Unemployed, over 24, no commitments, and degree educated? Teach English in China

Mr. Loverman

Hi all

I thought this might help some of you.

I've been living in China for about three years. Initially I was working in a management job but chose to give it up and become a man of leisure. But to stay in China I need a visa, so I decided to get a weekend job teaching English.

Initially the idea of being a teacher horrified me. I felt I'm not the teacher type, especially the stereotype of the TEFL teacher, and my knowledge of English grammar is almost nil.

But I need a visa, and the Chinese government are cracking down on people buying visas (I used to do this), so I decided to be a big boy, swallow my pride, and become a teacher.

The first thing I did was sign up for an online TEFL course. Many schools require this, but many don't. I did it just for confidence and out of respect to my future students.

The next thing I did was look for a job. There are hundreds of thousands of teaching vacancies in China. Literally everywhere. You can go to any city and walk into a school and be handed a job. There is utter desperation for teachers.

I live in sunny Xiamen (a genuinely nice place in China) and went for three interviews. All three offered me a job on the spot. I did have to do a demo class (I had no idea what I was doing) but luckily us Irish folk are very charming (really... go travelling and you realise how funny and charming we are compared to most other nationalities) so I was able to make the class laugh and happy and teach them a little bit at the same time.

What I realised is teaching is easy and there's nothing to be afraid of. Also, a lot of the Chinese people learning English have affection for the west and white people (!!!) so they are happy to just be talking to and looking at (!!!) a very pale Irish person.

The money is very good. I work Saturday and Sunday (9 - 5) only and get around 6k in Chinese money per month. To put that in perspective, most full-time (often 30 days a month!!) Chinese jobs pay about 3 - 4k per month. I work part-time, but if I worked full-time I would be loaded compared to the average Chinese person. There is also the possibility of doing lucrative private lessons.

China is as cheap or as expensive as you want it to be. Many foreigners live on a lot less than 6k per month, and their standard of living would be a lot higher than a Chinese persons.

You don't need to speak Chinese. In fact, they want you to speak English only. If you are teaching kids you will have a Chinese assistant in the class who can help translate. And actually when you live here you will pick up the basics of Chinese pretty quickly. It's not as hard as you think.

So, if you are stuck at home and qualified to work in China, I would urge you to consider coming to China (or Korea or Vietnam or wherever your preference is) and work as a teacher. You will walk into a job, be able to save money each month, and the experience you will have here (it's a mad place) will be pretty interesting and exciting.

And I promise you, if you are a little bit shy and thinking you couldn't be a teacher... it's easy. You can do it.

If anyone has any questions I'll answer them.

Boskowski

Well Done

Mr. Loverman

Two questions people will probably ask:

1. Can I get a job while in Ireland?

Yes you can, many people do this.

My advice though would be to come to China on a tourist visa, find a job, let the job apply for your work visa, and then do a "visa run" to Hong Kong to get your new work visa. If you are worried the extra expense of going to Hong Kong is too much for you, get a job in Shenzhen (big, leafy city in China) where you can get a subway to Hong Kong.

2. The women.

I know some of you are thinking this. Yes, you will be the world's biggest stud here. But I would ask you not to be the stereotype sleazy foreigner here, sleeping with different girls every day and leaving broken hearts everywhere. Chinese girls are waaaaaay more naive and romantic than Irish girls. You will hurt these girls if you sleep with and dump them. And be careful if you are "nice" to girls. They will fall in love with you. I have some ridiculous stalker stories of girls I was kind to (by "kind" I mean just being a normal Irish person; we are nice to people; that's not normal behaviour in China).

Anyway, yes you can get a Chinese girlfriend easily.

I would not advise you get a Chinese boyfriend. They will all cheat on you. Sorry if that sounds like a massive generalization, but Chinese men all cheat. It's part of the culture. That's another reason foreigners are so popular. We're seen as polite and more open to equality, etc.

Jonny Blaze

This definitely sounds tempting.. I can't help but wonder what the catch must be though... there must be one like!

amkin25

The catch is your in china and you will miss ur mammy. lol

Jonny Blaze

amkin25 wrote: »

The catch is your in china and you will miss ur mammy. lol

My parents both fecked off years ago!

Dad's in Johannesburg with the new missus and the mother is in Scotland.

amkin25

Your right anyway fook all left to stay in ireland for anyway, if i was free from commitments id be very tempted to try that.

