Teacher Discussion Forums

Hi Everyone,

I'm looking for teaching positions in Beijing, China for a start in the next month or two. I was hoping that if you are in Beijing teaching, or have been recently and can reccomend a good school/institution that you are/have been working for, you can pass the contact information on to me. There are plenty of schools on the China Jobs page however as there are so many and I have no experience of schools in China, I would really appreciate any reccomendations from people who have had good experiences.

I'm looking to teach either adults or young learners oral english. By basic requirements are 6-month contract / some form of repayment to airfare / a salary of circa 5000yuan per month / supplied accomodation. I have experience of teaching english in High Schools (13-18 year olds) in Japan on the JET programme 2003/2004.

Many thanks in advance for anyone who can help.

Sean

Sounds like you're more qualified than most who are looking for jobs in Beijing. Probably your CV and credentials will be enough to cut out most of the jobs offered by desperate institutions. Good luck.

Actually you needn't to consider whether your school is good or not. You need to know which district is good to stay. I recommend you : Xicheng district , Chaoyang district. but above all I personally recommend you Haidian district. high school is much easier to find a job. Good luck. and by the way, i am a beijinger, also a teacher. so if you want to go further, send me e-mail.
Smicky

students are not hardworking as those outside beiing. so it is very hard to teach them. you must equip yourself with funny teaching skills besides good command of english.

Be VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY careful.

Maybe you don't understand. BE VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY careful!

Sorry

I'm sure that this is in no way a uniquely Chinese problem, but you REALLY need to make sure that you and the school are fighting the same battle, that is supplying quality education to the kids while making sure the teaching staff are happy.

My experience in China points to traditional Chinese stubborness showing itself in places you really don't want it to, a motivational tactic used by my administrator is to withhold salary until the end of term in order to make sure that noone leaves early. Not that any of the teachers suggested that they would, just that one had to return home and now our admin has it in our head that we're against her.

Make 100% sure that you're happy and that there's nothing your employer can use to hold against you (in my case 2 months of unpaid salary). If there is ANYthing wrong with the contract, go elsewhere immediately. Don't even think that you're going to be ok, it just gets unpleasant, threat follows threat 'if you don't pay me by wednesday the police are going to find out that teacher X worked without a working visa for 3 months last year...'

I've had one excellent Chinese teaching experience, at China Agricultural University in Beijing, and one appalling one where I'm being used to gain face for the school. Be VERY careful and you can have a great experience too.