This program is a good way to get a feel for authentic
Chinese culture and lifestyle. With a few months you
can get a grasp of the Chinese language, travel to
famous locations, try a wide selection of exotic foods,
and make life long friends. Your host school will
be like a second home as you settle and explore the
land around you.
Teaching:
There are two main types of educational facilities.
One is an English training center the other is the
grade school. The grade schools could include elementary,
middle school, high school or university levels.
In the grade school, classrooms will typically have
blackboard with TV sets and air conditioners. Computers
with Internet will be available at the school, and
office space for the teachers will also be available.
Basic teaching materials and supplies will be provided
by the school. The student’s ages range from
kindergarten up to young adult. There will be 20-35
students in one classroom and about three or four
different classes a day. The focus of the class curriculum
is conversational English. The teachers base their
lessons on the textbooks and supplement this with
games and other educational and entertaining activities.
The training center will be in office like space with
rooms for small class teaching. You will have close
contact with a few students each day and teach in
a round table format. Your students may range from
kindergarten to adult. You may also have poster board
or a small blackboard for writing. The training centers
will all have air-conditioning, computers and all
necessary materials for teaching. The focus of the
lessons will be conversational English as well as
the subject of the students interest. You be given
textbooks to teach from but you will need to supplement
this with your own lesson plans. --------------------
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Schedule:
The length of all contracts will be 6 months, however,
depending on whether you participate in a training
center or the grade school will determine how those
6 months are divided. Language schools will typically
ask you to teach the entire 6 months. Grade school
positions will be divided by the school semester
and the summer. The summer school will likely be
in a different location than the grade school.
Note: for those applying for half
year positions which begin with the short term summer
or winter programs, application procedures will
depend on whether we can finalize a semester position
for you 3 months before the school semester begins
(May for summer program, Sept for winter program).
If we cannot, we may need to ask you to participate
in the standard short term summer or winter program
and pay the short term program fee until a position
for you is settled, upon which we will reimburse
you. In addition, you may have less choice about
school location for both spring and fall positions
that begin in summer or winter then you would with
the 6 month positions starting in spring or fall.
With the grade school positions you will likely
teach in two different schools, the grade school
for the semester and the school for the summer.
For the semester school, the teaching schedule will
average 20 hours a week for about 4 ½ months.
There are about three or four 50 minute classes
everyday for 5 days a week. The first semester starts
in early September and goes till late January. The
second semester goes from mid February till late
June. Exact dates may also vary slightly from school
to school. The summer and winter short term program,
will average 30 hours a week for 4 to 6 weeks. There
are about 6 classes a day for 5 days a week.
With the training center you most likely teach in
one location for the entire 6 months, and teach
closer to 25 hours a week. Class periods are more
flexible than with grade schools. Sometimes you
will need to teach on evenings and weekends. The
length of each period will operate similar to the
grade school’s semesters but there is more
flexibility in starting periods for the contracts.
Your Chinese lessons will need to be coordinated
with the school or center on an individual basis
and may not be automatically arranged. Sometimes
the school will arrange a person to give you supplemental
lessons to fit your schedule, sometimes the person
designated as your school host will offer lessons
personally.
Before you leave for China we will either send you
our orientation packet or arrange an orientation
day for you (if you are located near one of our
offices) to brief you on all you need to know about
the programs and prepare you for Chinese culture
and teaching requirements.-----------------------------------------------------------top
Living Arrangement:
All teachers will have a furnished room with the
minimum of air conditioner, attached bathroom with
hot water, bed, desk, chairs and electric outlets.
Most sites also have TV, refrigerator, telephone,
and computer as well. Most schools provide coverage
for your utilities which is sufficient. The room
you have might be in a shared apartment or you might
have a private one, it might be on campus or off,
all depending on the school's setup.
Most schools provide medical coverage but there
are a few options. Some schools will provide insurance
through a third party insurance provider, some schools
will provide a medical coverage stipend and some
schools will give free access to their on campus
clinic.
Teachers meals are sometimes provided by the school.
Othertimes the teacher must pay for it independantly.
Usually the "grade school" offer teachers
free meals at the school cafeteria, whereas most
private training centers ask teachers to take of
their own meals.
For any concerns or problems you may have you will
be given a staff person’s number and your
local host’s numbers that you can contact
for help.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------top
Salary:
The salary the schools provide for the one semester
position will be between 3500 RMB ($440 USD) and
6000 RMB ($650 USD) a month. Exact salary will depend
on the school and personal qualifications.
Because of higher teaching hours, language training
center's salaries are often higher than that of
grade schools.
For those in grade schools who later participate
in the summer program, summer program salary will
be between 5000 rmb ($625 USD) to 7000 rmb ($875
USD) depending on whether it is 4 or 6 weeks participation.
Regarding the plane ticket, if you agree to teach
for the half year, you will get reimbursed for a
one way airfare only (average is $500). You typically
get reimbursed for your plane ticket at the completion
of the contract. It may also be possible to earn
extra money doing supplemental education work (although
this depends on demand and the permission of the
headmasters). The schools will also cover your visa
fee. If you wish to acquire it yourself you will
be reimbursed the fee of your visa once you arrive
in China (the standard issue visa fee is $50 USD).
Otherwise our staff persons in America will help
you acquire your visa.
Note: Due to the increase of expenses
we now have a $100 program fee for all half year
positions.
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Requirements:
The essential requirements are being a native English
speaker and having a college degree. Persons with
better pronunciation and grammar (as determined
by interviewing and standardized test scores), teaching
degree, college degree, or experience teaching abroad
will be preferred. All are welcome to apply. Your
chance for acceptance depends on the number of applicants.---------------------------------------------------------top
