The need for foreign English instructors in China continues to grow, and many new schools are opening each year specifically to meet it. Public schools, training centers, and overseas schools are the three most common settings for teaching jobs in China. It’s important to learn about the many options available to you in terms of education since they vary greatly from one another.
STANDARDIZED TEACHING POSITIONS IN CHINA
It is common practice for Chinese public schools to employ oral English instructors to help pupils improve their fluency in the language.You will most likely be a supplementary English teacher if you get a job in the public school system. Typically, your pupils will have a Chinese English instructor who focuses on grammar and exam prep, but whose courses don’t really contain much English conversation. Your duty is to visit your students once a week (or every other week!) and assist them in becoming more at ease while conversing in English.There are sometimes hundreds of students in each classroom in a public school in China. Depending on the ages of your kids, you may have anywhere from 30 to 50 in a single classroom. As a consequence, class meetings will occur only seldom. When I taught at a public high school, I was the only oral English instructor, therefore I met with my classmates every other week.Last but not least, the typical workday in a public school runs from 8 am to 4 pm, Monday through Friday, with a long lunch break somewhere in there. Teaching at a public school is the ideal option if you like working a regular 9–5 schedule.
WORK AT THE CHINESE TRAINING CENTER
It is also common for Chinese citizens to find jobs in training institutions. Most of the time, these private for-profit facilities are open in the late afternoons, nights, and weekends to accommodate the schedules of the students they serve. While this may be suitable for some, anyone seeking employment at a training facility should be aware that their schedules are unlikely to follow the traditional 9 to 5.Common duties at a training center include instructing participants in the basics of spoken English, while additional positions are also available. There are jobs in every field conceivable, from SAT tutor to TOEFL instructor to college counselor to debate and public speaking coach. A small number of these positions are available in universities and colleges, but the most majority are housed at specialized training facilities.
Even more people than attend public schools may be served by private training facilities. Either you teach English to 4-year-olds in a kindergarten or you instruct grownups in the nuances of the corporate world in the English language. Your options are endless.Finally, class sizes at training facilities are often substantially lower than those in public or private schools. Class sizes at most training facilities average between four and eight participants. However, depending on your position, you may have regular one-on-one interactions with pupils.
SCHOOLING ON A GLOBAL SCALE
If you have two years of teaching experience and a degree in your field from your native country, foreign schools are the place for you to be. Math, physics, economics, history, and even English may all be taught here in English.Children of expats or Chinese students planning to continue their education outside of China often attend these institutions.The requirements for this position are greater than those of a public school or training center, but the perks and income more than make up for the additional difficulty of entering the workforce.
VARIOUS OTHER INSTRUCTOR POSITIONS IN CHINA
There are plenty of other work opportunities in China. Jobs in higher education are constantly in demand. Although the income isn’t great compared to other jobs, you’ll have a lot of free time as you’ll only be responsible for a small number of lessons each week.You’ll be able to find openings at private institutions, which provide an education that is intermediate between that of public schools and those of foreign universities. Numerous private schools operate similarly to public ones, but maybe with lower class numbers. Some private institutions mimic the atmosphere of international schools and even offer international curriculum programs where some students learn entirely or partially in English.
Finally, you might consider applying to pre-university programs designed specifically for high school graduates who want to continue their education in a foreign country. Perhaps they were not as successful as they had intended to be on the Gaokao (the Chinese university entrance exam), or perhaps they did not have the time to prepare for Western university applications. Either way, this site is a great resource for tutoring pupils on standardized tests.