Teaching English in China - A Guide to Doing it Right.
If you're over the age of 25 you probably remember learning about China in primary school. Your teacher may have shown you pictures of a rice paddy and a Chinese man wearing a wide-brimmed straw hat. The other pictures may have been of a busy street in Beijing where you didn't see a single car - just thousands of bikes. And the bikes looked a little strange, like the proportions were different than the BMX bike you begged your mother for the Christmas before.
The world's governments may have opened up to the People's Republic of China in the 60s and 70s but it took a lot longer for that change in policy to reach our education system. By the time I was a teenager they had stopped teaching about China in a negative light and had slowly started to shift towards teaching about China's rich heritage, culture, and contributions to art and science.
When I was eight years old my teacher told me that everyone in China was poor, that children my age were starving on the streets. People were forced to eat dirt and drink rain and that they built elaborate machines to collect rainwater so they would have a month's worth of drinking water in the event of a long period without rain. There was a suggestion that if there was a drought people would go days without any water at all. China may not have been the same country then that it is now, but that was certainly not the case for the majority of the people here.
So why do I mention this? Because people around my age, and especially those people who are older, were given an unfair and biased view of China that was based on politics, not on fact. This made even me a little wary about going to China. Some of the first things I researched were into how safe is it in China, which I now look back on and laugh because of how much safer it is in China in a lot of ways. At least in China when someone steals your wallet it's not at gunpoint. To be fair, I've never been mugged in Canada but I've certainly had more violent encounters there.
The point of this story is because whenever I talked to people about going to China this was the first thing they asked me. Isn't China really poor? Isn't it really unsafe? Won't you get arrested for saying Democracy or Communism? I'll answer those questions throughout this post, so if you are asking the same questions right now make sure you pay close attention.
I have been teaching English in China for three years. In those three years I have taught some oral English (which is what most foreign teachers teach) but most of my classes have been culture and society. The name of my textbook is The Society and Culture of Major English-Speaking Countries and it includes topics on History, Geography, Government, Social Issues, Sports and Scenic Spots, and Holidays. At no point did anyone sit me down and give me a list of topics I could and could not discuss with students. Being somewhat naive and a little nervous I asked if it was really okay for me to teach about western Democracy (which was in my textbook) and was told that there's no problem teaching anything in my textbook. The only advice I was given on the topic was to avoid direct comparisons to the Chinese government and I wouldn't have to worry about anything.
The laws in China are different and they have a tendency to be rather strict about it when they want to. One of my colleagues was detained (not arrested) by the local police for allegedely taking prohibited photos. He didn't even have a camera on him but they held him until the translator came and he could explain it. We found out through this that it is technically illegal for a foreigner to take pictures except at designated tourism zones, and they even pulled out the Chinese Constitution (in English) for him to verify that they were telling him the truth. The lesson to learn here is don't break the laws of the country you're in - but that's common sense anyway. I guess the lesson beneath that lesson is to actually know the laws of the country you're in.
My three incident-free years have been three of the greatest years of my life. There are dozens of things I could list that I love about Chinese culture and life here. The number one thing would absolutely be the food. Chinese food in the West is horrible, full of salt and MSG and often considered to be generally poor quality. It's fast, it's cheap, and it's easy to eat - but it's junk food. If you live in a city that has authentic Chinese food you're lucky, because they are exceptionally rare. Cantonese food (called Guangdong food here) is rare outside of Guangdong province and Hong Kong. Every province has its own style of food and many cities have their own local specialty. A wonderful thing if you are a food traveler - you can eat different food in every city and every province, and it's all authentic Chinese food.
Cost of living in China is incredibly low - assuming you're not in Beijing, Shanghai, or other cities full of tourists and foreign businesses. I live in Linfen, in the Shanxi Province, and if I was living purely off restaurant food it would still only cost me $5 (35 CNY) per day to eat three good meals. If you cook every meal you can reduce that to $2-3 (12-20 CNY) a day. Cost of living has increased in the past three years but it's still a fraction of that of the West.
You generally get paid less money here than you would in the West, but with the cost of living difference there is a lot of room for savings. I've been earning 4,500 CNY per month (16-hour work week) and when I was single I could spend as little as 900 per month on living expenses (including fun). After getting married I spent more as I had a wife, and nine months later a baby, to support but we still managed to save between 2,500 and 3,000 per month. The government expects you to spend at least 30% of your monthly salary in China before you leave, as you can only convert 70% of the money you earn into foreign currency.
