Conflicting information

[BlackWash]

Hello,

I plan on going to China to teach English sometime in 2008, probably spring. Either way, I hear conflicting accounts of what the minimum requirements are. I hear that a university degree is required on place, then another says that a high school, or equivalent, is acceptable. I got my G.E.D. a few years ago and may not receive my associates degree before I plan on leaving. So, my question is, is it really required to have a university degree to teach in China? Also, I plan on getting a TEFL certificate, but now I don't know which would be better to get, a TEFL certificate or a TESL certificate. Which one of these would be better if I were to teach in China? Thank you for taking the time to read, and also to anyone who answers.

[BlackWash]

Sorry, I forgot to ask. All of the programs I have looked at so far say you must pay for your own ticket to China. Is this normal? One more thing too; does anyone have any program they would specifically encourage me to take, like http://www.uschinaedu.org/T_Program.asp. It seems good, but then again, I can't find any feedback either. Thanks.

[Rincewind]

My school requires a University education or a teaching qualification such as TEFL, CELTA, DELTA etc etc etc. However, I know several teachers who are using fake degrees. I also know 'native speaking English experts' who aren't native English speakers. Some have not even visited England! Not that I'm recommending you do any of these things.

As for ticket. Usually you pay for the the tickets then get refunded at the end of your employment based pro Rita on how much of the year you worked. (e.g. work 6 months, get half your ticket) However, I know many teachers who have never been paid the air fair. The school often finds a way to get out of it.

[BlackWash]

Well, thank you very much for that. Right now, I'm without degree but thinking about at least finishing my associates degree before I go. Also, I think I will get a TEFL certificate. I'm really not looking for high wages, as I am new to this. I just want to be able to live comfortably and be able to supply myself with a plane ticket home at the end, or perhaps even on a break, as hear sometimes that happens when school is not in. Either way, I'm just now beginning to send out my résumé to see if I get any "hits". Either way, thank you very much for your reply, Rincewind.

I'm hoping to get a place near Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, as my girlfriend is from there, and will be returning one day. However, I doubt I will have much say in that.

[Kristyx]

I have two friends who have spent a year teaching English in China. They don't have a degree or a TEFL qualification. I think it must vary from school to school.

[venture160]

The diploma is a must, you need it to get a work permit in china.

[BlackWash]

I've heard of getting a tourist visa (or perhaps another kind) and looking for work in person. I know this happens; I know it's illegal. But it seems, from what I've read, that the problem is pretty much ignored. So, in theory, I could just fly there on a tourist visa and go to different schools and have a good chance of landing a job; perhaps it would not be a great job, but I'm convinced it would be something decent, and that's all I want. I don't live very well here, and I'm sure I wouldn't mind sacrificing a few things to live there for a while.

[Rincewind]

Even though a teacher salary in china looks like a rather small number of US dollars, you can do very well on it. I rarely spend more than 1500 yuan in a month so the majority of my earnings go into the back. If you stick the the middle sized cities near Nanjing rather than look in Nanjing it's self, then you will find there is no need to be frugal. There wont be many things you miss other than cultural differences. Even then, you will be able to day trip frequently to Nanjing and get just about anything.

Many people come on a tourist visa and have a look around before starting work. You shouldn't actually start work on the tourist visa, but you should come up against problems if your just looking for work. Once you find an employer, you can get the paperwork sorted for a Z visa and permit. Sometimes a trip to Hong Kong is required to do this, sometimes not.

[Fireblade]

Well you see this all depends on the area. in each area there are different offices that issue one year foreign residency permits. In my province there are three different offices located in different cities. My city has a new office, at first they were going to 'do things by the book' and only issue foreign residency permits for overseas teachers with a university degree and a teaching certificate of some kind. Then they changed that to foreigners needing 'some kind of certificate' as schools couldn't find enough suitably qualified teachers. Although my school says it makes things 'much easier' if there is some kind of certificate being processed with a new application (that could be from starfleet academy:lol: ), which means it may be expensive for the school if you have no qualifications.

Basically find out from the school whether they believe the qualifications you have are enough. Some other people here will violently disagree with this saying that foreign experts must have a degree. Many (people with degrees) will say this to try to scare off the less well qualified hoping that the reduced supply of teachers will lead to a higher wage for them or because they don't want having a degree to feel meaningless. But Chinese law is a gray area in which many cogs can be oiled.

A CELTA certificate is the best teaching certificate to have, but in reality any piece of paper that looks legit is usually enough.

[kdavid]

The more credentials you have the more benefits / higher salary you'll have, the more choice you'll have in choosing a school.

Generally, a TESOL degree + BA is pretty standard. However, many teachers only have one or the other or both. Both + experience = better jobs. Yet, many schools will take a good amount of experience (which you'll get over time) in lieu of a TESOL degree + BA.