Full Year Program—Fall-Spring, 2010-2011

• Program overview

Universities in China are seeking US college graduates, MAs, PhDs, and professionals for the academic year (August-June).

Teachers/instructors will be asked to give classes in spoken English, focusing on reading, writing, and listening skills, as well as American/British literature, history, culture and occasionally specialized areas such as business, economics, IT, and law, for those who qualify. As with teaching positions in the US, teachers need to put together lesson plans, take attendance, correct homework and occasionally host "English corners" and help with departmental language-tape recordings. Most of our teachers teach 14 to 20 hours per week. You do not need to know any Chinese to apply. In many cases the curriculum will be left up to you. Since 1991 CCC has placed over 600 people in Shanghai, Tianjin, Chengdu, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Kunming, Wanzhou, Zhenjiang, Putian, Lijiang, Beijing and Guangzhou as well as many other cities.

We will notify people as to which university they will be teaching at no later than May which is when the universities notify us, though sometimes acceptance and notification happen earlier. Once accepted by CCC you are guaranteed a good placement at a Chinese university. Alice Renouf will discuss options with you for university placement.

• Shanghai Teacher Training & Mandarin Language Institute (SI)

All participants unless they have been professional teachers for many years need to attend our August intensive Shanghai Summer Teacher Training and Language Institute (SI), July 30 - August 21, 2010. The SI consists of three weeks of TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) training, lesson planning, classroom management, daily practicum with volunteer Chinese students combined with Chinese language (Mandarin) study. Lots of interesting and fun sightseeing included! After completing the Summer Institute you will travel to your host university. All teachers will arrive in Shanghai as a group and will be picked up at the airport. You will have a private room and bath at the Shanghai University Guest House, on the campus of Shanghai University where our program is held. At the end of the three weeks of training you will either fly or take the train to your host university. CCC or its Travel Coordinator will help you with all your travel arrangements.

Some things about teaching you need to know before making a decision to do this type of program:

• Except in rare cases people DO NOT know exactly what they will be teaching or what level (freshmen, sophomore, junior, senior or graduate student) until AFTER they arrive! This is the Chinese way, NOT the American way and it can be enormously frustrating if you feel that you must prepare all your lectures before leaving for China. Everyone will teach some component of reading, writing, listening and speaking but beyond that you will be given very few details. The university class schedules for foreign teachers are put together immediately before or shortly after the foreign teachers arrive and there are often last-minute changes because of staffing issues. The CCC office will not know what classes you will be teaching or even what date/day your classes actually begin until late July. Beyond attending the Summer Institute there is really NO WAY TO PREPARE!
• If you are teaching freshmen students, your classes will not begin until two to four weeks after everyone else has started because the government requires all freshmen to participate in military training. You could conceivably have an entire month free, with pay and an apartment, from the time you leave the Summer Institute until you actually start teaching. Some people thrive in this unstructured environment and others seem to melt down when there is NO schedule.

Please consider the above issues very carefully before you decide to commit.

• TESL & Mandarin Training for People Going to China

Are you going to China to teach English or other subjects at the university level and need some teacher and language training as well as orientation to Chinese society and culture? The Colorado China Council (CCC) is now offering its training program to non-CCC teachers. In other words, if you already have a university placement but still NEED TRAINING you may attend our August intensive Shanghai Summer Teacher Training and Language Institute (SI), circa July 30-August 21, 2010. Our Chinese host, for the past 14 years, is Shanghai University’s Sydney Institute of Language and Commerce. You will have a private room and bath at the Shanghai University Guest House on campus that is very close to your classrooms. Find out more.

• Qualifications
• You need to be 63 years old or under at the time of your application.
• Minimum BA/BS degree and 3.0 GPA from a good university or college.
• All academic and professional backgrounds will be considered.
• Couples, MA, PhD, and professionals are strongly encouraged to apply. Families will also be considered on an individual basis.
• Excellent mental and physical health, flexibility, humor and dedication. These are challenging and competitive positions.
• Two strong letters of recommendation /reference, printed on letterhead stationary, attesting to your upstanding character. Letters from professors or current employers strongly preferred.
• No Mandarin is necessary.  Your students can speak English. 
• What CCC provides

We provide placement at a university most suited to your individual goals and needs, some teaching and orientation materials, assistance with all official forms and appropriate back-up support. We also provide the Shanghai Summer Teacher Training Institute (SI) during August, including Chinese language study, housing, tuition, materials, airport pick up, Chinese banquets, city tours, and entertainment.

We are a small, family-run placement and training organization that does our very best to customize placement and address the needs and requests of our applicants. You will work with Alice Renouf, Executive Director.

We help you to arrange travel and visas through our Travel Coordinator since everyone flies as a group to Shanghai for the August training program. Airfare is not covered in our fees. This is a fabulous way to live in China, travel throughout Asia, learn a lot about teaching and about yourself, and spend three weeks in Shanghai, (one of the greatest cosmopolitan cities in the world), at an incredibly modest cost.

