too good to be true?

[buzbee]

I have recently been looking at entry level teaching jobs in China and am wondering if some of the job offers are too good to be true with the stories of fake jobs going around. I have a BA Degree from a British University and a some experience of staff training.

I cannot believe that this is enough experience to land a english teaching job in China. I do not think that a weekend tefl course would make me much more prepared but the longer courses are very expensive so if possible i would like to get out there and start getting teaching experience with as little cost as possible.

so the ads saying come and teach at ............ university somewhere in china sound great. I received a email response saying they are interested in me and I just need to email back scans of my passport a photo and my degree certificate. I cant believe its that easy! Too good to be true i thought and had trouble finding anything online about the establishment. Is this a common scam or am i just being paranoid? I'm not sure what anyone would want to do with a copy of my passport a photo and degree cert but don't really want to email it off to what seems to be just a chinese based yahoo account either. Am I kidding myself that there is a easier and cheaper way of getting a teaching job than spending several grand on a proper tefl course?

[buzbee]

not quite the answer i was looking for! might anyone be of more help?

[AbstractOddFruits]

hi buzzbee

i don't know if this will help but thought i should reply ^_^

i've heard from a friend before that you can start teaching english abroad with a BA degree but you get training from the employer/company or something along the lines.

plus if you could tell the university name i can get my a family member (who is chinese) to check out if the place exist or have heard of the place^_^
i would check it myself but can only speak cantonese

i personally think you should give a weekend course a try as it gives you an in site of TEFL,

[sloog]

Hi, i am also working as agent. While, i believe there is some cases seem to be too good, just bare in mind that agents will earn from client(Schools and training centres) and (or) candidates.

what i would like to share with you is that there will be a even greater demand in native English speaking teachers all over mainland china. However, to be a good teacher, you need to have corresponding qualification and experience, with more and more foreigner rush into china, this market in changing.

There will be no harm to send in your resumes, and every try come with a chance. send me your resume if you line to try. liw.wang[AT]gmail.com

at the same this, we are also looking into partnership, all are welcomed!

[Alex Case]

There are plenty of con jobs out there, and quite a few in China, but unfortunately it is true that most jobs in the country can be obtained without any training or experience in English teaching at all. If you can get trained, however, this will mean that you will be able to do your job properly and that you will be able to get jobs in better schools- demanding a CELTA or Trinity Cert TESOL being a good sign for being a decent place to work. Otherwise, you might get training on the job or you might even get none.

[Doogs]

You should read this http://middlekingdomlife.com/guide/qualifications-teaching-english.htm.

I'm off to China in two weeks for my first TEFL job. I saw the vacancy advertised at Dave's EFL Cafe. I applied directly to the school, which has an excellent website http://www.tefl-bond.com/eng/home.php. I have had prompt and efficient replies to all of my email, and now I'm just waiting for my visa. I sent off copies of all of my paperwork, passport, degree certificate, resume and tefl certificate to prove I had the necessary requirements. Just don't ever send originals, or even respond to ads asking for originals. You need to produce the originals when you get there to get your Z visa (working visa), but you can go over initially on a tourist visa and the shcool should be happy to organize your working viza once your there.

Is it too good to be true? Not really. When you consider there are 1.3 billion Chinese, and a lot of them want to learn English, it's not that surpring there is a huge demand for native English speaking teachers. So much so that some schools are happy to put you through a TEFL course on arrival. The BA requirement is more about meeting visa requirements than being able to teach. A degree in geography would no more qualify you to teach English than a plumbing qualification, but you have to have a degree to qualify for a Z visa.

Good luck with the applications, and I'll update you in three weeks as to how my first week in China has gone.

[Doogs]

Well, here I am in Xaolin town, Zhongshan city, Gaundong province. I arived on Tuesday, and everything has gone really well so far. I've settled in to my apartment, and the School, the Bond Institute, have been excellent. We've really been looked after here. I start teaching tomorrow, I have four classes with private students here at Bond, and then I have four days teaching at a state high school during the week. I'm teaching 7th and 8th grade classes there, eight classes of each. I will be teaching the same class to each grade though, so I only have to plan two classes each week, and teach them eight times.