teaching and getting married in China

[Mikey_Mouse]

Hi guys, my name is Michael and by the end of this year, i hope to complete uni and get my BEd degree and teaching certificate for primary education. I am a Chinese Canadian and am currently in a long distance relationship with a women that i met while visiting relatives in China (introduced by our parents). I recently became interested in teaching in China after the uni place me in the English for academic purpose program for international students and decide to search the web for more info. I heard alot of positive things about teaching in China and i also heard negative too(like being cheated, stranded, and even murder!!). Because of the negative reasons (mostly having to do with shady companies) I decided to look for a reliable recruiting place at the education career fair that the uni set up for education students every year. I found a recruiter at the fair called footprint recruiting inc. and they seem like a good company recruiting positions for a lot of public schools. Has anyone ever used this company before and could they tell me whether this is a good company or not? As i am new to the teaching in China idea (just in research stage), i also have many questions that will relate to my personal life as well as professional life.

Other questions i have:

- Do i need to have a TESOL certificate to teach in China and will i get a job easier with a TESOL? Most places said TESOL or teaching certificate. I am Chinese and may not have the "white face" that many schools look for, will it be better for me to have both.

- I will go back to China in dec to get married. Most places provide free residence for the teacher but i would love to live with my future wife. What kind of arrangement is possible for a situation like this? Has anyone here ever taught in China with a family?

[roddy]

A certificate will help, although it's not essential. If you plan to teach for more than a year I'd get one.

Accomodation - you could probably move your wife in - some places might not like it but if they actually want you to teach there they'll probably accept it. You'd probably be better off finding somewhere to live yourselves though, rather than taking whatever the school has.

[Mikey_Mouse]

I was thinking about getting my own place. So if the schools that offer free residence, will they give me some money for renting (like the money equivalent to renting a place for one person and i take out of my own pocket to get a bigger place for two), or will i have to take out of my pocket the full amount??

[liuzhou]

When I was teaching, I had two flats. My wife and I lived in the city centre in our own flat, but I kept the college flat. (The college was on the edge of the city, about an hour's bus journey away.)

It was handy for noon siestas, hanging around between lessons and occasional overnight stays if I had early morning lessons.

My wife was a teacher too (different college) and kept her on campus flat for exactly the same reason.

Neither college ever objected.

[quanxie]

I personally would not use a recruiting service... Being CBC will be one of your biggest obstacles, do to the "white monkey" syndrome here. By the letter of the law, no foreigner teacher can be hired without being issued a foreign experts certificate, which requires a BA/BS and 2 years related work experience... But, anything is possible here if the school has the right connections...

I would figure out were you guys want to live and then find schools in that area and call the foreign affairs office or director of studies and apply directly to the school.

good luck

[kdavid]

I agree with the last poster: be very weary of recruiting services--they're out for a profit via your placement and contract signing, not for your happiness, convenience or security (at least from all of the stories I've heard).

Two of my colleagues here in Harbin just did a "mid-night run" from a school which they were placed in by a placement agency. They taught at a sattelite school located 2 hours by train from their apartment. They taught 80-student classes 8 hours 6 days a week. They were recruited by an "exceptionally nice and professional-looking woman" who visited their school campus.

I'm sure there are some good ones, but just be careful and do plenty of research! Get a number of references, ask for pictures, have everything you want in writing, etc.

[mandarinstudent]

Most places provide free residence for the teacher but i would love to live with my future wife. What kind of arrangement is possible for a situation like this?

Well, here is my experience with this. I am currently working for a private language school and they dont care that I live with my fiancee in the apartment they provide. Before signing with this school, I had talked to a few universities and colleges. They had a problem with her living with me unless we were properly married and could prove it. This was in Hebei province, I dont know about the rest of China. Just be prepared to catch some flak from the colleges if you aren't married to your lady yet. If you are planning to get married before you move in, then you won't have a problem.

I decided to look for a reliable recruiting place

It is much better to directly contact the school you plan to work for. Before finding my current job (which, by the way, has delivered on all of its promises), I dealt with 2 agencies. Both went back on promises with the excuse, "Well, we don't have XXX available anymore, but we have this..." Luckily, I didn't go for any of their offers and just found a school on my own. Look on eslcafe.com. They have plenty of jobs available listed by the school themselves, not only agencies. This is where I found my job.

Ok, hope this helps.

[Mikey_Mouse]

Hi guys, thank you for all your replies. I have decided to not go to China and sponser my fiance over to where i live instead. I will try to get a job in my city and maybe later, when i needed a change, i will teach in China.

[Mikey_Mouse]

sorry, not needed, lol, it's need. You can tell i am asian because i got my past and present tense mix up.