Am I qualified to teach English in China?

[gemini23]

Hello and thankyou for reading my post.

I have decided that I would like to explore China and I believe becoming a teacher would be a great way to learn more about China as well as pay for the experience. Sadly I don't speak Mandarin, however I am learning using Rosetta Stone. After HighSchool I became a licensed nurse and have worked for two years now with elderly people. It is a very rewarding job that has given me limitless patience and respect for others. I don't want to do the nursing thing in China because of the language barrier. I don't have any college degree except my Nursing license. Are there schools that would consider me or do i simply need more certifications? Could I find a job and acquire the TEFL / TESOL while in China?

thankyou !!

[liuzhou]

Technically, you are not qualified. Chinese regulations require a minimum of a Bachelor's degree.

However, this is routinely ignored. The trouble is that you may, very likely, end up working for an organisation which has no legal right to employ you and which cannot supply the appropriate papers to allow you to work legally.

As anywhere, illegal immigrant workers are unprotected. Be careful.

[gemini23]

ah thanks for the heads up! If I become TEFL certified will any of this change? Can anyone give me an idea how how they get into China and stay without the needed paperwork? (sh) Seems sketchy and I wouldn't want to mess with Chinese regulators..

[roddy]

What you might want to look at is teaching English to Chinese nurses who are looking to move abroad. A couple of years ago there were a number of agencies recruiting local nurses to work as agency staff (after whatever training was necessary) in the UK and US, and probably elsewhere. If that's still happening and you can get in touch with the right people it could be quite a good fit for you - pre-departure professional language training. Might not be easy work to find though.

[gemini23]

that is such a clever idea. i will have to google my best. thankyou sir !

[roddy]

Something like this, perhaps. You don't fit the profile exactly, but you can see what I'm getting at.

At a rough guess I'd say the easiest thing to do find which agencies, if any, Chinese nurses come from locally and follow it back up the chain until you find an organisation in China that might employ you. Plus place some ads on the likes of tefl.com, thatsbj.com, etc.

[randall_flagg]

I talked to a Chinese girl who is teaching nurse-students English in Dalian. Looks like there is great demand for that kind of English.

[Kiwijes]

I have managed to get a job in China and I dont have any qualifications past High School.

There's been no problems getting a visa at this stage but it's all above board. I suppose it depends on where you're teaching?

Im at a middle school. I had a university offer me a position but without the quals there it just seemed a little dodgy. They said that no quals wouldnt be a problem but it didnt seem right that I teach at a university when I dont even have a univeristy degree!

Good luck looking around.

[gemini23]

yeah teaching at a uni wouldn't be right for me. i don't even want to be in a big city - i think i'll have the best life learning experiences if i am away from all that big stuff.

Kiwijes, can i ask how you got the visa changed from a tourist to a working permit? did you go to china and then find the job?

[Kiwijes]

Hi Gemini,

I didnt get it changed from tourist to working. I havent left yet so my Visa is a working visa.