common, and also typical Western dishes are readily available.

There are lots of other FTs in town, so you will never be short of English speaking friends, but by the same token, most of the schools there teach English to adults, so you will never find it hard to meet Chinese friends either!

I dont think the music scene there will push your buttons, but Im not sure how up to date anywhere in China is? What you do have everywhere is KTV rooms and cheesy Chinese discos, you will find these everywhere, and if you dont want a typical pub night in Yangshuo, you can have a typical Chinese KTV/Disco night too!

As far as other activities. There are a number of cooking schools, Chinese painting schools, mandarin schools, and Yangshuo is also famous for rock climbing so thats easy to get involved in too. Outside of this its a pretty, scenic place, and lots of time can be filled with bike rides in the countryside soaking up the views or visiting the tourist attractions locally.

I feel as a first year teacher, the kind of teaching you do is also important. I wouldnt recommend most Uni or public school gigs as class sizes are often massive, the emphasis on oral teaching is often minimal, and the support and structure in such jobs may be non-existent too! Uni jobs and public school jobs do have advantages, but I dont believe the actual teaching is one of them. (they do offer low working hours ans great holidays though!)

I recently worked in a private training centre. I would recommend this for new teachers, and especially CELTA/Trinity grads as class sizes are small and consist of adult learners. I had typically 6 per class. There is a lot of contact time, ie - seeing the same students every day, and although there is a general focus on speaking rather than other skills, you can use some of the techniques learnt on a TEFL course, and coursebooks and print and teach materials work well with small class sizes. Working hours in a training centre in Yangshuo DOES NOT involve working weekends and evenings as most students have taken a sabbatical from their jobs to come and study.

I should also add that yangshuo is in the south of China, so isnt plagued by the extreme cold that northern provinces have. Summer can be hot though!

Downside is salaries arent high there ... I only worked 15 hours a week, and any savings I made were minimal, but I did enjoy my life there a lot with meals out everynight, drinks whenever I wanted them etc. I did have the option of working 22.5 hours a week, which would have allowed me to save perhaps �200-�300 a month, but I chose not to. I prefer to lounge around rather than save!

I worked for www.omeida.org

PM me if you want any details, or add me on Facebook if you want to see photos and videos from there. Im in the UK now myself, finishing up my summer school work, and missing China every day!