• What Chinese institutions provide
• Monthly stipend of 4,000-10,000¥, which will more than cover living expenses. Salary and benefits are commensurate with your background.
• Free housing in the foreign teachers' complex or an apartment/house off campus. You will have a private room, sometimes in a suite, or your own apartment with private bathroom or house. There are many options today for housing in China.
• A five- to seven-week winter vacation with pay in January and February.
• A week-long holiday in October.
• Basic medical care equivalent to the care Chinese professors receive.
• All of our schools reimburse all or most of international and domestic airfare costs before you depart China.

You are responsible for your own meals (about $6.00-$10.00 USD per day for three meals, depending on where you live).

You earn very little money by U.S. standards, but the pay is excellent by Chinese standards. People who teach in China do so for the incredible experience, teaching and travel, not for financial gain.

• Fee & expenses

Program fees have been established to cover all expenses and administrative costs including staff time, Shanghai Summer Institute (SI) housing, transportation, cultural events, SI Teacher Trainers salaries, Mandarin  teachers' salary, program advertising/marketing, office expenses, and staff China visits, etc.

Procedure for program fee payments:

The $100 non-refundable application-processing fee per person (including children) is due with your applications. Half of all additional fees are due ten days after receiving CCC's official acceptance letter. If we do not hear from you within ten days we'll assume you have decided not to attend our program. Balance of fees is due ninety days after receiving the acceptance letter, or by July 1, which ever comes first.

Schedule I:

** Early Bird Special — apply before October 30, 2009 and deduct $400 from the program fees listed below

Apply between November 1, 2009-January 31, 2010 deduct $300 from the program fees listed below**

For applications received and accepted after February 1, 2010, a $150 late fee will be added to the program fees listed below:

$3,500/person
$6,500/married couple
$550/child over five years of age

You will also be responsible for your child's $180 Chinese visa fee (subject to change), in addition to the $550 fee above.

Fees for schedule I cover: Application, university placement focusing on personal goals and needs, some teaching/orientation materials, assistance with all forms including Chinese visa and Physical Exam Forms --- both enormously difficult forms to deal with, airport pickup, drop-off and appropriate back-up support throughout the year. Fees also cover the three-week intensive Shanghai Summer Teacher Training Institute and Chinese language study, including tuition, books and materials, private room in a hotel/guest house on campus, sightseeing, entertainment, some dinners and a final banquet. The above fees do not cover airfare - please see below on airfare costs.

Schedule II:

(for teaching professionals with significant high school or university teaching experience who are unable to attend the Summer Institute)

$1,650/person, plus the $100 application fee

Schedule III:

If after one year of teaching in China you want to apply for a second year at a different university the CCC fee for placement, contract negotiation, visa assistance and back-up support is $950.
If you want to continue to teach at your same university there is of course no fee and you can negotiate your contract yourself.

Additional expenses not covered by program fee:

Airfare: $1,100-$1,300

The cost above is an estimate of roundtrip airfare from California to Shanghai based on airfares for 2009. This amount varies based on your individual itinerary and fluctuating airline costs.

Your Chinese university will reimburse you for all or most of your international and domestic  travel to and from the school..  You must keep receipts.  Reimbursements usually occur in late spring

Our Travel Coordinator will make ALL overseas and internal Chinese travel and visa arrangements for you. All airfare costs must be paid by June 15. Customized arrangements that differ from the above will incur a $200 surcharge. Those who choose not to travel on the group flight will be responsible for taxi fare to Shanghai University.

Visa fee: $180

Includes $150 to the Chinese Consulate and a $30 service fee.

Physical exam expenses: $150 - $600

The Chinese government requires most foreign teachers to have an extensive physical examination, with specific tests, prior to departure for China though some universities will let you do the exam in China at a significant  price reduction.  We will send you the official form required by the Chinese government.   The cost entirely depends on your individual medical coverage.

Meal & incidental expenses at Shanghai Summer Institute: $800 - $1600

Estimated cost per person for three meals per day and incidental travel money for buses and taxis and entertainment while attending the Shanghai Summer Institute, as well as shopping for start up items, and money to help bridge any gap before you receive your first university salary check.

Bad check or insufficient funds charge: $50

• Applying

If you meet the above qualifications please fill out the online application form, after which you will be directed to pay a $100 non-refundable application-processing fee via PayPal. The application deadline is February 1 (or until all positions are filled).

Spending a year teaching in China is not a decision to be made lightly. It will be a very difficult, challenging and occasionally frustrating year, but it can also be one of the most interesting, and memorable years of your life. Seriously consider the emotional, physical and financial aspects before you make a commitment. If you have questions, please call (303) 443-1108 and speak with Alice Renouf.