Looking in to going to China to teach English

Dextochina24 wrote:

Hi my first post I'm looking for a adventure so I want to go to  China any advice on what to bring with or anything really will be grateful.

Adventures are good but some realism is required.

I'm going to sound horrible and generally nasty here, but you can't teach English with any degree of success when your grammar is so bad.

So true I will work on it and improve my grammar. 

What are your plans?

In the beginning stages I'm applying for my passport now waiting for that to come then I will apply for the work visa.  I want a change that's why I want to go to China I need to experience something other than Africa. I don't like the cold so much so I think the province of zhejiang is where im looking to go plus I would like to stay not to far from shanghai.

Wuxi, and Suzhou are also good spots. Make sure all your other documentations have been done. Degree notorised and authenticated and verified by the Chinese embassy.

Getting a work visa is a nail-biting and long process.  I'm going through it all now.  Do you have a job?  I think you need one in order to get an invitation letter to work?

Bring nothing, china has everything you need and it is inexpensive, too!  Be careful, many people I know came for a one or two year adventure and ended up staying in china for 15 years !!  Good luck to you, I just finished my 14 th and final year of teaching in Shanghai....time went by too quickly!
Lmf

Have you tried echinacities.com? Loads of teaching jobs for foreigners and, when hired, most of them
take care of your work visa for you. You have nothing to do but teach. 
Lmf

Send your resume to Lycee Francais de Shanghai (French School of Shanghai) as they will be hiring English  teachers for September.  Great school, great teaching environment and short hours. (20-25 per week face to face)

Most of our jobs in Shanghai are 40 hrs/week, including 25 hrs of teaching and 15 hrs of office. Practically the market price for non-native teachers are 15-22K, while natives earn 25-35K or even higher, depend on the experience and qualifications.

Getting work permit is a long process. To get my documents notarised at the PRC embassy in my country takes months. I think getting the Z visa upon approval of the work permit should not be more than 2 weeks presumably the documents are in order. Not sure how the current situation on the Z visa application by foreigners residing outside China. Sinovac? PU letter? In summary, it is an uphill battle but I am keeping my fingers, hands, legs and toes crossed

Hello,

as the previous commentators already have written,

(a) working visa should be applied by the school (this has to be written in the contract!)
(b) apartment included (no shared accommodation!)
(c) health services, including Preventive health care
(d) salary should be above 30'000 RMB per month
(e) try to learn some basic Chinese

on (a): Chinese visa regulations are continuously changing. As you will not master Chinese at a lawyers level, your school has to take care of that!
on (b): It is difficult to find an accommodation for foreigners. 
on (c): Make sure that you get the necessary vaccinations before you enter China. This may cost some money – or your life! I recommend to check out The SOS Card Project. China is still a 3rd world country, so you want to prevent to get sick rather than being hospitalised.
on (d): China isn't cheap any more! Actually, Shanghai is more expensive than Vienna or Munich.
on (e): Learn Chinese characters right from the beginning! If you learn Chinese using Pinyin (= Latin transcription), you will be an illiterate ;-)

Greetings from Kärnten in Austria

Liese

An addition:

Dextochina24 wrote:

> I don't like the cold so much so I think the province of zhejiang is where im looking to go

Zhejiang province has subtropical climate, the winter can be rather cool; around 5°C (40°F) without central heating in the flats. If you want to have it nice and warm, check out Zhuhai, the “Florida of China”. Zhuhai is only a stone's throw away from Hong Kong and Guangzhou (the later via the Guangzhou - Zhuhai high speed train).