As some of my long-time readers might be aware, English teachers often come in for a hard time from me. In the interests of balance, I think it’s time I had a look at the flip side of the coin and why you might actually want to teach English in China and how you might want to prepare for doing so.
The Why you Might Want To…
Teaching English abroad is not a glamorous profession. However, given the nose dive in Western economies at the moment, there are plenty of folks for whom a profession is better than the alternative. China’s certainly an interesting place to kick off a career, or just to take a working holiday while the economy sorts itself out.
History and Culture
Please try and remember that Pandas are big bears and as such are nowhere near as cuddly as they look. They also don’t teach English in China leaving you with less competition for a job than you might expect.
Because of its peculiar past you can find a lot of interesting things in China, some that are even relatively unknown (despite the numbers of Chinese that have got there before you); the great wall, the Shanghai bund, possibly the only surviving representative of the Church of the East (though in fairness it’s also possibly just another pagoda), the Terracotta Army, the Tongli canals, the Gardens of Suzhou, and much more. That’s not discounting the natural beauty and the chance to get up close and personal with a Panda (you really can – in Chengdu).
Chinese culture is alien to us and that means you can learn a whole heck of a lot about different concepts. “Face” may often be ridiculed by cynical expats but nearly half the world operates in cultures where giving and taking face are extremely serious. It will open you up to thinking a little more before you speak and make you aware that the direct route, isn’t the only way to get things done.
The Language
Mandarin Chinese speakers are a rarity in the West. There are plenty of career opportunities for translators and interpreters. If you’ve already got some grounding in the language, heading out to China for a year or two will give you the chance to polish up your skills. It’s not the easiest language to learn though, it takes Chinese students approximately 7 years to learn all the characters necessary for reading and writing. So don’t expect to spend 6 months in Shanghai to lead to total fluency if you haven’t at least done a bit of work before you come to China.
Yes, a warm welcome is generally the standard of the day. This lovely lady would probably enjoy a conversation with an English teacher too.
The People
The Chinese people themselves are (by and large) welcoming and kind, and while there’s a certain strangeness to your first encounters in cities where foreign faces are not the norm. It can make you feel like a rock star as everyone stops in their tracks and stares at your novelty.
The Job
Teaching English in China is not generally a terribly demanding job. Most teachers will do 20-25 hours work a week. Their job is usually to help students practice speaking and not to teach any finer points of the language (that’s usually handled by a local teacher). That means it’s not too stressful and leaves you with plenty of time to explore and enjoy the city you’re in. In most (but not all) jobs, accommodation is included in the package so what ever’s left in your pocket is yours to enjoy. Which is fair enough.
The Prices
Money goes a lot further in China than in most other parts of the world. At least it does outside of the four mega-cities of Guangzhou, Beijing, Shenzhen and Shanghai. In those places it still goes further but nowhere near as far as in the provinces. Having said that, wages tend to be higher in those areas to compensate – be warned renting an apartment in these cities is not cheap, so make sure your deal pays enough to find a place. That’s because in the big cities, there’s often no accommodation package.
Preparation for Coming to Teach English in China
If you’re going to make the leap, then let me share a few things that will make your life easier.
- Get a TEFL (or better still a CELTA) qualification before you leave. On the job training for teachers in China is highly variable, some places are brilliant others offer nothing. So learn how to teach English as a foreign language before you come, you’ll feel much less lost if you do.
- Get a job before you arrive, you can normally get a better deal before you arrive in China than when you’re here. Here’s a website you can check for some details; TeacherGig for teaching jobs in China. They seem to be good at finding work for potential teachers who want to go to China.
- Get a VPN (Virtual Private Network) connection before you come. This is triply important if you’re going to take an assignment off the beaten path and outside of the big cities. Seriously, it might sound like a good idea to go and isolate yourself in another culture but it isn’t. You’ll go mad in a heartbeat. Facebook, Twitter, etc. are blocked in China unless you have a VPN. So cough up the $50-100 a year and make sure you can contact your mates back home. Phone calls are very expensive, and there’s even talk of possibly blocking Skype (the VPN will sort that too), so do it.
- Get networking before you go. Get on Facebook and other social networks and reach out to find other people in the same area as you. Even a small network of English speakers can be a God-send when you’re stuck a million miles from home with only a smattering of Chinese to your name.
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If you are going to be out in the sticks a little. Take a Kindle. It’s amazing how much comfort reading can bring and how much time it can consume when you’re a little lonely in China.
