Teaching English over the summer?

[Pravit]

In May I'll be a fresh graduate with a BS in electrical engineering. I have one last summer before I head off to grad school, and thought I'd like to go to China and teach English. I've been to China a couple times before and knew some people who got informal gigs teaching English at 培训中心 type places - and they weren't even native speakers of English! (Czechs, Slovakians, French). So, how easy would it be for me, an American Chinese who speaks English natively and Chinese pretty well, to get a gig for two or three months teaching English? Am I limited to 培训中心 or could I try to get a job at a legitimate school? I don't have any TESL type certification. I'd really love to work up in Xinjiang or some other out-of-the-way region, actually. I would just be going over on a tourist visa unless I could get someone to sponsor me for a different type of visa.

Thanks!

[Rincewind]

So, how easy would it be for me, an American Chinese who speaks English natively and Chinese pretty well, to get a gig for two or three months teaching English?

I'd say it's unlikely you'll get a paid job for such a short period of time. Six month and more often a full year (actually 10 months in many cases due to holidays) is the normal contract length. It costs the schools allot in time, paperwork, and money to arrange work visa and so it's unlikely (but not impossible) that they will do this for someone coming for as little as two months.

Am I limited to 培训中心 or could I try to get a job at a legitimate school? I don't have any TESL type certification.

If you have finished you degree and have the certificate then you need not worry about TESL or similar. You degree will be sufficient to get a work visa. If you come for a longer contract then you could work at any type of school form kindergarten through to University and either public or private. However, during the summer, you'll probably be limited to private schools as the public schools will be on holiday.

I'd really love to work up in Xinjiang or some other out-of-the-way region, actually. I would just be going over on a tourist visa unless I could get someone to sponsor me for a different type of visa.

It's illegal to work on a tourist visa. Not that this will stop a school hiring you, many schools hire people illegally. However, you must be aware of problems you may encounter before making your decision. There are jobs around in the out of reach places. They are often hungry for workers but can't afford to pay the rates you'd get in a big city. I have done some teaching in Inner Mongolia which was very rewarding.

I have a query that may be related to your question. I wonder if anyone else can answer. If the poster above came to do volunteer work (no pay). What visa would be required then?

[roddy]

That time of year you are quite likely to end up working in a summer camp, which might be a reasonable way of putting some money in the bank if you are already in China, but they don't have much of a reputation for being fun - you're likely to be stuck on site at some school or university, quite possibly out of town, and expected to spend at least some of your non-teaching hours on 'activities' with the students. Still, if you actually want to teach English, that's probably your best bet for the summer. Just make sure you know what the arrangements are.

[liuzhou]

If the poster above came to do volunteer work (no pay). What visa would be required then?

I looked into this a few years ago. The PSB informed me that it is illegal to work on a tourist visa. Work is work irrespective if paid or not.

Not sure about their interpretation of the law (although it coincides with UK law) and I'm not about to pursue it through the courts!

(Didn't apply to me anyway. Just doing a friend a favour.)

[Pravit]

Thanks for the responses. I'm not really worried about making money; I just want to offset the costs of coming to China for another summer. Perhaps it's the wrong reason to be teaching English...

However, you must be aware of problems you may encounter before making your decision. There are jobs around in the out of reach places. They are often hungry for workers but can't afford to pay the rates you'd get in a big city. I have done some teaching in Inner Mongolia which was very rewarding.

I'd really like to live in an out of the way place, actually. I wouldn't mind losing the cost of my plane tickets as long as I could live off of the teaching wages. How do you find such jobs? Do you just go up there and ask around? What sort of problems might you run into?

Thanks for the summer camp suggestion, roddy, I'll look into it.

[self-taught-mba]

My understanding is that volunteering falls into the language and "cultural exchange category" which is a valid reason for a tourist visa.

We had a student who comes to China to do volunteer teaching at a government school and they gave him an L visa also.