I am ethnically chinese...I speak english with a perfect north american accent and am able to converse in chinese with a slight accent (chinese people understand me but can tell I am american born). I am liscensed to teach in america and have been teaching elementary school for 3 years. I want to teach english in china or taiwan so i can work on my chinese and learn how to read and write. Do I need to attain any EFL or TEFL certification? Also, is the money good? I'm not trying to get rich but I want to be able to come back with some savings.
China - 6 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
EFT and TEFL certifications will help. generally they will allow you to get a higher paying job but you should be fine in getting a job with just a regular teaching degree from the U.S.
2 :
I dont think u r gonna have problem, whether u have ur certificate or not. Frenz of mine, teach english n earn a good income from that. I also have teaching job as a private tutor, i get paid 140 CNY for an hour.. sounds great?! Other frenz even earn 10,000 CNY as an english teacher in one small school, 20 hours a week. The living cost also quite cheap, so u can save money easily n still have luxury life. Good luck!!
3 :
if you are ethnically chinese then i highly doubt you will be able to get a job teaching english overseas....even though you have a perfect north american accent. I am not saying this to be rude or racist, but it is true. I taught English overseas many years ago and my boss told me they would not hire anyone who wasn't white because they didn't want to confuse the parents or the children. if you apply for a job they will ask you to send them a picture of yourself. To teach in China you do not really need additional training or even a degree to teach with some schools. It really depends on the school. The money is ok and everything is really cheap.
4 :
Bruce - You are good to go! Getting certified in EFL or TEFL will help but if you have a college degree that is enough, you may have a little trouble getting a job, I manage English teachers and I have had Chinese school tell me NO American Chinese, we want the yellow hair and blue eyed ones, you can save a little, I know a guy who taught for two years and took home 25 grand
5 :
I have been to china several times. I have found a good website that gives lots of information about china. www.itsaboutchina.com look under education. I taught there and you can get a kind of job just about any place. Pay is not much.
6 :
Hi. I am an experienced English teacher who has taught in Asia for over 7 years (Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan). The difference between teaching in China and Taiwan are many, but the biggest is money. In Taiwan, you can get a very good salary. You could easily travel and live on it. In China, you make a good salary relative to the local people but would not be able to take foreign vacations a few times a year. In Taiwan, the living standards are quite good as well. The air is clean and the people are very friendly. I enjoyed teaching there. If you are ethnically Chinese, you need to minimize this in any interview. English teachers in Asia are very stereotyped. Looks are very important. More than qualifications to be sure. You do not need to attain any kind of certification. If you do, it amounts to usually 50 dollars more a month in salary. Most language schools have a specific way of teaching and will train you to their specifications. If it is your first time to go there, I recommend going to teach Summer camp. That way you can get an idea of what you are really going to face before you sign into a contract. I taught at american language village. They were not the best camp, but paid me well and kept to all their contract commitments. The payment was high enough for 1 month of teaching to pay my airfare, take a trip to Bali and sightsee in Taiwan. If you go to China, you will not find such great needs. Websites such as www.daveseslcafe.com are great to help you find real decent paying jobs teaching overseas. The competition is higher. They even have specific pages for jobs in Korea or in China. If you need more information, send me an e-mail. Teaching in Asia can be a lot of fun. Just make sure you research your company before you start.