Jonny Blaze

amkin25 wrote: »

Your right anyway fook all left to stay in ireland for anyway, if i was free from commitments id be very tempted to try that.

For me the main issue would be getting over there in the first place!

amkin25

Plane ticket be a few hundred all right, but its a great lifestyle over there in asia better place to live if u ask me as long as u like rice .

Mr. Loverman

Haha amkin25 is right. You will miss some home comforts (for me: politeness, good steak, falafel, no mosquitoes or roaches) and China requires you to become more patient. It's still developing, the average person has a psychotic level of selfishness, and in general Chinese people aren't so nice to each other or able to think critically.

But there are many positives. For example, they don't have our scumbag culture; there are never any teenagers or skanger types causing problems. That sort of thing simply doesn't exist here. There's almost no drug use. Very little binge drinking. Many other benefits.

Jonny Blaze

I do yeah! And one way or another my new goal is to get out of Ireland as soon as possible!

amkin25

Yeah you should go for it nothing left in ireland ,though cockroaches and stuff gets hard to get used to alright, given we irish never had any of this stuff .We're like the only place in the world with none of this stuff .No snakes cockroaches nothing at all here its mad.

SeantheMan

I'm in the same boat, except I teach in Korea. Gave up a job after 5 years, moved out here, love it.
I teach High School, but will be heading to an elementary school next year.

But for Korea you need to secure the job before you come here, the process can be a bit of a pain...but worth it

zetalambda

Mr. Loverman wrote: »

If anyone has any questions I'll answer them.

Would you need to have basic Chinese going over?

12gauge dave

I have no college education im a 25 year old male would I be unable to do this?

amkin25

Anyone can do it just do a tefl course.

Same as myself in Vietnam. They've started a crackdown here on teachers aswell but evening/weekend stuff is still I case of having a white face.

IanLAD

yeah, i heard of someone doing it in Vietnam and its just as the topic explains, great opportunity, including for myself, might look into it

IanLAD

could you post a link to what site you did your TEFL course on?

Mr. Loverman

zetalambda wrote: »

Would you need to have basic Chinese going over?

No.

You can learn it when you're here.

Most expats don't really learn it...

Smiling and pointing go a long way!

My Chinese is ok. I can get by.

Mr. Loverman

12gauge dave wrote: »

I have no college education im a 25 year old male would I be unable to do this?

You could work illegally using an F visa (business visa).

Many foreigners do this. Nearly no one gets caught as the police don't care.

Many schools will hire you.

If you get caught, you will be asked to leave the country.

I don't recommend you do this, but I have to be honest and tell you it is highly unlikely you will get caught. I know people who are here 10 years on F visas.

I have a friend who has been teaching two years using holiday visas. He charges EUR 90 per hour and has students lining up. He's in dirty Beijing though.

Mr. Loverman

IanLAD wrote: »

could you post a link to what site you did your TEFL course on?

I used i-to-i.

The course is OK.
I probably didn't learn anything, but it reassured me teaching is mostly a case of "do a lesson plan and have an inventory of games and other stuff you can do as filler".

Mr. Loverman

Mr. Loverman wrote: »

You could work illegally using an F visa (business visa).

To elaborate:

You arrive in China using a tourist visa.
You go for an interview in a school.
They tell you they can arrange an F visa, and do the paperwork for you.
You do a visa run to Hong Kong and re-enter China using your F visa.

IanLAD

like what age groups do you teach? i think some Chinese kids over 12 might have better English than me haha
is it only part time mainly available, or is that just because its your preference?
oh and what about summer holidays?
thanks for the info by the way, great topic!!

Mr. Loverman

IanLAD wrote: »

like what age groups do you teach? i think some Chinese kids over 12 might have better English than me haha
is it only part time mainly available, or is that just because its your preference?
oh and what about summer holidays?
thanks for the info by the way, great topic!!

I teach kids (6 - 16?) on Saturday and adults on Sunday.

Adults is easier as the kids don't want to be there.

Most schools want full-time people. I only want a visa so two days a week was the shortest part-time I could do.

Summer holidays is the busy period as parents send their kids to English school. In general, Chinese kids are nerds. They spend all their life studying and doing extra courses. It's a bit sad really.

