Teaching in China

<p>Hey everyone!</p>

<p>I am involved a lot in the Chinese language.</p>

<ul>
<li>I took AP Chinese</li>
<li>I took SAT Chinese</li>
<li>I was the AP Chinese Teacher's Assistant</li>
<li>I was the SAT Chinese Teacher's Assistant</li>
<li>Won Most Dilligent in the Chinese Language award</li>
<li>Won Most Improved in the Chinese Language award</li>
<li>I have over 10 + years of experience of Chinese.</li>
</ul>

<p>I really want to emphasize to colleges that I am very interested in languages (apart from Chinese, I have also took AP courses in English & French and have began learning Spanish. I am also in French club.) But since my strength lies in Chinese, I want to show colleges that I am very experienced with this language. Therefore, I would like an opportunity to teach in China. Do you guys know of any opportunitiy? Or if not, is there any other way I can REALLY emphasize this point to colleges? Thank you so much!</p>

<p>I am sure if you google around a a bit you can find something.</p>

<p>I have also had this idea only teaching in France and Korea instead.</p>

<p>How old are you? Do you have teaching experience?
I’ve looked around as well. I couldn’t find ANYTHING.
I’m only 16 and I’ve done some unproffesional tutoring (unpaid tutoring at a local elementary school for around a year). I was also Teacher’s Assistant for SAT and AP Chinese. However, the programs I’ve seen only accept teachers who have a degree, at least 1 year of experience, and require the teacher to be a certain age.
I also want a SUMMER job only. The ones i’ve looked at want a full-time teacher.
So if anyone finds a job that fits my requirements, let me know. I guess it would have to be pretty unproffesional then haha.
Thank you so much!</p>

<p>if you want to teach in big cities it’s gonna be hard.
but theres a huge demand for teachers in the rural areas of China,so you can probably easily find a job/volunteer opportunity there if you are ok with the relatively bad conditions
thats actually what I want to do in the near future.</p>

<p>maybe we can go together</p>

<p>yea im pretty sure theres loads of places more than happy to take you in mainland china areas. they dont even require degree, you might even get paid! but awhile ago on this forum a woman actually posted asking for volunteers to teach english in china. it was on the international students forum which is this one, if i find it ill post a link. im pretty sure its exactly what youre looking for.</p>

<p>here it is-----> <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/international-students/701560-oral-english-teacher-needed-china.html?highlight=teach+english+china[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/international-students/701560-oral-english-teacher-needed-china.html?highlight=teach+english+china&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Michelleger, i appreciate the website you posted. However, i’ve looked through a LOT of those links and i’m not qualified for any of them :[ i’m not of age, don’t have a degree, and only have unproffesional experience .</p>

<p>Eminaz, do you know an opportunity there?</p>

<p>Let me know if anyone else knows of any opportunities. Thanks!</p>

<p>are you sure? because in that one there was no listed age or degree requirement, altho it asks ability to control a 60-student class, im sure if you emailed the woman theres a good chance shed be happy to take you on(and maybe give you a smaller class), seems like you have excellent credentials for being a young person =) it wouldnt hurt to ask, i really think theres a good chance she’ll want you! =)</p>

<p>if not, i was just watching some videos on youtube of english volunteers in china, one of them in the vid looked like a high school student. it was in jiashan i think, if i find anymore places not requiring age or degree ill post them, i was looking into doing it one summer as well, tho i wont be able to this summer!</p>

<p>also most places requiring a degree dont care what field its in, so i think if you email a couple explaining that you think youre just as qualified as someone with a degree and teaching experience, most likely someone will want you, at least as a TA. those reqs are probably there mainly to deter, idk, crazy people, lol. but yeah, if it was me i would ask them all anyway and make an argument that i can do it! hahaha, but its up to you =D</p>

<p>Hello, there!
I’m in China, and I hope I can help you in some way.
It’s really a surprise to see that a 16-year-old student would like to teach in China.
But one thing I don’t understand is what do you actually want to teach? Oral English?</p>

<p>Safety would be an issue. They are concerned if some bad guys may take advantage of a 16/17-yo foreigner. There are “Chinese Associations” in major US cities and they may want volunteers to teach immigrants.</p>

