The advantages of esl English teaching in public schools and training centers

When you have prepared to teach English in China, you will be asked some questions about your  preferences. One if them is whether you want to work in public schools or training centers. Many people are not sure what are the differences between them and which is better. Here is a list of advantages of esl English teaching in public schools and training centers.

Here are the advantages of esl jobs in public schools.

1.Stable working time. In public schools, teachers work during the day from Monday to Friday. Weekends are off work. Some public schools have office hours, others don’t. It depends on the school itself. You are likely to work from 8am to 5pm. Universities always don’t have office hours. The workload is much lighter, so the salary is lower.

2.A real classroom. In public schools, you will teach in real classrooms. There is blackboard and stage in the front of the classroom, which makes you a real teacher. The class size is bigger than training centers, around 40-50 students in each class. You will find the students are very eager to learn new things and disciplined. But usually there is no teaching assistant.

3.Respect. Public schools are run by the government,so teachers in public schools are more respected. Most public schools have a long history and gain good reputation.The working system and management are good.Training centers are run personally. Some training centers have bad management and the working rules are changed from time to time.

4. Holiday. Public schools have winter and summer holidays, around 1 month for each holiday. It’s common winter holidays are paid. If you work there for a second the year, the summer holiday is also paid. There are several schools offer both paid winter holiday and summer holiday, but just a few. You will have the time to rest ,travel and even go back to your home country to visit families.

5. Summer/Winter Camp. Some public schools have summer/ winter camp, so you don’t need to find such position in other schools if you want to teach in summer or winter. It’s a good experience to have a short teaching period outside of the school.

All in all, if you want stable working schedule and more free time, then public schools are better choice for esl English teaching.

Below are some advantages of tefl English teaching in training centers.

1.Flexible start date. Many training centers are hiring all year round. They have several branches in one city. So there is more demand for foreign teachers. The start time is very flexible for them. If you are a little later than the supposed time, it’s totally fine with the schools. And no matter when you are looking for tefl jobs in China, there will be one. For public schools, semesters start in March or September. If you are late because of some personal matters, the schools won’t wait for you.

2. Less strict requirements. Training centers have less strict requirements than public schools. If this is your first time to come to China and you don’t have any teaching experience before, then you’d better to do esl teaching jobs in a training center. There will be training after your arrival. And there will be a bilingual teaching assistant in the class to help you adapt the new working environment. Most public schools pay much attention to the teaching experience. Training centers are fine with no teaching experience, as long as your other qualifications are good. They are willing to give you chances.

3. Smaller class size. The class size in training centers is much smaller than public schools. Usually there are around 10 students in each class. There are also one-to-one lessons. If you are new to tefl teaching English in China, it’s likely that you can do a better job in training centers. The class is easier to manage. There are 40-50 students for each class in public schools. If you don’t have any teaching experience before, it’s hard to control it.

4. More comfortable lfe. The life in training centers is easier and more comfortable. Public schools are run by the government, so they have their own strict system and rules. Everything needs to follow the rules and regulations. But training centers are different. If you have some difficulties, they can try to help you. Suppose you are short of money for the first month in China, many training centers can lend you some money and then deduct it from your salary. But I don’t think public schools will do that.

Therefore, each kind of school has its own advantages. You need to ask yourself what you really want and then keep it rather than change every day. This will be much easier and time saving for both you and the school. In a word, get prepared before you start to look for English teaching jobs in China.