Preparing to be an EFL teacher in China

[jfranco]

I'm curious if those of you living and teaching in China could tell me which qualifications for foreign English teachers are most sought after in China. What qualities do Chinese most want in potential teachers, particulary those interested in long term teaching prospects in China? I am planning to be a long term EFL teacher and would like to make sure I measure up well enough to the competition. I would like to do as much preparation in advance as possible.

I currently have a BA in Psychology and have been studying Mandarin Chinese for two years at the university level. I have also been doing volunteer tutoring for ESL learners. I will be beginning graduate study this summer for an MA in ESL. Part of my degree requires that I first take the TEFL certification course.

By the time I am ready to teach in China, I will have the following:

-BA

-TEFL and Advanced TEFL certificates

-MA in ESL

-4 years studying Mandarin

-3 years volunteer ESL tutoring experience, and also hopefully volunteer teaching experience

Would this background be enough to teach at a Chinese university? What other things could I add to this? Are there any particular associations they like teachers to be members of (AsiaTEFL, TESOL)? Would there be any benefit to completing a Chinese language immersion program?

The MA degree would be from a private university; however, it is not from a renowned university (it is not an online university either). I know a PhD would probably be more desirable at the better universities.

[roddy]

To be honest with those qualifications they'll probably make you Minister for Education. If I was in your position I might look at some kind of teacher-training experience or qualification.

[imron]

Unfortunately, the cold hard truth is that best credentials you can have is being caucasian. Many schools really only want "real" foreigners (please note the sarcasm), and if you don't match up to what their expectation of a "real" foreigner is then it'll be harder to find work.

All of the things you have studied will come in useful though, and will give you more options when looking for work (better choice of cities/salaries/etc), but at the end of the day the thing to remember for ESL teachers in China is that there is high demand and short supply, so even without those qualifications you could still find work.

(I'm not saying this a good thing, it's just my observations from having worked as an English teacher in the past).

[jfranco]

I'm unfortunately extraordinary pale due to a mainly Nordic background.

I'm trying to increase my experience teaching. I know there is a large demand for English teachers. I just want to prepare as much as I can and do a good job when I get there. I appreciate the suggestions. I'm trying to look at ways to get more time doing teaching and other volunteer work.

[wushijiao]

I think those qualifications would be more than enough. Unfortunately, I think imron is correct in stating that many places only care about having a commercially viable recruiting tool (a white person) to sucker in mid-aged parents who, without knowing anything about learning English, make the decisions for their kids.

Personally, I predict that that situation will change with time. Younger parents are bound to be less easy to dupe, and the better schools are already starting to get more selective. The place that I taught at for two years, for example, generally required two years of experience, and they put emphasis on having a CELTA or some other teaching degree. They also did not discriminate based on color, and thus there were black people and people of Asian heritage as well. Also, about five years ago they would hire almost anyone because they were somewhat desperate, but now they get 3-4 times as many applicants as positions available.

Of course, due to the sheer demographics of the number of people trying to learn English, it won’t be at all difficult to find a job teaching English in China. But it is much better to find a program that is committed to progress and continuous improvement (to the highest degree possible), and the people who do the hiring at such places will be glad about hiring you if you show a serious commitment to teaching and improving yourself. So although the qualifications you mentioned aren’t really necessary, they could come in handy if you attempt to teach at a good school, or eventually go into management.

Good luck!

[roddy]

To me it sounds like you are in danger of selling yourself short. With your qualifications you should be looking at only the top-tier jobs - which to me would mean

For salary: ESL teacher in an international school

For salary + more 'Chinese' experience: ESL teacher in a well-run training center in a major city

For a much more Chinese experience, less money but great students: ESL teacher to English majors in a university with a reputation for quality language instruction.

Have a look at the China job listings on the likes of eslcafe.com, tefl.com, etc - I'd be amazed if you aren't overqualified for the majority of them.

[kdavid]

I agree with roddy 100%.

I've been in the ESL field for 2 years now (a year in Prague and close to a year in Harbin). 95% of my colleagues in Prague were BA graduates looking to screw around for a year. 90% of my colleagues here in Harbin don't have a B.A.

China largely attracts (and I'll note here for those who might get anal about this next comment that this is solely based on my observation here in Harbin and hearsay from colleagues) those with minimal qualifications as Chinese schools (at this point in time) do not have very high standards.

