Preparation

I began teaching in China at a summer school in North Beijing, organised and run by a Sino-English company. The company was based in London but largely run by Chinese staff, and the experience certainly taught me a lot about some of the potential pitfalls of dealing

I would strongly recommend anyone who is considering teaching in China, (or anywhere else abroad for that matter,) but has doubts about their suitability for such an experience, to try to gain experience in a short project abroad such as a summer school, as this gave me a brief but varied insight into some cultural differences as well as the experience of teaching itself. Most summer schools in China last for 4-6 weeks, and a standard deal generally offers return airfares, accommodation and food in the school, and a very basic wage designed to cover any extra fundamental living costs.

This makes it a cost-effective way for a recent graduate, those taking a career-break, or even those with 4 weeks of holiday from work still available to them to sample the lifestyle, and still return home after a month if the do not like it.

The Next Step

I also took a walk around the surrounding district, checked the local amenities, checked the distance of the school from the city centre, and checked that the accommodation on offer was a place in which I could happily reside for a year.

On arrival, the only thing that differed from the original contract actually worked in my favour, as I ended up teaching primary students as oppose to middle school. I later found out from a Chinese colleague of mine, (their information was also

Teaching

The first day I walked into a classroom in my new school, I was faced with forty, six year old boys and girls, many of whom had never seen a foreigner before. They were completely awestruck, and to my surprise, fascination, and sometimes annoyance, this interest did not seem to abate much throughout the year. As the week progressed, I realise that each of my twenty classes a week involved different students, and this would mean me that I taught six hundred Chinese students under the age of eleven every week.

Finances And Practicalities

As each class lasted only forty minutes, my timetable in the second semester meant that I only worked mornings, finishing my classes at lunchtime. Although most full-time contracts stipulate that you are not allowed to do extra part-time work, this is flexible depending on your relationship with your employer. Many schools will turn a blind-eye to this, even offering you overtime within other departments of the school or partner schools much of the time. I worked extra hours in my own school as well at other schools, and with extra work, a net monthly wage of 10,000 RMB,