Where to start

[snowden]

I'm from Australia and have just graduated with a BA in History. I'm hoping to do around a 6 month placement in the latter half of this year.

As someone without a teaching certificate or teaching experience, do I have a strong chance of getting a position somewhere?

Where are the best places to start looking? In some forums, I'm seeing plenty of anecdotes about dodgy programs as well as teachers getting screwed over by schools etc..

Thanks

[kdavid]

As someone without a teaching certificate or teaching experience

There are a variety of TESOL training courses out there that provide evaluated teaching practice, so that you can get trained and get a bit of experience under your belt before you start working.

This is ideal for most new teachers as simply having a BA does not necessarily make you a good teacher. There's a lot more involved in teaching, particularly young learners, which make up China's largest market, than just standing in front of the class and opening your mouth.

do I have a strong chance of getting a position somewhere?

Realistically, many schools will take anyone off the street as long as they look foreign. A BA, TESOL, and experience are all just a bonuses. However, the best schools which offer the best benefits will want a teacher who has received professional training.

Would you perform open-heart surgery without an MD? Or operate heavy machinery without formal training? If not, then why would you teach without proper training? Teachers are in a powerful position to influence students and dictate how they view learning, the English language, and westerners for the rest of their lives. By teaching without formal training, you're not doing anyone any favors.

Where are the best places to start looking?

Online. Do a lot of research on any program you're interested in joining. Start with a TESOL program and go from there. Ask for references.

[Bennett99]

Try www.TeachinChinaRegistry.com

They offer on site TESL courses once you get there

[kdavid]

Once you are accepted into our Program and have completed our Five Day Orientation and Training Course in China

Five days of training is hardly enough to even begin to acquaint someone with TESOL and China.

They go on to say:

We can tell you your approximate salary level upon reviewing your application. Your final salary is determined upon the Completion of the Training/Orientation (and the optional TEFL/TESOL Certification) in Qingdao, but the minimum salary is 4,000 rmb and it begins immediately.

So, they're assuming that after you do the five day "orientation" that you'll go on to pay US$595 for the "optional" training, even though they say this training is factored into your estimated salary.

You will receive your International TEFL Certification at the end of the training session. The Training Session consist of three categories:

* 20-hour TEFL course: “How to Teach English in China,” given by TEFL experts who have already been teaching in China for years;

* 6-hour Culture course: “Chinese Laws, Cultures and Social Taboos,” given by local Chinese professors.

* 4-hour Mandarin course: “Survival Pu-tong-Hua (Mandarin),” given by our staff

* In addition, you will receive “Certification” by America China Education Registry which will qualify you culturally for this Program.

Perhaps the most telling of all of this is the fact that they had to put "Certification" in quotation marks. What is that supposed to mean? The "certification" isn't even accredited by an external body--it's accredited by their own company. They also don't bother to say this "certification" will qualify you to teach in China, instead they say:

you will receive “Certification” by America China Education Registry which will qualify you culturally for this Program.

So, their certification qualifies you for their program.

It seems a bit odd to me. But, of course, I'm biased.

Anyone interested in comprehensive TESOL training resulting in a TESOL Diploma, accredited by the Chinese government, may want to check out my school's program: Will-Excel TESOL.

[Bennett99]

Very valid point kdavid and I agree with you - but I guess I was thinking that if I was a recently graduated student what would be the minimum I would have to do to get a job for 6 months only

[kdavid]

I guess I was thinking that if I was a recently graduated student what would be the minimum I would have to do to get a job for 6 months only

Teachers are in a powerful position to influence students and dictate how they view learning, the English language, and westerners for the rest of their lives. By teaching without formal training, you're not doing anyone any favors.

Hopefully one considering getting into education is doing so for others, not themselves.

[roddy]

I was thinking that if I was a recently graduated student what would be the minimum I would have to do to get a job for 6 months only

Apply. Without experience you won't get very good jobs and you'll probably end up working on an L or F visa, which isn't legal. Don't bother with any certification, nobody employing an inexperienced teacher is likely to care and you're only doing it for six months.

Hopefully one considering getting into education is doing so for others, not themselves.

Realistically, meanwhile, fresh graduates are going to want to come to China for a bit of fun and there are plenty of cheapo schools willing to employ them. Might as well make sure they don't do or suffer too much harm while they're here.

[Bennett99]

Another valid point. But since they have a BA in history and not in a degree in teaching - you would have to assume getting the job is about having fun and enjoying the cultural experience rather than a need to educate.

[aroberts42]

My finacee and I are just going through this process ourselves and this is what I have learned. we are going through Buckland International Education Group and I really have not heard anything bad about it. http://www.bucklandgroup.net/ Unlike other programs I looked at, it is completely free. Some programs I looked at charged up to $1,000 just for enrolling. Also, you don;t have to have a teaching degree to teach English in China. I have a BA and an MA in English, but not in teaching. But still I was hired as a teacher for the one year program. However, my fiancee as no college at all and he was hired as a teacher-in-training. He will be required to take TESOL classes while he is teaching and after the one year program he will be TESOL certified. I don't have the take the classes, but they are offered to me for free so I plan to take them. The only difference between the teacher and the teacher-in-training is he has to take the TESOL classes and his pay is about 2000 RMBs per month less than mine. They offer both 11 month and 5 month programs and bonuses if you sign up longer.

I hope this helped, when I started I didn't know even where to start so I feel really fortuante to have found Buckland since I know there are lots of other less-than-reputable agencies out there. Good luck.