(Compare this to western Europe and the Middle East where you need experienced and an education.) Frankly, there are more places than not in China where being "white" will be the only thing a lot of employers look at.

I also agree that you should be looking at top-tier jobs. I would say screw China and go to western Europe or the Middle East where you can make big bucks as a DOS or doing teacher training, but obviously you have an interest to come here as you've been studying Mandarin.

With that said, I think you'd be best suited for a bigger city in the NE (i.e. Beijing) and applying for a Director of Studies job. You'd probably be quite an asset in the south, but I don't know how well you'd fair with the local dialects or their versions of Mandarin (but that comment could be completely irrelevant if you've got quite a bit of "outside of the classroom" conversation / real language practice / experience).

Check out places like tefl.com and look for DOS vacancies to see what they're looking for. That's where I'd start if I were in your position.

[jfranco]

I have read such comments about China amd I know some schools are overzealous to acquire native spearkers. I've also read through the various want ads posted by schools, some whose only listed qualification is you need to essentially have been born in an English speaking country and look as they would expect you to look.

I've had some experience speaking with people from Southern China outside the classroom. I have picked up on some of the different ways they pronounce things. I imagine as long as I am willing to continually learn and observe the locals, I could adjust to the different dialects.

I don't really care so much about making a lot of money. I already have a job that pays me more than I could make teaching English either in my country or abroad, but I don't enjoy the work. What I would really like is to be able to teach at a reasonably good Chinese univesity.

I'll do as you suggested and keep reviewing ads to get a sense of what they are looking for and also what opportunities are available. I am coming to China in May and hope to visit at least one university.

[simonlaing]

Hi, if you can take your MA in teaching , and get a job at western student international school you can live like a king. Although the take home pay is less than a teacher in Europe in Absolute terms, in CHina's low cost of living You will live it large.

Though this can be a curse of the Expat isolation. These people have free housing in villas, chuaffeured cars or taxis everywhere and 25-35,000 rmb a month. Yes a month ! A cheap student chinese meal costs 5 yuan, a nice italian pasta meal is 50 -100 per person. a 5 star hotel costs 500 RMB -5,000 RMB a night. I've slept in hostels in yunan for 15 rmb a night.

In addition every 3 weeks they have to go on teacher training courses in places like Thailand and Singapore, all expenses paid. (I was a substitute teacher at a school for awhile and there were often times I think they saw me more than their regular teacher. )

Though having this wealth can suck you into the Expat lifestyle, and make it difficult to interact with Chinese people which it seems that you want to do since you're learning Chinese. Very few of the teachers at these international ahave even conversant chinese. (they can afford to have everyone speak english for them.)

Or the lo

Good universities for a BA in any subject and nothing else pay 3500-5000 RMB a month plus free housing.

Anyway,

good luck,

Simon:)

[kdavid]

These people have free housing in villas, chuaffeured cars or taxis everywhere and 25-35,000 rmb a month. Yes a month !

In addition every 3 weeks they have to go on teacher training courses in places like Thailand and Singapore, all expenses paid. (I was a substitute teacher at a school for awhile and there were often times I think they saw me more than their regular teacher. )

I've heard of this type of "English teaching" position before, but I've never met anyone who makes this kind of money with these kinds of benefits. Does anyone have personal experience with this? If so, what are the details?

Also, it doesn't seem to make a lot of sense to me. Unless there were a few select schools that wanted serious, over-qualified, middle-age teachers who would show up for every class sober and not bail on their contract early, I see paying this type of money (25 - 30,000 kuai a month) ridiculous. You can pay a kid in their twenties 8,000 a month who'd be thrilled to do the same work (and who would be living the same style, granted not to the above excessive degree, of expat-isolated life).

[roddy]

You'll only get it at 'proper' international schools, which only take foreign kids (legally not allowed to take Chinese students I think), have an almost entirely foreign teaching staff, and charge massive fees (which they can do as usually it's a corporation or embassy picking up the bill). They teach an overseas curriculum, and the teachers are qualified teachers in their home countries, recruitment is usually done through overseas channels and packages reflect that. The number of HK / Taiwanese / Japanese / Korean, etc kids means they have a demand for English teachers, but even then the standards are going to be a lot higher than your average teaching job in China. You might get a chance to work there as cover, but I doubt a TEFL cert + a bit of experience teacher is going to get a full-time job there.