Teaching English in China
I’ve been teaching for exactly two months in Chengdu, China and what an experience it has been! I’ve met some of the best people EVER and there’s so much exploring to do outside of work. So, what made me quit my day job and jump on a plane to China?
Having previously visited China last year, I was eager to go back and explore another eccentric city that wasn’t Shanghai or Beijing. I wanted to go for around 5 months so that meant a lot of money I had to splash out on. I’d just completed my TEFL course and wanted to do something with it; I’d found lots of jobs in Europe but they just didn’t jump out at me.
“I wanted a challenge as well as adventure and had my eyes set on China.”
That’s when I came across the Premier TEFL website and found an adventure that I had my eyes glued too! I just couldn’t stop thinking about it so it was a no-brainer when it came to applying for the internship.
Time to get packing
Six weeks later, I found myself on a plane to China to teach! Having no previous teaching experience, I was very nervous for my first class which was fast approaching. It was a pretty adventurous move coming all the way to China for a job I could have possibly hated. When I stopped being a tourist, I finally got ’round to planning my first lesson – introductions!
“I wanted to show my students what my life was like and why I came to China.”
So with introductions in mind, I nervously walked to the classroom to begin my class! Upon starting, I managed to finish the WHOLE PowerPoint within half an hour – who’d have thought it was meant to last 80 minutes! The term ‘wing it,’ truly became my life saver that day. Luckily, my iPod saved me and I introduced the wonderful bunch to some local music from my hometown which went down a treat!
What’s so good about teaching in China?
Six weeks later and I’m now embracing the teacher life! I’m loving every minute of the job; there can be times when it’s very challenging and you feel like giving up. But to every bad, there are twice as many good days.
For me, it did take a while to get into lesson planning and working out how to make it fun and difficult for the class but eventually, it just comes as second nature. Being ‘Miss Sophie’ gave me so much confidence in the classroom and the students will respect you a lot as they are eager to learn the English language.
If you’re as nervous as I was when I first walked into the classroom, just take a minute to embrace that you’re the expert!
“There certainly have been days when I’ve felt like giving up but then I teach a new class and it makes me remember why I came to China to teach; to broaden my horizons and explore the world!”
To summarise my awesome adventure so far, teaching has been a blast and I’ve explored so much more of China in the two months I’ve been here.
What’s stopping you from teaching and travelling?
Read more about Sophie’s adventure in China HERE
Why not see how Lisa got on during her first week as a teacher in China?
Discover more amazing stories of our interns here!