If you choose a good school they're also going to pay your travel expenses (including both plane tickets) and your apartment will be free. That 4,500 CNY goes a lot further when you're not paying rent. You do have to buy your plane ticket up front and you'll get reimbursed upon the completion of your contract but you do get the money back. Many schools will also offer you a travel bonus to travel with during holidays (typically around 1000 CNY).
There are two types of schools in China. Public schools (Universities, High Schools, Middle Schools, Primary Schools) and Private Schools (many Kindergartens, some colleges, and especially training/vocational schools). Public Schools are government schools and are generally the better choice for jobs as you have the regulations of a central government ensuring you get paid on time. Schools need to meet very strict requirements in order to get the permit that allows them to hire foreign teachers and if they screw it up they generally don't get a second chance. Private schools, on the other hand, often rely on third parties for their work visas (agents) or they commit visa fraud and get people working on travel/business visas.
Public schools are absolutely the way to go. Working on a travel or business visa is dangerous, as you're not protected by a contract (even if you sign one, it's effectively invalid because you're not legal). You also risk deportation and travel bans if your law breaking is discovered by the police. Generally if an agent or a school tells you that you should enter China on a travel visa (L) and they'll convert it to a work visa (Z) you're going to be in trouble. Some of them work out but the chance of visa problems is far too high.
Agents are a third-party service offered by several companies around China. Some of them have offices in foreign countries but agencies are generally a risky route to take. Sometimes they work out well, and many of them are honest, but the agent is just some worker who wants as many commissions as they can get. They are going to do whatever it takes to get you to a school, even if that means lying and cheating the system (bringing people in on L visas or forging degrees for people). This doesn't really backfire on the agent, it's the teacher who suffers, and often the school as well. I would not recommend agents.
The best way to find a good school is to find someone who writes an article on his website about his experiences in China and find out which school he taught at, then contacting that school directly. I am a guy who taught English in China and I wrote an article on my website. The school I taught at is named Shanxi Normal University and I cannot say enough good things about this school. I will try to say enough good things, though.
Shanxi Normal University is located in the city of Linfen which is in the Shanxi Province. If you do a Google search for Linfen you'll find many articles about the air pollution. It's no secret that Linfen is not a clean city but what these articles don't talk about is how much better it's getting. In the three years since I arrived there has been significant improvement in air quality and blue sky days due to the local government cracking down on illegal mining. Shanxi Province is one of the primary coal provinces in the country and Linfen is in the centre of a massive coal belt. They have closed down dozens of illegal mining operations in the past three years alone and the air has greatly improved because of it. Previously the number one most polluted city in the world, Popular Science Magazine rated it number 7 (Top 10 Dirtiest Cities in the World) in 2008. As many cities in the world are getting worse, Linfen is getting better.
But Linfen has massive advantages too. The city has a population of more than 4 million (including rural communities) but still manages to feel like a small town. Shanxi Province is the noodle capital of China and the people of Linfen are no exception to this rule. Noodles are everywhere, in many different shapes, styles, and tastes. You have noodles with egg and tomato, noodles with vegetables, with or without soup, with or without meat. Linfen's specialty is Beef Meatball Noodles, which is pretty much exactly what its name suggests. It has beef, it has meatballs, and it has noodles. What the name doesn't tell you is that it is spicy as all hell. Luckily most of the restaurants have cold beer waiting in a nearby fridge for when your mouth starts screaming. Linfen people generally love spicy food, and so visitors will find many Sichuan Province and Chongqing restaurants around the city. Sichuan is some of the best food in the entire country, especially if you can handle a little spicy pepper in your food.
The people of Linfen are generally friendly and due to the small town feel of Linfen are quite welcoming to foreigners. You will find yourself warmly greeted into most shops and restaurants and hostility towards foreigners is exceptionally rare (in three years I've only met three racists, one of them wasn't even in Linfen). Shopping districts may overcharge (we call it the foreigner tax) but if you are accompanied by a Chinese person you can generally get pretty close to an accurate price. We came up with a tagging system in which we would have a Chinese person walk behind us at the market and we would "tag" clothes by holding them for a few seconds and putting them back. The Chinese person would then walk up, get an accurate price, and we would return to the shop once the starting price had been announced, at which point bartering could begin at the right price. Even if you pay the first price they pay you're still overpaying because there is an understanding that every Chinese person is going to barter that initial price by ten to thirty percent.
