Frequently Asked Questions
Show all answers | Hide all answers- What is the main thing that I can do to begin to prepare myself for this adventure?
- When looking at programs for teaching in China, what should I beware of?
- Why should I go with this program instead of one of the other 14,000 plus programs/schools/organizations listed on the internet?
- After teaching for one year, can I commit to another and do many people do this?
- Will my fees be refunded if there is a family emergency?
- If I want to teach but my spouse doesn't want to, can I still get a contract?
- Will universities accept couples with children?
- What if I need to come home for a family wedding or funeral?
- Will I be given a textbook or a curriculum?
- Will I have internet access?
- Will I have enough time to study Mandarin and can I learn to speak Chinese in one year?
Read Dear Alice : Letters Home From American Teachers Learning to Live in China , IEAS, U. C. Berkeley, 1998. You can get it on Amazon. It will enlighten you on teaching, travel, culture shock, university life, anxieties, and how to cope. It is like comfort food! The book will give you a much better idea of what your experience will be like than just emailing one or two teachers who have gone through the program. While this book is definitely dated in some regards such as housing and culture shock issues it is still very relevant!
Then you should go to a really good/large bookstore or library and start looking at TESL-Teaching English as a Second/Foreign Language books to get a feel of WHAT you will be teaching.
There are so many internet programs out there that are NOT legitimate, not to mention the identity theft going on. You must be able to make sure that a program is legitimate, transparent, has a VERIFIABLE track record of many years and hopefully is connected to some university or organization in the US. There was an ABC News article about a couple that went to China with a program that turned out to be abusive, dishonest, and just plain scary. There are more and more horror stories every week coming out of China re hiring recent college graduates as well as older professionals and then switching the contract and everything else on them AFTER they arrive in China. Caveat emptor!
Because the Colorado China Council has been in the China education business for 32 years, with the same director, Alice Renouf, who is a China specialist, in the same town, with the same phone number, and with many of the same Board of Directors from universities all over the US since 1977. If you want references we have them! If you want accountability we have it! We were one of the very first organizations in the US to accept applicants from all over the US . We have sent close to 550 people to China since 1991. Most importantly we are not a bureaucracy! You will ALWAYS WORK with Alice Renouf whenever you need help. You will always be given individual care and attention. CCC responds to almost all queries within 48 hours unless Alice is out of the office traveling. And finally, since CCC is a member of the China Teachers Consortium it has a vast wealth of institutional information it can tap into and a large network of top American universities all trying very hard to provide the best programs possible.
Council has worked with many of the same universities in China for over a decade and many of them are in the top 10 BEST universities in China with the best students and a foreign affairs office that knows what it is doing.
Schools and organizations listed on the web often have no accountability, will take your money and run and or take your documents and sell them. What sounds GREAT on the web can be a complete disaster after you arrive in China, i.e., they can't get you a visa, don't meet you at the air port, housing is wretched, and expect you to teach 40 hours a week, etc. etc. Sure, it is cheap but what guarantee do you have that they are any good and will honor their commitment.
If you do a good job most universities will ask you in the spring to stay for another year and about 40% of our teachers now stay on for another year and some have never come home!
CCC tries to be as fair as possible. If you are not able to go the following spring or the next academic year we will refund half of all fees paid if there is a legitimate family crisis that arises after you have signed a contract with a Chinese university.
Universities strongly prefer that both people teach even if one teaches fewer hours than the usual 14-20. This is decided on an ad hoc basis and there is a lot of flexibility from university to university.
Some will and some won't. It depends on the type of housing they offer foreign teachers and what sort of day care or k-12 facilities they have on campus. People with children should apply as early as possible. Private schools in China for K-12 can cost between $20,000 and $40,000 USD! Home schooling is certainly an option.
Universities are usually very understanding and will help you arrange your visa and airfare. If you KNOW in advance that you need to go home for a few days PLEASE make arrangements with the Foreign Affairs Office (Waiban) ASAP. You will need to try to find another teacher to take over your classes.
This is easily the most challenging aspects of this job! Most schools do not give you a textbook or if they do it is so dated that you don't want to use it. On top of that, most people do not even know what they will teach until after they arrive, which is one of the many reasons why going to the Summer Institute is so useful.
YES! There are internet cafes all over China , especially located around college campuses. Most teachers today take a computer or laptop with them and many take a printer too. At your university you will also have access to computers, copiers and the internet though it can be slow and you might have to wait quite a while to get on. It usually takes a few days after arrival to get it all sorted out. At some schools however, you will have high speed internet access and can get online in minutes---all depends on the university and city you are in.
After you get your teaching routine figured out you will have enough spare time to study Mandarin. It IS the most difficult language of all because of the "tones", but the grammar is relatively easy and our teachers who REALLY study are able to achieve some conversational fluency after one year. Reading and writing...plan on a lifetime of study.