Get a sense of humour. Not only will you be less annoying to the people you meet but it will enable you to cope with the transition between cultures much more easily. Don’t cry, scream, shout, throw things, etc. Just learn to laugh. It won’t make anything less frustrating but it will endear other people to you. That’s a vital skill to learn in making new friends and coming to terms with culture shock.
- Get a Kindle. an MP3 player and a laptop. Everything else is optional, but these three items will make it much easier to lose yourself for a few minutes when things get a bit much (they will at times). Being able to read a book, listen to some tunes or watch TV (torrents are your friends) can keep you sane for long enough for it to pass.
Shards of China 
I confirm everything you are saying, and I was not there long (only 2 months in the summers). VPN, sense of humor, patience, networking, Kindle, laptop, and music … all necessary…. and camera!
Hi Mona,
Thanks for backing me up. 🙂 I know you very much enjoyed your experiences in China, so it’s good to know I’m not too far off the mark.
Cheers,
Nick
I like the idea that you can kick-start a career in China. There’s not an employer anywhere who takes teaching experience in China seriously. A Thai recruiter told me that it didn’t count because ‘they’ll employ anyone there’ (not strictly true of course you do have to be white).
Thanks for the valuable insight. I will be leaving for China to teach shortly. You mentioned electronic items…Any thoughts about brining/using my unlocked cell phone in China?
You should be fine as long as you buy a China Unicom SIM card – as it’s the only true GSM network in the country. However, as a network it’s not got complete coverage so you might want to check before you go.
Thank you for the tip!
Totally agree about ‘village life’. While Korea is vastly different and much more technological (I’m guessing!) than rural Korea, it still is such a challenge living in a small town where no one speaks your language and opportunities for entertainment are nil. A hard-drive full of movies is something I would recommend too!
We’re soon to be making the transition from small town Korea to Hong Kong…30,000 neighbours will soon become 7 million neighbours. Can’t wait!
Oops I mean Korea is vastly different and much more technological (I’m guessing!) than rural CHINA. D’oh.
HK is in no way representative of the mainland. Chalk and cheese. It’s a great place, I’m sure you’ll have a wonderful time. Good luck!
Oh, I know! I’m lucky enough to have been to both in the past. I’m just really excited about living in a non-rural village!!! 🙂
Yeah, Nick! So good to see you back. It’s been so long I had to look up your name again (don’t worry, I do this frequently for myself as well). I like your advice: Get a sense of humor – that must be the one I most frequently fall back on, when words, angry gesturing and bitching don’t work. I’ll definitely check out your other blog as well. Will you also be tweeting new posts for other blog from your same Twitter account?
I would argue that China is quite possibly the worst place to begin a career in teaching. Unless you have a specific interest in Chinese language/culture, I’d give it a miss. In general terms, it’s completely lacking in professionalism, materials and pedagogy are outdated, grade inflation is the norm, cheating commonplace, and unless you’ve got a reasonable level of qualifications and experience, you aren’t going to be living particularly comfortably.
South Korea is still a far better option for the rookie teacher.
There’s cheating throughout Asia and North America for that matter. Most teachers find ways to prevent and police it. I’ve been at one pathetically unprofessional school, Xiang Jiang High School/Coastline Community College’s program, but another good one at Shandong Univ. of Science & Technology/NMITS or Clark U.
Search for blogs from teachers who’ve worked at a place before taking any job.
Also, note schools tend to change for the worse rather than the better.
Back home the savvy you’ve gained in negotiating/communicating in China will be more needed.
If you’re thinking of teaching in China, heed this advice. It’s right on target.
I’d like to add something. If you aren’t committed to teaching as a profession, don’t fall into the trap of remaining in EFL more than a couple years. Before you know it, you’ll be stuck career-wise and tainted by the stink of bad conversation teachers. A future employer in another field should question your motivation and work ethic.
If you discover you do like teaching, then get a Masters so you’ll qualify to teach in good universities, preferably those with foreign partners, which pay better (e.g. Australian-Chinese or US-Chinese partnerships). Another suggestion if you want to save more money to avoid student loans, teach in Japan for the JET program. The jobs run the gamut of crap to okay. (Not much of a gamut, I know.) The plus is more money, opportunity to branch out and a bit of prestige. With JET you get language learning, opportunities to develop your public speaking skills, and more. Lots of JETS have gone on to publish books, produce plays, gain experience in TV or radio all in Japan and then parlay that into future work elsewhere.
Avoid the dead end that is Korea where salaries are going down and prices are rising. There’s an uptick in xenophobia there. A Korean university, if you’re at a top one (Korea U, Yonsei, Seoul National, Ewha or Sogang) is okay. Life is too often hell for foreigners at other jobs.
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