Going back to Shanxi Normal University, Linfen's main school. Their website can be found here. It contains some information about the school, contact information for applications, pictures of the school and the city as well as a bit more information about Linfen. If you research the problems of teaching English in China you will find a lot of horror stories of people who came to China expecting a wonderful year of teaching only to be faced with terrible circumstances and were forced to return early or work a year in suboptimal conditions and never get paid, or get paid less than promised.
The first complaint I see is that schools are not honest. This is a two-fold problem, because agencies and agents are often not honest (which is the primary reason I recommend not using an agency). Shanxi Normal University, and specifically the International Office, are a very dedicated and honest group of people. Nearly all of your interactions with the school will be through the International Office and I would go so far as to say you will not find a collection of people who are as good as the office at this school. In my three years I have never had any problems with the office, nor have I had any problems the office could not help me solve. They never cut corners or were dishonest about it and in fact they would offer up the truth without even being pressed for it. The second part of the honesty complaint is that too often teachers were not lied to, they simply weren't told anything until they came into their office shouting. The International Office has never withheld important information just because it was unfavorable. But that does lead into the second major complaint..
Communication is seriously lacking at a lot of schools. Last-minute schedule changes, only informing half of the teachers of a policy change and the other half left not knowing, and not getting a work schedule for a new term until the day before the term starts. Communication used to be seriously lacking in the International Office, but over the past three years the office has significantly improved to a point where I can no longer complain. Three years ago I was told about a new class starting with twenty minutes' notice. One term I got my schedule a week after the term started. In the latter case, I was still paid for my week of non-classes, since it wasn't my fault. In that same situation it was not actually the office's mistake either. While the International Office is great with their communication, sometimes they are left waiting by other departments or the local government.
These first two examples are the reason I stayed with this school for the past three years. I could have gone to another city, I could possibly have found more pay in a bigger city, but I would not have the same level of honesty and straightforwardness that the International Office gives. It is what the industry standard should be, and I cannot say enough good things about the office in these regards.
The major requirement for teaching English at any good school in the country is going to be a Bachelor's Degree. Your major is much less relevant provided you're a native English speaker. You could be a major in Floral Management and still be a fine English teacher. For anyone who is an English major they do have a wider range of courses available for teaching, but that list is also subject to the availability of Chinese teachers. It's not common for a teacher to choose his own courses, you are generally scheduled based on what the school wants you to do. Experienced teachers may find themselves with more options available, but that is the sort of thing to discuss with the office staff.
Shanxi Normal University can hire teachers legally, which means you will enter China on a Z visa. This is the safest way to enter the country, as you will have already signed a contract and the school is obligated by law to give you the job they brought you to China to do. If you're already in China they can get your L or F visa changed to a Z visa but it nearly always requires a trip to Hong Kong to change the visa type.
To summarize most of what I have said, teaching English in China is awesome. Shanxi Normal University in Linfen City is a great school to teach at. If you are only looking to do one year it is unlikely you will ever be bothered by the pollution in Linfen and you will enjoy incredible food while you are here. The International Office is honest, straightforward, and communicative which are characteristics which are incredibly rare in schools in China and it is for those reasons that this school gets my absolute highest recommendation. My rating system is still being worked on, but I am going to use a simple numerical system similar to how I rated Twilight. This rating system does not serve as a conclusion to the article, as most rating systems would, as it provides some new information not previously covered.
Living Conditions: 7 / 10
The city is not very clean but it has improved vastly over three years. The food is incredible, the city is rather quiet. There are plenty of markets selling fresh vegetables, fruits, and meat. Bakeries are everywhere, there are a few popular shopping districts selling both expensive brand names and cheap knockoffs. You can buy an Adidas hat with a Nike logo under it or a Gucci shirt which is spelled Cucci.
The apartments provided by the school are free of charge and are equipped with air conditioners in the living room, a washing machine in the kitchen, and a bathroom with western toilet. You will also get a fridge, TV, couch, bed, and a dresser or wardrobe to put your clothes. Apartments can be equipped with a computer, though it will likely be quite dated and it is a much better option to come with a laptop. You do not pay for water, electricity, cable TV, or internet but you do have to pay a monthly phone fee. This is typically 15 CNY per month, and if you do not pay it you will not have access to the internet.
Reliability: 9 / 10
In three years my pay has only been late twice. Once was because the accounting department was on vacation and once because the school's leader has been called to a meeting in another city last minute and they could not get his signature. Recently the pay schedule has gotten much better as the school started using direct deposit and generally processes salary long before pay actually goes in, ensuring it's never late.
