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Five random lessons I’ve learned teaching in China

Here are a couple of random lessons that I have learned while teaching in China. I have learned most of them the hard way: – Don’t let the school get away with being vague in your contract – A few years back, I signed a contract which stipulated that the school would pay me extra [...]

Why I Quit My Teaching Job in China on the First Day

I was very excited about the chance to work at a well known international school in Guangdong Province last year. The working hours were very reasonable, the salary was great, and I even found out that a friend of mine was working on the staff. I traveled many hours by train to reach the school’s city. [...]

The Paradoxical Land of China

Recently, I was invited to be a guest author on the website TransitionsAbroad.com, an online magazine that provides helpful and timely information about living and traveling abroad. This month, the well known and award winning website featured a webzine on Asia which includes an article that I wrote entitled This is China, Living Abroad in a [...]

My Experience at a Chinese Hospital

The ceiling above my outstretched body was just a blur as my stretcher was rushed down a long dark corridor. “Get out of the way! Move it!.” I am guessing that is what my Chinese attendants were yelling as they rolled me towards a large operating room on the other end of the hospital. For [...]

Should I Use a Recruiting Agency to Find a Job in China?

My most recent experience with recruiting agencies was not positive. I had traveled some distance to meet with a recruiting agent because I thought she could offer me a job that she had advertised on the internet. Instead, she told me that the job that I wanted was “not for me” and that she had [...]

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More featured posts from the China Teaching Web

Are we teachers or entertainers?

Posted by Robert Vance on January 15th, 2012

Or can we be both?

Most of my university students hate their Chinese teachers. I don’t blame them. And I don’t blame their Chinese teachers either.

I blame the system. In China, classes are taught around exams which means that they are predictably boring and sleep inducing.

That’s why foreign teachers in China are lucky. We can prepare lessons that are more creative and imaginative. We can push students to think critically and form their own opinions – something which rarely happens in Chinese classes. Read the rest of this entry »

January 2012 China Visa Update

Posted by Robert Vance on January 13th, 2012

It’s time for an update on the current visa situation in China. This post is based on emails that we receive here at the China Teaching Web as well as conversations that I have had with teachers and schools around China.

Choose carefully before you come to teach here. Due to the increased difficulties of obtaining a visa to teach in China (and finding teachers), schools are not just going to let you walk away from your contract.  Read the rest of this entry »

Teaching Western Etiquette in China

Posted by Robert Vance on January 11th, 2012

Next semester, I have a unique opportunity. I will be teaching a class called ‘Western Etiquette’ and I am free to create the lessons myself. The stated goal of the class is to familiarize students with manners and customs in the West and help them to understand how they should behave if they go abroad.

This should be fun. After living here for a few years, we should have plenty to talk about class. I especially look forward to teaching about some of the DO’s and DONT’s in Western countries — but especially the DONT’s. Those are more fun because I can draw them directly from my experience living here. Read the rest of this entry »

Breaking your ESL contract in China

Posted by Robert Vance on January 2nd, 2012

Obtaining a work visa in China has become considerably more difficult during the past few years. It is no longer possible in most places in China to have a tourist visa (L-visa) converted into a working permit. And while it used to be possible to have this processed in Hong Kong, the Chinese government is now requiring teachers to obtain the mandatory Z-visa in their countries of origin. In other words, the days of coming to China to have a look around first before deciding where to work are over.

The most important consequence of this ‘tightening up’ is that most teachers now have to sign contracts without having the chance to actually see where they will be teaching. This can really put teachers at a strong disadvantage because they are forced to trust that people whom they have never met are telling them the truth about a school that they have never visited. Read the rest of this entry »

Five random lessons I’ve learned teaching in China

Posted by Robert Vance on December 9th, 2011

Here are a couple of random lessons that I have learned while teaching in China. I have learned most of them the hard way:

– Don’t let the school get away with being vague in your contract – A few years back, I signed a contract which stipulated that the school would pay me extra for working over time. The exact amount,however, was not specified and I found out too late that the overtime rate was way to low.  Just remember, if the school has any leeway in your contract, they will generally use it to your disadvantage. Make sure that everything in your contract is crystal clear.

Read the rest of this entry »

Join the Teach Abroad China Alliance

Posted by Robert Vance on October 31st, 2011

I am happy to announce the relaunch of our popular support group for teachers – the Teach Abroad China Alliance. If you are already here or you are interested in coming to China, please consider joining our free support group. Our main purpose at TACA is to provide a place where teachers can help and encourage each other.

Please go to

http://www.teachabroadchina.com/TACA to join. Read the rest of this entry »

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