IanLAD

ah right, i might seriously consider it, everything sounding good so far!
whats the irish community like out there? or even the english speaking community

oh and 1 last thing, do you know of any sites to apply on?

poncho000

Mr. Loverman wrote: »

I was working in a management job but chose to give it up and become a man of leisure

So to sum up Mr. Loverman's post, come to china for an easy job, easy girls and easy money. Even if you're a loser back home, you'll have no problem in China.

Mr. Loverman wrote: »

I decided to be a big boy, swallow my pride, and become a teacher.

Mr. Loverman wrote: »

The first thing I did was sign up for an online TEFL course...I did it just for confidence and out of respect to my future students

Please Mr. Loverman, there are already enough rubbish foreign teachers in China. We don't need anymore, so you can stop posting these foreigner recruitment threads now. I don't think teaching is a profession to be looked down upon. There are a few of us here who actually care about it, just a few.

For any "real" teachers thinking about coming to China, a year most would be best, just for the experience.

Why?

The money is not good. 6000rmb per month = ~700euro. If you're a "man of leisure" like Mr Loverman you might save 3 or 4 hundred or month. The real money in Asia is in Korea, Taiwan and Japan. You'll get double or triple the amount.

Also, if you have Z visa with a school or company in China, it's illegal to do other work on the side. Im not saying it's not possible, but Chinese authorities have been cracking down on foreigners over the last two years and many have been deported.

Second, for those who aren't interested in teaching kids, there isn't a whole lot of job satisfaction in China. Unfortunately, the traditional method of instructional teaching is still prevalent here. The students are not responsible for their own learning. In class they remain silent, expecting the teacher to tell them what they need to memorize. By the way, I teach in a University. Contemporary learning and teaching methodologies have not found their way here yet.

Mr. Loverman wrote: »

but Chinese men all cheat.

*sigh*


Another thing to note about China is that, unless you plan on going to one of the coastal cities, your daily life will be affected by the severe pollution, especially in the north of China. I wouldn't advise coming here unless you are generally in good health.

With regards learning Chinese, while not necessary, will help you a great deal, as you will come across very few people who can speak English here. Also, not speaking the language, you are restricting yourself to socialising with other foreigners or students. And if you are not a "charming" irishman like Mr Loverman, you may end up feeling quite lonely here, as I have seen with some other foreign teachers.

I can just say that China is an exciting, interesting but also frustrating place to be. I'd certainly recommend it for a short experience, but no more than that.

I could really go on and on about China, but I have to teach Academic writing later, so I'd better go and prepare my powerpoint presentation and correct last weeks assignments...

Mr. Loverman

Don't mind poncho000, there are lots of foreigners like him in China who don't want any more foreigners to come here... Unfortunately China is full of negative expats like him...

To correct a few of his points:

I am not saying anything about "losers back home". I don't know why he chose to say that.

Just because you haven't taught before doesn't mean you'll be a rubbish teacher. Everyone has to start somewhere.

You can make savage money in China. A friend of mine makes over 15k EUROS per month teaching private lessons.

Nearly every teacher does work on the side. Virtually no one gets caught. Don't mind him.

You won't be lonely here. It is very easy to make friends - both Chinese and foreign. Of course, if you can't speak any Chinese you'll be limited to the Chinese who can speak Chinese. (There are lots of these though).

Mr. Loverman

IanLAD wrote: »

ah right, i might seriously consider it, everything sounding good so far!
whats the irish community like out there? or even the english speaking community

oh and 1 last thing, do you know of any sites to apply on?

The Irish community is very small. I've met maybe two or three Irish people. There are loads of Americans though.

In general, it's pretty easy to make friends here. Just go to one of the expat bars or use one of the expat websites (e.g. thebeijinger.com). There are a lot of weirdo/negative foreigners here and you will want to avoid them, but there are also loads of decent people.

I don't know which websites you can apply on, sorry. I guess you could start with the expat websites like thebeijinger.com and go from there.

poncho000

Well, Mr Loverman, it's not that I'm "Mr. Negative", it's just that I'm simply presenting the other side of the story, as life in China isn't as rosy as you make it out to be.

In fact, it seems you stopped reading my post halfway through, as I did recommend China as a short experience.

Mr. Loverman

poncho000 wrote: »

Well, Mr Loverman, it's not that I'm "Mr. Negative", it's just that I'm simply presenting the other side of the story, as life in China isn't as rosy as you make it out to be.

