TEACHING ENGLISH IN CHINA WITH TEFL CERTIFICATION...

[Reddragon75]

Hello all. I plan on beginning the process of earning a TEFL certification, but I do not yet have my Bachelor's degree(currently a Junior).

 

My university offers the certification course for undergraduates and I am thinking about whether or not to do it now, or wait until I get my Bachelor's degree and do it as a grad student.

 

Long story short...as you can see from my timeline, I and my fiancee are currently going through the K1 visa process. Although I am fairly confident that we will get approval...there is no certainty in life.

I have already discussed the possibility of a denial with my fiancee. She has already expressed to me many times that she doesn't care where we live, as long as we are together. I told her that I am perfectly willing to move there with her, but obviously I need a job. I already know that it would be teaching English.

 

Basically....my question is: What are the odds of me getting a teaching job in China with the TEFL certification, but without a Bachelor's degree?

 

I am trying to plan for the worst outcome of our case. If there is a possibility that I could get a teaching job without the degree, then I would like to begin the certification ASAP. But if there is not even the slightest possibilty of getting a job there, then I might as well wait until I earn my degree.

 

If our visa is denied, then I could move to China and we could get married there. If I could get a job teaching, I could live there for a year or so and then we could refile as a K3 and possibly come back to the US. Then I would finish my degree.

 

I think I remember reading in a post somewhere that a degree is required in China to teach English. Is that true?

 

Can anyone help me? It would help me greatly in deciding whether or not to sign up for the first 2 classes for the certification this Fall.

 

ALL SUGGESTIONS AND COMMENTS ARE WELCOME.

Edited July 17, 2008 by Reddragon75 (see edit history)

[dnoblett]

Very good chance you will be able to teach.

 

My wife was an English teacher at a private school in Yangshuo, they hired practically anyone who was fluent in English to teach.

 

Her old school: http://www.westschool.com.cn/

 

You can spot my wife on this page of school website, she is behind the guy with the yellow Florida shirt. http://www.westschool.com.cn/Teachers%20copy.jpg

 

http://www.eslreview.org/schools/xijie-for...language-school

 

Example: http://www.eslemployment.com/dcforum/DCForumID3/5934.html

[Guest lilac6451]

Hello Reddragon,

 

You dont have to have a degree to teach English in China if you dont teach in big cities like Beijing, Shanghai... nor teach in colleges or universities.

 

And I have one question for you here, you said you dont have a degree yet but you can get the TEFL certificate. How does that work?

[dnoblett]

Hello Reddragon,

 

You dont have to have a degree to teach English in China if you dont teach in big cities like Beijing, Shanghai... nor teach in colleges or universities.

 

And I have one question for you here, you said you dont have a degree yet but you can get the TEFL certificate. How does that work?

A degree is not a requirement of TEFL.

 

Just google search "TEFL" gets many interesting sites.

 

Like:

http://en.chinatefl.com/

http://www.onlinetefl.com/

http://www.tefl.net/teacher-training/qualifications.htm

[spacebar]

I hate to say it my man but I truly believe it all depends on connections if you don't have a Bachelor's or even a Master's degree in English. Then again, it may not be all that difficult , well for me it was connections. While in Zhengzhou, I taught English at EF for the school. During the first trip I made to China, I volunteered teaching English for 1 week while I was in Zhengzhou. I taught English for about two months at EF during the second trip in China. Yet again, during the third trip, I taught for about two months at EF during the winter and new year. It was awsome.

It just depends on how good you are at teaching and whether you really know the rules of English grammar. If the students believe they can learn from you, the school will likely see you as a great teacher. It worked for me! I was a success and was even offered the title of head English teacher of the training school but declined to accept since I had to return to my crappy ass job which I now kind of think back and wonder what would have happened had I accepted the job IN CHina.....................

 

Hello all. I plan on beginning the process of earning a TEFL certification, but I do not yet have my Bachelor's degree(currently a Junior).

 

My university offers the certification course for undergraduates and I am thinking about whether or not to do it now, or wait until I get my Bachelor's degree and do it as a grad student.

 

Long story short...as you can see from my timeline, I and my fiancee are currently going through the K1 visa process. Although I am fairly confident that we will get approval...there is no certainty in life.