Any time you need help the office will be there to do what they can. If you need to buy train tickets, plane tickets, or even just go to the supermarket they have people who can help you. I was encouraged when I first arrived to enlist my students to help me with things like supermarket trips as it would help them work on English, but if I couldn't secure help from a student the office was always there to step in and help me out.
Teaching Conditions: 8 / 10
Most of the classrooms do not have air conditioning. You will be teaching in late August and early September as well as late June and sometimes early July. It can be hot in Linfen at these times and the classrooms have a tendency to heat up. This can be counteracted somewhat with handheld fans and cold water but it is definitely an issue for a few weeks out of the year. In the winter the classrooms all have heat, so there is not such an issue with the cold. In the hot periods of the year the dress code (business casual) is relaxed and you can get away with t-shirts and shorts.
The school provides a school bus free of charge to teachers which has both heat and air conditioning and drives between the three campuses (English teachers typically teach at Campus one and two). The bus is available for every teaching block and is much more comfortable than the city busses.
Most classes are fitted with computers and projectors, as well as hookups for external devices like laptops or portable DVD players. If your classroom has a broken computer it can sometimes be a challenge to get the computer fixed and often the better choice is to try and have the students change the classroom for you.
Scheduling: 9 / 10
Your schedule will probably be pretty good. 16 hours a week usually means five short days or four normal days with a day off. The most typical schedule I have had over the past three years have been four days teaching per week, four hours per day. Usually you will have two blocks, 8-12 and 2:30 to 6:30. There is a 2.5 hour lunch break in the middle of the day. Weekend classes are scheduled as makeups for some holidays. If a holiday falls on a Thursday, for example, they might give you the Friday off but you will make up the class the weekend before the Friday. You will not have a choice in these situations, as the school will make this decision for all students and teachers. The office can provide you with a calendar which lists all the holidays, though you will not know about makeup classes until the week before the holiday.
Schedules can be flexible if there are any major problems, but keep in mind that you are a contracted teacher for that school. The school considers your work schedule to be the highest priority for any given day. If you are scheduled to work on a day you don't like, the school is not obligated to change the day for you. That being said they are quite cooperative if given a valid explanation and will do what they can to resolve any problems.
Culture Shock: 9 / 10
Culture shock should really be on a negative scale but I guess I could have called it Lack of Culture Shock.
Linfen is a small town with a very small group of foreigners. There are a few training schools in town that hire foreigners and you may encounter them in the city, but the city does not cater to foreign tastes. There is, at the time of this writing, one McDonald's and two KFCs in the city. There are a handful of Western-style restaurants which are very expensive. There is a Chinese company called Dico's which operates KFC-like fast food restaurants, and another restaurant chain serving fried chicken at small takeout windows. Supermarkets rarely carry butter or cheese, and you will not find a large selection of "western" spices like basil and oregano. These things can be bought on the internet (ask students or the office about "Taobao") but it is better to buy them in winter as they do not use refridgerated trucks.
If you do not speak Chinese you will find that Linfen does not have a lot of people who can speak enough English to help you. Supermarket workers and travel agents are unlikely to speak more than "Hello" and "I'm sorry". To survive in Linfen you need to at least pick up a little basic Chinese. Numbers and colors are a great place to start. Numbers are especially important as they are used in prices, times, dates, and some places.
The emergency number in China is 110. While the operator probably won't speak English, they can transfer you to an English operator if you say "English" when they answer. I have never needed to call 110 so I have never confirmed if this is possible. 110 is the number for police, so if you are being attacked or were hit by a car it is a good place to start. If you need an ambulance you call 120, and if there is a fire you dial 119.
Overall: 8.4 / 10
Linfen may not be the perfect town but Shanxi Normal University is as close to the perfect school as possible. The industry that foreign teachers in China belong to is a constantly changing world and as the industry standards improve so does the job condition. This school has mostly stayed above what the standard level has been with a dedicated office and friendly demeanor.
The bottom line is that this school has been a joy to work for these past three years. I volunteered to write an article about the school because of how pleased I am with everything over the past three years. The office has an amazing director and support staff and they are always willing to assist with anything you need. What are you waiting for? Your China adventure starts now!
Contact information:
Website: http://www.sxnu.edu.cn/english/
Email waisc2@163.com
Telephone: (+86) 0357-205-1084
