One semester Program

This program is a good way to get a feel for authentic Chinese culture and lifestyle without letting go of your roots back home. With a few months you can get a grasp of the Chinese language, travel to famous locations, try a wide selection of exotic foods, and make life long friends. Your host school will be like a second home as you settle and explore the land around you.

Teaching:
There are two main types of educational facilities. One is an English training center the other is the grade school. The grade schools could include elementary, middle school, high school or university levels.
In the grade school, classrooms will typically have blackboard with TV sets and air conditioners. Computers with Internet will be available at the school, and office space for the teachers will also be available. Basic teaching materials and supplies will be provided by the school. The student’s ages range from kindergarten up to senior high school. There will be 20-35 students in one classroom and about three or four different classes a day. The focus of the class curriculum is conversational English. The teachers base their lessons on the textbooks and supplement this with games and other educational and entertaining activities.
The training center will be in office like space with rooms for small class teaching. You will have close contact with a few students each day and teach in a round table format. Your students may range from kindergarten to adult. You may also have poster board or a small blackboard for writing. The training centers will all have air-conditioning, computers and all necessary materials for teaching. The focus of the lessons will be conversational English as well as the subject of the students’ interest. You be given textbooks to teach from but you will need to supplement this with your own lesson plans.

Schedule:
With the grade school, the teaching schedule will be for a little less than 20 hours a week for about 4 ½ months. There are about three or four 50 minute classes everyday for 5 days a week. The first semester starts in early September and goes till late January. The second semester goes from mid February till late June. Exact dates will vary slightly from school to school.
With the training center you will also teach for 20 hours a week or less but the class periods are more flexible. Sometimes you will need to teach on evenings and weekends. The length of each period will operate similar to the school’s semesters but we will allow more flexibility in starting periods and length of employment.
Your Chinese lessons will need to be coordinated with the school or center on an individual basis and may not be automatically arranged. Sometimes the school will arrange a person to give you supplemental lessons to fit your schedule, sometimes the person designated as your school host will offer lessons personally.
Before you leave for China we will either send you our orientation packet or arrange an orientation day for you (if you are located near one of our offices) to brief you on all you need to know about the programs and prepare you for Chinese culture and teaching requirements.

Living Arrangement:
All teachers will have a furnished room with the minimum of air conditioner, attached bathroom with hot water, bed, desk, chairs and electric outlets. Most sites also have TV, refrigerator, telephone, and computer as well. Most schools provide coverage for your utilities which is sufficient. The room you have might be in a shared apartment or you might have a private one, it might be on campus or off, all depending on the school's setup.
Most schools provide medical coverage but there are a few options. Some schools will provide insurance through a third party insurance provider, some schools will provide a medical coverage stipend and some schools will give free access to their on campus clinic.
Teachers’ meals are sometimes provided by the school. Other times the teacher must pay for it independently. Usually the "grade school" offer teachers free meals at the school cafeteria, whereas most private training centers ask teachers to take of their own meals.
For any concerns or problems you may have you will be given a staff person’s number and your local host’s numbers that you can contact for help.

Salary:
The salary the schools provide for the one semester position will be between 3500 RMB ($440 USD) and 5000 RMB ($625 USD) a month. Exact salary will depend on the school and personal qualifications.
Regarding the plane ticket, if you agree to teach for one semester, you will get reimbursed for a one way airfare only (average is $500), and if you teach for two semesters or longer, you will get reimbursed for a round trip plane ticket. You typically get reimbursed for your plane ticket, half on arrival after signing the schools contract, and half at the end, on completion of the contract. Having a roundtrip ticket instead of two one way tickets will save you a few hundred US dollars, but a one way ticket is a good option if you would like to go to a different return destination or you are not sure when you would like to depart China. It may also be possible to earn extra money doing supplemental education work (although this depends on demand and the permission of the headmasters). The schools will also cover your visa fee. If you wish to acquire it yourself you will be reimbursed the fee of your visa once you arrive in China (the standard issue visa fee is $50 USD). Otherwise our staff persons in America will help you acquire your visa.
Note: Due to the increase of expenses we now have a $100 program fee for all one semester positions.

Requirements:
The essential requirements are being a native English speaker and having a college degree. Persons with better pronunciation and grammar, teaching degree, college degree, or experience teaching abroad will be preferred. All are welcome to apply. Your chance for acceptance depends on the number of applicants.