English Teaching opportunities in China fall primarily into five broad categories:
Private English language training schools for kids or adults:
Most foreign teachers teach in these schools in China. As a high demand for English teachers in these schools, a lot of English teaching jobs have been produced. They also hire year-round. Therefore, it｡ｯs easiest to secure positions at these training schools. Schools in this category include many large chains like English First, Wall Street English, Web English. These schools teach kids and adults in the evenings and weekends specifically for English language instruction. Each school has their own curriculum, teaching and training materials which means planning and preparation are at a minimum.
- Required Teaching Experience: 0 – 2 years +
- Salary:7,000 – 18,000 RMB/Month
- Schedule & hours: Evening & Weekends
Preschools/Kindergartens:
Schools in this category teach children from 18 months to 6 years old. It’s a very common job in China especially in tier 1 cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. The working environment is very friendly and one to three Chinese teaching assistants will be with you in the class. The teaching materials are pretty fun and little time to preparation. Classes typically have 8-20 young learners and are between 20-40 minutes long. These schools prefer young teachers who have more energy and patient to kids.
- Required Teaching Experience:0 – 2 years +
- Salary: 10,000 – 20,000RMB/Month
- Schedule & hours: Weekday daytime
Public/Foreign language Primary, Middle & High Schools
Public schools (particularly in bigger cities) score well on all fronts. Decent salary & benefits, reasonable teaching load and more paid vacation days. Since Chinese public school education is notoriously competitive, your students will be diligent, well behaved and smart but you will sometimes have up to 60 of them in your classroom! Schools will provide teaching materials. Jobs in this category will sometimes require a graduate degree and/or a teaching license.
- Required Teaching Experience: 0 – 2 years +
- Salary: 8,000 – 22,000 RMB/Month
- Schedule & Hours: Weekday daytime
International Schools:
There schools are like private schools in foreign country. Their tuition is high and entrance is very competitive. They provide the highest salary for English teachers within these five categories. These are often required TEFL certificate and graduate degree. Classes are held on the traditional two-semester schedule and almost all classes are taught in English. Most International Schools will follow either the International Baccalaureate (IB) or the foreign (A-level/AP etc.) curriculum; teachers with experience and familiarity with these curriculum are preferred.
- Required Experience: 2 years +
- Salary: 13,000 – 30,000RMB/Month
- Schedule & hours: Weekday daytime
Universities:
Positions in this category may vary a lot. For small universities, they often hire English teachers to teach nothing but oral English. Salaries are usually between 4000RMB to 8000 RMB/ Month (dependent on location and experience), but teachers are paid during the summer and winter breaks and never have to teach more than 20 periods a week. Jobs at universities are therefore more competitive than English training centers. The university curriculum is flexible and the foreign teacher is responsible for creating teaching materials.
High-ranking public universities especially in big cities are a different story. Salary and benefits will be much higher but you may be expected to possess an advanced degree and considerable relevant teaching experience.
- Required Teaching Experience: 0 – 2 years +
- Salary: 4,000 – 25,000RMB/Month
- Schedule & hours: Weekday daytime