Teach Abroad Blog
Teaching abroad
How to Become an ESL Teacher
With an approximate population of over 1.3 billion people and growing, there is an increasing demand for ESL teachers in China. If you’re looking to teach in China, you may be asking yourself many questions. What qualifications are needed? How much experience must I have? What is it like working in China? And ultimately, how do I become an ESL teacher?
The Importance of Obtaining Reference Letter Before Leaving Your Employer
To teach in China, you must abide by three basic requirements. The first is a bachelor’s degree, the second is being aged 25 to 55, and the third is two years’ of post-bachelor’s work experience. For this third requirement, the Chinese government accepts a reference letter as proof. This reference letter is often used to assess your job application.
When to apply to schools
You may be wondering when the best time to apply for a teaching position is. This all depends on what type of school you are looking to teach for and what age group you want to teach. Here we have given you the details of the different types of schools to help you understand the best time to apply for your perfect school!
Living Abroad
Chinese Proverbs
Chinese and English are two radically different languages, each with a long and rich history. Both languages evolved independently from each other, which makes any similarities all the more interesting. Today we will discuss some Chinese proverbs (諺語 yànyŭ) and idioms (成語 chéngyŭ) that have—almost exact—English equivalents. Does this mean that these expressions are universal truths; identical ideas that have developed on opposite ends of the world? Maybe, let us know what you think.
8 Things I Miss About China
I’ve recently returned from a year of living abroad in China and oh how I miss it! For someone who went to China kicking and screaming, my homecoming has been bittersweet.
At the behest of my employers (actually no, I think this is great because all I’ve been doing since returning home is complaining to friends and family about how I want to be back in China so they probably appreciate that I’m letting it all out) I’ve been asked to write about what I miss about China. I have eight things here, but keep in mind; I could go on for DAYS about what I miss, so eight seemed like a good cap.
Diary of a China Newbie
My first abroad experience was Taiwan. I went there to study Mandarin through a partnership with my home school, Mississippi State University. While I was in the country I met a lot of very interesting expatriates. One of the veteran teachers there told me, “if you enjoy Taiwan, you should try China. Taipei is like a retirement city compared to Shanghai”.