Kelli Dougal - Teaching English in China

The ins and outs of finding a job, reading a menu,and making the most of the Middle Kingdom

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So, youreinterested in teaching English in China? AWESOME! I taught for ayear and a half at a university outside of Shanghai and absolutelyloved it. Since moving to China, and especially since coming home,I have had dozens of people ask me about my experience and how theymight be able to secure a similar teaching position. This book isin response to all of you who have asked me about the differencebetween volunteer programs and paid positions and how to go aboutfinding a job. Since finding a job is really just the first step,Ive also decided to answer your questions about traveling inChina, culture shock, and preparing to live there. Ive tried toput together a comprehensive guide that will walk you through theinitial steps of getting to China and then help you know what to doonce youve actually made it there! Questions about visas, publictransportation in China, or censored internet? (And what the heckis a VPN, anyway?) Dont worry, Ive got you covered!

The first couple chapters focus exclusively onFINDING a teaching opportunity in China, whether youre looking tovolunteer or hoping to get paid. The rest of the book includestips, teaching strategies, and even a packing list of things youprobably wont be able to find once youre in China.

I hope that your experience in China turns outto be just as amazing as mine was. I love the Chinese people,language, and culture and highly recommend living and travelingthere. Ive put a lot of hours into creating this guide and hopethat it proves to be useful to you!

Xoxo,

Kelli

Why would Ivolunteer to teach English in China?

For many college students or recent graduates,coming to China sounds like the perfect escape from normal life.In order to get paid to teach English in China, the general rule isthat you must have a Bachelors degree and often one to two yearsof teaching experience. More and more jobs are asking that you havea TEFL certificate. There are exceptions, and you may be able tofind a job that allows you to come to China even without having twoyears of teaching experiencebut most people dont even know whereto start in order to find these jobs.

Thats why volunteer teaching programs havebecome so popular in recent years! Its a chance for those withouta bachelors degree to experience living abroad AND feel liketheyre giving back. Plus, its also a great opportunity for thosewho want to pursue paid English teaching to get some workexperience.

Another perk? The programs usually take care ofyour visa paperwork and cover visa fees. Applying for my Chinesework visa was complicated and stressful. If you find a goodvolunteer program, you wont have to worry about any of that.

There are hundreds of organizations that sendvolunteers to teach English in China. Type English teaching inChina into Google and BAM! Youll be presented with dozens ofshiny options all promising you the best experience ever. Whilemost of these organizations are probably legit, its hard to tellfrom their websites. Unfortunately, I cant give you advice onevery single volunteer program as I dont have first-handexperience with most of them.

During my time in China, I have come in contactwith many teachers from two volunteer programs: China Horizons andILP (International Language Programs). Although I havent donevolunteer teaching myself, I interviewed over a dozen teachers inthese two programs and asked for their feedback. The majority ofthe teachers in both ILP and China Horizons had positiveexperiences. In fact, many of the teachers were there for theirsecond round of teaching since both programs offer opportunitiesfor their teachers to return as head teachers for a discountedprice. If youre looking to volunteer, either of these could be agreat place to start!

Both programs are designed to appeal to collegestudents who are looking to get away for a semester. The programsrun for the course of one college semester, or about 4 months.Teachers who come for the fall semester arrive in August and leavein mid- to late December. Teachers coming for the winter/springsemester generally arrive after the Spring Festival holiday(meaning late February or early March) and stay through June.

Based on my discussions with volunteer teachersfrom the two programs, heres a quick overview of both of them.

China Horizons is a greatopportunity for adventure-seekers who want to experience China. Theprogram caters to college students age 18+ and recent graduates whowant to have a backpacker type experience. Both singles andmarried couples can apply. Teachers coming with China Horizonsshould be fairly independent and be able to take care ofthemselves. Although there are head teachers who act as mentors andcan provide help when necessary, they may live in a different city.As a result, there is limited supervision. Some teachers are sentto cities where there is a large group of CH teachers; others findthemselves in smaller cities with only a couple of fellowteachers.

A huge perk of the China Horizons program is thelow cost. For the typical broke college student, the promise oftraveling to and living in China for less than $1000 a person isvery appealing! Yes, you read that right! At the time of printing,the program cost for a semester abroad through CH was between $925and $975 per person. This includes airfaire, visa fees, housing,and a monthly food stipend! (Note that the activities in Beijingduring the welcome tour are NOT included in this fee.)

China Horizons begins their teaching semesterswith a week in Beijing where you will receive classroom and teachertraining. Its also a great opportunity to get to know your fellowteachers and jump right into your China adventure with a Great Walltour and typical Chinese street food.

Although your weekdays will be filled withteaching Chinese students (ages range from kindergarten to collegeage), there is plenty of time to travel on weekends and duringChinese holidays. China Horizons doesnt organize these trips, butthe teachers I met often organized independent trips together.

Although CH is not as big a program as some ofthe others you will find, most teachers I talked to appreciated theopen communication with the programs owner. They also liked theclose-knit friendships that existed within the CH community.

Demographic: College students and recent collegegraduates with a backpacker mentality.

Perks: Low cost, flexibility to see Chinaindependently, flexibility in teaching (create your own lessonplans), welcome tour of Beijing, close-knit community

Cons: Smaller than other programs, less citiesavailable to teach in. Not all housing is located close to theschool you will teach at. Some teachers had negative experienceswith their schools as the first teachers there and had to be movedto other cities.