I have already discussed the possibility of a denial with my fiancee. She has already expressed to me many times that she doesn't care where we live, as long as we are together. I told her that I am perfectly willing to move there with her, but obviously I need a job. I already know that it would be teaching English.

 

Basically....my question is: What are the odds of me getting a teaching job in China with the TEFL certification, but without a Bachelor's degree?

 

I am trying to plan for the worst outcome of our case. If there is a possibility that I could get a teaching job without the degree, then I would like to begin the certification ASAP. But if there is not even the slightest possibilty of getting a job there, then I might as well wait until I earn my degree.

 

If our visa is denied, then I could move to China and we could get married there. If I could get a job teaching, I could live there for a year or so and then we could refile as a K3 and possibly come back to the US. Then I would finish my degree.

 

I think I remember reading in a post somewhere that a degree is required in China to teach English. Is that true?

 

Can anyone help me? It would help me greatly in deciding whether or not to sign up for the first 2 classes for the certification this Fall.

 

ALL SUGGESTIONS AND COMMENTS ARE WELCOME.

[Joshua + Wang Zhuo]

No Degree needed......In fact, no TFL certificate required.....Hell, you don't even need to have English as your first language... You just need to be white(maybe even black). I hate to say it, but this is all true. I am in college, but no degree and I never took the EFL certification tests.

 

Sadly enough there are people that taught as the same school that I did that were not even native English speakers. One girl was from Poland(her English was at least pretty good) and another was from Macedonia(I found it hard to communicate with her).

 

The pay is pretty good by Chinese standards and I can actually practically double my pay by tutoring on the side. I think if you go to Shanghai or Beijing it may be a bit more difficult, there you may even need to have an ESL certification, but if you are not in one of those two cities you likely do not need it.

 

I taught at 6 different schools last semester and not one of them cared if I had a degree or a certificate. They asked for it originally, but pretty much dropped it when I said I did not have it. To be fair, I was teaching young kids, 1st to 5th grades, but after the semester I was hired by a college to teach TESOL English. I did not end up doing it because of scheduling conflicts. The interview went something like this........

 

Interviewer: Can you teach English?

 

Me: Yes

 

Interviewer: When can you start?

 

Me: Tomorrow

 

Interviewer: Is________ enough pay?

 

Me: I guess..... (120 RMB an hour Which is pretty standard where I am from)

 

Interviewer: Great, we will see you next week, is that OK with you?

 

My roomate also came to China and taught English with me. He started to take the TEFL certification test and I was working on it with him a little. It was a little bit informative and it had some good Ideas. Was it worth $190? Maybe.........

 

Here is a great sight to help you with finding ESL jobs, finding materials to teach, etc.....etc....

 

http://www.eslcafe.com/

 

If you have any questions, message me.

 

Joshua

[Guest Rob & Jin]

The only thing I will say is look at the title

 

"Teching English"

[Joshua + Wang Zhuo]

The only thing I will say is look at the title

 

"Teching English"

 

 

Give the guy a break It doesn't say teching typing. (joke)

[tsap seui]

No Degree needed......In fact, no TFL certificate required.....Hell, you don't even need to have English as your first language... You just need to be white(maybe even black). I hate to say it, but this is all true. I am in college, but no degree and I never took the EFL certification tests.

 

Sadly enough there are people that taught as the same school that I did that were not even native English speakers. One girl was from Poland(her English was at least pretty good) and another was from Macedonia(I found it hard to communicate with her).

 

The pay is pretty good by Chinese standards and I can actually practically double my pay by tutoring on the side. I think if you go to Shanghai or Beijing it may be a bit more difficult, there you may even need to have an ESL certification, but if you are not in one of those two cities you likely do not need it.

 

I taught at 6 different schools last semester and not one of them cared if I had a degree or a certificate. They asked for it originally, but pretty much dropped it when I said I did not have it. To be fair, I was teaching young kids, 1st to 5th grades, but after the semester I was hired by a college to teach TESOL English. I did not end up doing it because of scheduling conflicts. The interview went something like this........

 

Interviewer: Can you teach English?

 

Me: Yes

 

Interviewer: When can you start?

 

Me: Tomorrow

 

Interviewer: Is________ enough pay?

 

Me: I guess..... (120 RMB an hour Which is pretty standard where I am from)

 

Interviewer: Great, we will see you next week, is that OK with you?