In fact, it seems you stopped reading my post halfway through, as I did recommend China as a short experience.

I read your post, and I know you put in a bit at the end about recommending it as a short experience, but we both know the purpose of your post was to turn people off the idea of coming to China.

Anyway, people can read my positive opinion and your negative opinion and make up their own minds. We don't need to argue.

poncho000

Mr. Loverman wrote: »

We don't need to argue.

No need to be so negative.... Let's call it a healthy debate

Mr. Loverman

poncho000 wrote: »

No need to be so negative.... Let's call it a healthy debate

Nothing healthy about wasting your time arguing or "debating" online...

poncho000

Mr. Loverman wrote: »

Nothing healthy about wasting your time arguing or "debating" online...

Ok. I'm stepping away now. Got some serious teaching to do...

Orizio

Its a good option...but China is a dump. Go to Vietnam, Thailand etc instead.

Mr. Loverman

Orizio wrote: »

Its a good option...but China is a dump. Go to Vietnam, Thailand etc instead.

It's a big country...

There are many cesspools though. Beijing, Zhengzhou, Changsha...

I live in Xiamen and it's nice there. Lots of beaches and old architecture and fresh air. In general the south is much nicer than the north.

Orizio

poncho000 wrote: »

The money is not good. 6000rmb per month = ~700euro. If you're a "man of leisure" like Mr Loverman you might save 3 or 4 hundred or month. The real money in Asia is in Korea, Taiwan and Japan. You'll get double or triple the amount.

True. Thing is in South Korea and Japan you actually need to have a vague idea as to how to teach to get work. And Korean schools prefer women big time.

Mind you I'm making maybe 25k euros a year in Singapore, primarily teaching Japanese housewives. Cosy job.

R.D. aka MR.D

Eek I'd like to jump in here and risk being branded weird or negative!

There are so many weirdos where I am in China. It's actually very upsetting to me because I love meeting people and having a good time.

I think that Mr. Loverman is right. If you have nothing better to do then you can come over here and earn alright money. The money is much better in other countries though. They are harder to get into which might be the reason there are so many strange people here.

I was actually arguing with a guy in a bar last week about how he wouldn't want to move to Korea because there is no nature and it's dirty. I laughed in his face and I know that was mean but that is the kind of small mindedness that you meet from expats in China. He had come straight from his town in the US to China and stayed here for the past 2 years. Korea has weirdos too but not in such high numbers.

If you have a BA and are willing to work then go to Korea and earn more money and have a better quality of life (outdoor activities, drinking and having a good time).

This part is only aimed at people who actually want to be ESL teachers:
China is really far behind in adopting any kind of idea of language acquisition. It makes the job very frustrating. It is very much a dancing white monkey system.

Chinese people are wonderful though. If it wasn't for the amazing people in this country then the smog and terrible food (i picked the wrong region!) would get the better of me.
I'm starting my MA TESOL in January so I think it'll be off to Japan for me so I can have more reliable internet.

Mr. Loverman

R.D. aka MR.D wrote: »

There are so many weirdos where I am in China.

I agree.

On the one hand I am happy for these people because they have started over afresh and Chinese people don't realise how odd they are. But on the other hand there are some people who really should be ashamed of themselves.

Unfortunately many Chinese people see all foreigners as the same, so when one foreigner does something bad they think we're all bad. This can be quite frustrating.

I just avoid the weirdos though. Actually I'm trying to mostly have Chinese friends so I can improve my language skills.

The money in China can be great though! Private lessons all the way.

fangler

It all depends on how serious you take English teaching. I spent a long time teaching English in Asia and it was possibly the easiest money I have ever made. Too easy unfortunately. It's so lacking in a challenge that most teachers just get bored. Majority of foreign teachers over there haven't the first clue about what they should be doing in the classroom which is a bit annoying for those who have chosen English teaching as a career. Great short term move though. Places like Korea,Japan,Thailand,Taiwan only require a degree while China just requires a pulse.

Guy:Incognito

Mr. Loverman wrote: »

If you are teaching kids you will have a Chinese assistant in the class who can help translate.].

Why don't they just get that person to be the teacher Presumably they have to be fluent in both languages to do the translation anyway?

Mr. Loverman

fangler wrote: »

China just requires a pulse.