<p>By the way, are you Chinese? If so, colleges may not be that impressed even though Chinese is a lot harder to learn than, say, French or Italian. Some people think of Chinese-Americans speaking Chinese is like Hispanics speaking Spanish. For some people, if you are not white, they first wonder if you were born here and/or expect you to know “your” language.</p>

<p>2 issues: (1) Are u ready to accept a monthly wage of about $300 USD (that’s the salary a friend of mine is earning and he is about as qualified as you) (2) Are u sure you wont get into trouble since the Chinese govt ban the use of child labour and you are unfortunately not 18 yet?</p>

<p>China is enforcing their regulations on foreign experts. Many provinces now require 2 years teaching experience, a 4-yr degree and for more developed popular locations, a 120 hours TEFL Certification course. </p>

<p>If you do not have a degree, you can teach long term, but it is very difficult to find a position in China and if I understand your age correctly, if you are 16 it will be nearly impossible to obtain the [china</a> visa](<a href=“http://z-visa.com%5Dchina”>http://z-visa.com) and unsafe to pursue a long-term job in China. Especially if going alone. </p>

<p>It would be better to do it with a friend and apply to a local organization here in the United States so there would be some accountability. Additionally, why not consider a [short</a> term summer program](<a href=“http://summerinchina.org%5Dshort”>http://summerinchina.org)to see if you are really up for it? You would need your parents permission, but it would be a great way to get your feet wet with the idea without the hurdles and liability of a long term teaching contract. </p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

<p>I know there are tons of private high schools and universities in major Chinese cities looking for someone like you. However, you need some special ingredient called “guanxi”.</p>

<p>Teaching Chinese in China with your status i hate to admit would be impossible. Considering the fact that you’re 16, most chinese teaching programs in china would not accept you if you do not have a degree or something. Plus, in the job pool in China there are millions of graduates who hold college degrees and they will most likely be accepted compared to you. Even for volunteer oppurtunities there’s a certain quota you have to reach. In china, they do not recognize AP program.</p>

<p>總之, 祝你好運。</p>

<p>what makes you qualified to teach? just because you had AP chinese? you’re 16 years old. there are millions of chinese in china that speak better english and better chinese than you, and likely they write better. if not you, then an indian or filipino that can work for half the cost. you’re way overestimating your value here. for the guy that talked about rural china… nice way to look down on us. i went to a rural school, we hired a filipino teacher with a business degree. fun class. what makes you competitive with an unemployed filipino/indian teacher with a degree given from an all-english institution? is it the age, cost or your skill, or did you think the color of your skin will really get you that far?</p>

<p>I have some friends that taught SAT course (in English) in Taiwan their senior year of college, you might be able to do that in a few years.</p>

<p>china’s not nearly as liberal as america, or most countries in the world, i’m sorry to say. while you might be able to find opportunities for unprofessional teaching locally, china’s not going to accept a minor to teach its students without a degree, or even a high school diploma for that matter.</p>

<p>go once you’re in a decent college, which i imagine you will. if it has name recognition in the country, you may be allowed to teach or TA without having graduated college yet.
if you want to show colleges you are truly proficient in the language, why not tutor kids SAT or AP chinese?</p>

<p>“Guanxi” is often misunderstood. As a foreigner, you do not need Guanxi to get a job, and it is VERY difficult for a non-Chinese person to earn Guanxi. Westerners who claim to have accumulated Guanxi usually don’t understand the concept. Guanxi networks are usually based on being part of the community and having the same hometown, so it’s quite difficult for an outsider - even a Chinese person from another city - to be accepted into the local Guanxi network even if they have lived in a place for several years. Foreigners, particularly Westerners, are seen as outside the Guanxi network becuase they are seen - usually correctly - as “just passing through” and without deep ties to the community. Unless you have lived in the same place in China for several years and have spent significant efforts helping others in the community, you probably don’t (and can’t) have Guanxi. Part of the reason Westerners have such trouble understanding Guanxi is that it’s neither genuine friendship nor a simple “you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours” arrangement, both of which also exist in China.</p>

<p>That said, if you want to teach in China and you have an American college degree, most high schools or private language schools will take you. However, it’s difficult or impossible without a degree. If you’re in high school, consider doing a summer study program to perfect your Chinese and gain a deeper understanding of the culture.</p>

<p>this will not even help you much with colleges</p>