2018 China Foreign English Teacher Qualifications & Requirements For TEFL

[Saturn]

Things are changing in China and it is getting more difficult to teach ESL or TEFL there. So many damn hoops to jump through now. For those of you who did not know about the changes here the 2018 requirements for foreigners to teach in China: http://www.eslbase.com/forum/viewtopic/ ... -esl-tefl/

I remember 4 years ago they would grab any white face that spoke English and anointed them a teacher. Not any more! Now they have gone to the other extreme, a complete 180 on us. Bu Hao!

[IrishWoman]

Hi Saturn, so they really arent accepting Irish passports anymore? Wow I feel second class lol Luckily I am entitled to a UK one but would have been nice to travel on the Irish one.

The only other problem for me is the 2 years teaching experience :( I don't mind working in another country, such as Thailand for a bit. Are there any agencies you would recommend I sign up to that could help find me work? When I google it alot only take students that study their courses. I already have a TEFL but I will study another to get access to one of these, just want advice on which agency is the least scammy. There's just too many!

[John V55]

Here's a tip Irish and I'll just give it you once. Stay away from the huge amount of links here, they're spam. What China is actually doing is tightening up on the rubbish that collected over the years and getting rid of the fraud degree lot, the ones with criminal records, drug users and they're the ones who are up in arms about it.

If you're genuine you won't have any worries in China, except that most schools require a couple of years experience. It's a great place, but just like anywhere else you won't get rich on a degree and a TEFL certificate, but stick by the rules, don't believe the fantasies and you can make a good living from it. :)

[dcos80]

I think it's fantastic they are tightening the reigns on who can teach in China. It's much better for the students, and parents can feel a bit more confident that the teachers are of slightly higher caliber and not just a white face. I taught for a little over 4 years in China, and I was horrified by some of the people teaching there. I would say far over 80% of the teachers I met there didn't like teaching, or children. They were doing it only because they were unqualified to do any job that pays a decent wage in their home country. The vast majority of the English teachers I met there were McDonalds workers, factory workers, unskilled labourers, hairdressers, truck drivers, etc, etc back in their own country. Maybe 40% of them I struggled to understand what they were saying when they spoke English. And some were required to take English classes themselves when they arrived, because they had what I would call a middle school understanding of English rules and grammar. In my last 12 months there, as they were kicking out all the teachers that were only hired because of the colour of their skin, I watched the average wage in even tier 3 cities climb from around 6000cny to over 15000cny. The changes are good for the students, good for the parents, good for the teachers that are qualified to stay and good for the reputation of the country's language school industry. Whereas before it was just known as the country you could go to regardless of how qualified you were, and make decent money.