Teaching English in Xi'an before studying in Anqing

[epsilon]

I am currently a Junior in college. Next fall I will be studying abroad at a university in Anqing. Before my semester starts I am interested in making money teaching English. I have a friend who lives in Xi'an, and it looks like a interesting place to live and work.

1. How do I go about finding jobs for just 2-3 months in the summer?

2. Does anyone know about teaching in Xi'an or Anqing?

3. I am white and a native english speaker. I hear that is enough of a qualification, but should I get more?

4. Will it be difficult transferring my Z Visa over to a student visa once I've begun school?

I should also add, in an effort to gain experience, I have been tutoring Chinese exchange students. Any advice would be greatly appreciated as all I have been doing is reading and researching but my situation seems a little different.

[dnevets]

1. Firstly, ask your friend to ask around in Xi'an if anyone knows any schools that need a teacher. Failing that, trawl the jobs boards at eslcafe.com. There are several schools that run English courses that last ~2 months over the summer period; I know that Aston is one of them, though these days I'm not sure if they'd recruit you since you haven't finished your degree yet. I guarantee there are other schools in Xi'an that would be willing to be more flexible with the rules though. Kid Castle might be a good place to start.

2. I taught in Xi'an for a few years (at Aston). It's a great city, brilliant place to spend the summer, plenty to keep you occupied.

3. Being both white and a native speaker will score you bonus points, and in many cases will be enough to secure a job. Technically you're meant to have a degree plus 2 years of work experience... However, since you're only planning on teaching for a couple of months, you may find that schools will prefer you to just teach on a tourist visa (i.e. no education/work experience requirement). This is because they may not think it's worth the extra hassle of arranging a work visa for you, for the sake of 2 or 3 months. Again, technically, this is a little naughty, but the chances of you/the school getting caught are astronomically small.

4. Changing visa types: I think the rules still vary from province to province. Should be doable, but at the most it will involve a 48 hour trip to your chosen visa-run destination. Hong Kong is popular, but if you fancy a couple of days in Seoul, Bangkok or Ho Chi Min, that'll work too.

[imron]

Regarding visas you're not going to have a z-visa if you're only teaching for a couple of months over summer.

[tooironic]

Xi'an has loads of private ESL schools in the city. If you need the contact details of one feel free to PM me and I can get you in touch.

[epsilon]

tooironic, I don't think I can PM yet (new on this site) could you PM me? Or I could contact you through your blog.