That's not true if you want to work legally.

You must have a degree, two years work experience, and be over 24.

Of course you can work illegally, but you can do that anywhere. You also must have no criminal record and good health (i.e. no HIV).

Mr. Loverman

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

Why don't they just get that person to be the teacher Presumably they have to be fluent in both languages to do the translation anyway?

Their English isn't good enough.

Would you rather learn Chinese pronunciation from a Chinese person or a lad from Tipperary?

Also, for the schools to charge such outrageous money they need to present white faces.

Guy:Incognito

Mr. Loverman wrote: »

Would you rather learn Chinese pronunciation from a Chinese person or a lad from Tipperary?
.

Can I not have a native English speaker :P

I just assumed people would need both to teach from one to the other the way it is in schools here. Can it not be difficult (and frustrating) teaching people a language when you don't share a common language and the one that does (the translator ) isn't great either?Do you find much gets lost?

Mr. Loverman

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

Can I not have a native English speaker :P

I just assumed people would need both to teach from one to the other the way it is in schools here. Can it not be difficult (and frustrating) teaching people a language when you don't share a common language and the one that does (the translator ) isn't great either?Do you find much gets lost?

Honestly it's grand.

Today I was teaching a 6 year old. I had an assistant helping me but really I would have been fine without her. You'd be amazed what pictures and drawings and hand gestures are able to achieve.

Starscream25

What would be the average age of people starting off to teach over there?, I'm 29 in June, feel like it's an early 20,s thing to do. I have always thought about going abroad to teach english since finishing college in 08 but having being out of work since April last year I'm very tempted to do something very different.
After watching the documentary 'the last train home' I don't think I'd like a big city

ShaggyQueen

Mr. Loverman wrote: »

I used i-to-i.

The course is OK.
I probably didn't learn anything, but it reassured me teaching is mostly a case of "do a lesson plan and have an inventory of games and other stuff you can do as filler".

How do the lesson plans and games work? Are you given stuff to teach, or do you have to come up with stuff yourself? (As in, is there an end goal of exams and you just have to get them to pass one way or another, or is there something more structured?)

Also, what is the social and nightlife like? Is there much to do during the week and at weekends?

Thanks

Mr. Loverman

Starscream25 wrote: »

What would be the average age of people starting off to teach over there?, I'm 29 in June, feel like it's an early 20,s thing to do. I have always thought about going abroad to teach english since finishing college in 08 but having being out of work since April last year I'm very tempted to do something very different.
After watching the documentary 'the last train home' I don't think I'd like a big city

There are people of all ages. At my school the ages range from mid 20s to 60s.

Define "big cities". Even the small cities are big in China. I'd say as long as you stick to somewhere near the coast you'll be fine.

Mr. Loverman

ShaggyQueen wrote: »

How do the lesson plans and games work? Are you given stuff to teach, or do you have to come up with stuff yourself? (As in, is there an end goal of exams and you just have to get them to pass one way or another, or is there something more structured?)

Also, what is the social and nightlife like? Is there much to do during the week and at weekends?

Thanks

It depends on the school. I teach kids on Saturday, and adults on Sunday.

For the kids, I have to make my own lesson plans, but they have tons of material I can use. For the adults I am given lesson plans and materials.

I am also given course books to follow.

Social life in China is pretty good. For example, if you live in Beijing you have the choice of absolutely tons of bars and clubs and cafes etc.

Where I live (Xiamen) things are a bit more sleepy but there's still a few bar streets and club streets etc. I live beside a street with about 10 bars side by side and a street with a few super clubs side by side. I also live near a river street thing with about 5 bars. I don't really drink so I just go to the beach or cafes or yoga etc.

Polarix

So, if you are stuck at home and qualified to work in China, I would urge you to consider coming to China (or Korea or Vietnam or wherever your preference is) and work as a teacher. You will walk into a job, be able to save money each month, and the experience you will have here (it's a mad place) will be pretty interesting and exciting.

And I promise you, if you are a little bit shy and thinking you couldn't be a teacher... it's easy. You can do it.

If anyone has any questions I'll answer them.

I very much doubt China and the Chinese authorities are for every unemployed irish person with a degree.
How are openly gay people treated over there for example ?

BNMC

What do you mean by "odd people" and "weirdos"?

Great thread, sounds like you're living the dream.