An Experience Teaching and Tutoring English in China

It’s now been a few months of both living in and teaching and tutoring English in China and I can honestly say its been quite an experience! Luckily, I’ve been able to travel around a bit while I’ve been here teaching English. But for the most part, the experience of actually living in a foreign country is so much different from that of simply traveling through, even if you’re traveling within a country for an extended period of time. It’s just plain different when you’re actually out there mixing in among the locals and their typical work day.

Looking over Shenzhen, China

When I first started out on this trip, I had never fully committed myself or planned on ‘living’ anywhere overseas. However, I’m glad to have made the experience, especially in such a unique place such as China. And there is no doubt that teaching English is the ‘thing to do’ for foreigners in most parts of Asia. I knew there was a larger demand in China than in some other countries so China seemed like a good choice among other reasons. I ended up venturing over here relatively unannounced with no plan other than to find a place to stay first and go from there…. Looking back on it now, it would have definitely been better to have been more prepared, to have set things up prior both with schools and with students. In my case, that wasn’t much of an option since there was very little planning before arriving to China from Hong Kong. Actually, if I’d had only knew then what I know now, the planning part may not have even been an issue.

When you first arrive to China, you may or may not have been there before, you may have a teaching position lined up and you may know exactly who and at what age you want to teach English. Well, for me, other than having already traveled to China before, I didn’t have much of this figured out yet! However, within the first week on arrival and doing some research on English teaching positions, I quickly realized there shouldn’t be much trouble in finding a job. And that part of it held true… it was not hard to find those hiring. The hard part though was weeding out those organizations, schools and learning centers that were less than reputable, dishonest or just plain bad to work for. You see, there are some schools out there that will mislead a teacher into thinking they will make more than they really will, they’ll not give the clear picture on the number of hours to work and prep time and will also side step around the details of the position. Some will also avoid putting things in writing. As a result, it didn’t take me long to figure out it was much more important for me to interview them than it was the other way around to be sure they were legitimate.

Teaching Vs. Tutoring English in China…

For me though, after having been through so much ‘riff raff’ with many different agencies, learning centers and recruiters in regard to teaching English, I decided that I would instead simply become an English tutor for most of my hours worked as opposed to teaching English in a formal classroom with many students. And for the most part, tutoring English in China was the path I went down though I did in fact teach some classes along the way and for more than one school, however, the bulk of English teaching efforts went to tutoring sessions, some one on one and some in small groups.

One of many parks and entertainment areas within the city

As the months went by, I had ended up tutoring English in China with 6 different organizations including having my own separate students that I had contacted on my own (or that had contacted me). There are many pros and cons to weigh when deciding whether to teach or to tutor but for me,  tutoring English seemed the better fit since you can create your own schedule, hours, and location(s) to work and even plan your time off much easier.

So for my best word of advice for anyone looking to take the opportunity, I’d say to research those you talk to as potential employers (whether it’s for teaching or tutoring) and also, try to talk to one of their teachers that have already been working there for a few months. Find out about their contacts, their pay, their teaching hours and schedule, etc. And get everything in writing before you start!

Also, if you go through an agency, I would avoid those that ask you to pay them up front or for any fees associated with them finding you a job. There is simply too much demand for foreign teachers out there and with so many teachers in short supply in most markets, you should easily be able to find a suitable teaching position without the help of these agencies and recruiters. The better ones collect their ‘fee’ from the school, not from you. And as I stated earlier, I’ll be writing more advice on all this soon! So far, the best agency I could recommend to help in your search is Find Work Abroad. They are reputable, honest and work in favor of the teachers with no fees, etc. Instead, they get paid by the schools they work with. Also, here is a link to an article post I did for the Teaching Traveling website. Within that site, you can find some good resources and reviews from teachers themselves stemming from their own personal experiences.

Overall, the English teaching experience itself is extremely rewarding. Whether you plan to teach English in a large classroom or to tutor English one-on-one, no matter what age and level of your students, it’s always a great feeling to see your students progress as the weeks pass. I even had a couple of students that started out with me that could barely speak 5 words! Seeing those students progress was even more of a rewarding experience. So for anyone thinking of teaching English in China or even becoming an English tutor, I’d say go for it. The pay is great but what’s even better is the experience you’ll have in the process and the networks and friends you’ll make along the way. In one way or another, it’ll open up doors for you and I’d be real surprised if anyone has ever come back from the experience with any type of regrets….

Feel free to leave a comment below with any questions you might have as well as advice or suggestions in regard to your own teaching or tutoring English experience!