How to become a Chinese teacher (college/high school teacher) in USA?

[Tomas Tomas]

Hi,

 

I tried searching for this subject but could not find it; also am not sure where to post this.

 

I passed the HSK 6 in 2015 and am now working as an attorney in HK doing China-related work.

 

However, I am interested in moving back to the US and teaching Chinese there, at a college, community college or high school.

 

I have a a few questions.

 

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1.  If I got a teaching degree at Taiwan National University of Tsinghua, etc., would this be of any use in the US?  Will they recognize the degree and let me use that to teach?

 

2.  If not, does anyone know of any scholarships to get such a degree in the US?

 

3.  Does anyone have a sense of the employment opportunity outlook in the US?

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Would appeciate any input.  Thanks!

[Chris Two Times]

I would say, contact the school districts of states in which you would like to teach and see what their requirements are, if any, for teachers needing Master's degrees, and also to check their criteria for teaching licensure. Also investigate those school districts to see what their demands are for Chinese teaching. Do they have extensive programs in the high schools, and are those programs growing with anticipated teaching openings?

 

If those particular school districts would not recognize a Master's degree from abroad, would a U.S. university nearby offer a Master's degree in Chinese with a tuition waiver and a teaching assistantship to pay the bills?

 

I did a Master's degree in German in Ohio at a state university and that was part of the sweet deal--full tuition and fees waiver with health insurance and a teaching assistantship (German 101 for four hours a week). We were full-time students, so that basically was our lives--planning and teaching in the morning, a full load of graduate classes in the late afternoons, and degree in hand after two years.

 

The TAship was enough to cover rent and groceries and keep a little bit of change in my pocket. Several of the MA grads from the program did go on to become HS teachers of German. While pursuing their MAs, they also nailed down the aforementioned state teaching license requirements.

 

Warm regards,

Chris Two Times

[Tomas Tomas]

Thanks!  Do you know where I can find out about such programs?

[iand]

Here are the requirements for my state. It will probably be similar for other states. The most notable thing is that you'll probably need to take a language teaching methods class. http://www.schools.utah.gov/cert/Endorsements-ECE-License/World-Language.aspx

[Tomas Tomas]

Thanks!  Will check that out.