 

My roomate also came to China and taught English with me. He started to take the TEFL certification test and I was working on it with him a little. It was a little bit informative and it had some good Ideas. Was it worth $190? Maybe.........

 

Here is a great sight to help you with finding ESL jobs, finding materials to teach, etc.....etc....

 

http://www.eslcafe.com/

 

If you have any questions, message me.

 

Joshua

 

Oh my Gawd, Joshua....you said it all. From my research, they're probably many more teaching english with no degrees than with degrees.

 

For the most part you just need to learn how to have a solemn face as you answer "Yes" to any questions the interviewer asks.

 

Need a degree? Shucks, they are as simple as using a credit card online. I think a masters costs $170 or so.

 

Now, I will say, from what I saw, most companies that recruit teachers to teach engrish in China do want to see your credentials., God bless their lil' pea pickin' hearts.

 

tsap seui

[Dennis143]

Phoey with looking for and finding a job to teach ESL. If I were to teach English in China, I would simply open my own school. I will pocket my own income and not worry if I'm going to get paid by the school or not. Seems there's no shortage of eager students, at least in south China, Nanning in particular.

[Joshua + Wang Zhuo]

Phoey with looking for and finding a job to teach ESL. If I were to teach English in China, I would simply open my own school. I will pocket my own income and not worry if I'm going to get paid by the school or not. Seems there's no shortage of eager students, at least in south China, Nanning in particular.

 

You are right and if I was staying in China I would certainly do that. However, if it is just a temporary thing, there is much less hassle just working for someone else. I make more per hour and I enjoy the work I do more when I tutor. I think an English training school could be very very profitable.

 

Right now the schools are struggling though because visa's are really difficult for foreigners. Hope it goes back to normal when the olympics pass.

[tsap seui]

Phoey with looking for and finding a job to teach ESL. If I were to teach English in China, I would simply open my own school. I will pocket my own income and not worry if I'm going to get paid by the school or not. Seems there's no shortage of eager students, at least in south China, Nanning in particular.

 

Bingo, Dennis. If your teaching was for anything more than living with your wife while you awaited an interview, or to file a DFC application, then you hit the nail on the head. And a feller would have the Chinese National to "own" the school with you as their "employee". Ya may get mopped around from time to time...but you'd be sleeping with the BOSS.

 

There are so many ways to skin a cat.

 

tsap seui

[Guest Rob & Jin]

Phoey with looking for and finding a job to teach ESL. If I were to teach English in China, I would simply open my own school. I will pocket my own income and not worry if I'm going to get paid by the school or not. Seems there's no shortage of eager students, at least in south China, Nanning in particular.

 

Bingo, Dennis. If your teaching was for anything more than living with your wife while you awaited an interview, or to file a DFC application, then you hit the nail on the head. And a feller would have the Chinese National to "own" the school with you as their "employee". Ya may get mopped around from time to time...but you'd be sleeping with the BOSS.

 

There are so many ways to skin a cat.

 

tsap seui

 

 

The wife/fiancee owns the school on paper, you work for her

[spacebar]

OOO a low blow lol. I must say I didn't notice that. hehe

 

 

But back to the topic, I think it's just a matter of how good of an act you can put on. I have to admit the first time I got up and stood in front of those kids, I was thinking to myself "What the hell am I doing!" Then , it just came naturally. I also firmly believe that if you do not have strong background in English, you shouldn't teach because you will only make yourself look bad and the kids won't learn shit. LOL

 

The only thing I will say is look at the title

 

"Teching English"

Edited July 17, 2008 by spacebar (see edit history)

[Dennis143]

I think it's just a matter of how good of an act you can put on. I have to admit the first time I got up and stood in front of those kids, I was thinking to myself "What the hell am I doing!" Then , it just came naturally. I also firmly believe that if you do not have strong background in English, you shouldn't teach because you will only make yourself look bad and the kids won't learn shit. LOL

 

Whether you know jack or not, when you stand in front of a classroom full of Chinese you will have their immediate respect and attention. And with that respect comes a strong duty to teach them. They look up to the teacher as all wise and expect you to teach and rightfully will expect to have learned something each day.

 

It really is quite simple when you have students with such a great yearning to learn.

 

 

 

 

 

 

For those new here, I have been teach ESL locally now for almost 3 years: http://i36.tinypic.com/14mb1hc.jpg

What, I can't toot my own horn?