From previous posts you will already know I had visited China in 2013, meeting people via Couchsurfing.com. I also knew PRC (People’s Republic of China) people from my social groups and classes at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. My first job in China, was actually in the province of Henan, in a very small city called Hebi. However that didn’t work out, probably largely due to my lack of teaching experience and my manager’s impatience about my ability to learn on the job, but I also believe my autistic traits made the situation more difficult and of course my manager’s ignorance on that subject.

I eventually moved to the capital city of the province, Zhengzhou, with the help of my friend Popo. First thing I did after gaining accommodation and getting my bearings of the place was go and knock on all the doors of all the training schools. There was a few schools and I received a few rejections but ultimately I landed a job preparing TOEFL and IELTS oral exams for students who were preparing to study in Western countries like Australia, Canada, the US etc. For those who don’t know, PRC citizens have to pass an English exam as part of their offer of study/student visa to study in these countries. My memory of this early period was it was a bit of a struggle. Of course I had no problem explaining vocabulary, grammar, spelling, pronunciation etc. But leading a class was an entirely different skills and not one I had training for. I was largely left to my own devices and expected to prepare content for class and try to make the experience as engaging and interesting as possible for the students. There were successful days and unsuccessful days. This was to continue throughout my time in TEFL. Some days there was laughter and everyone was in a good mood and talking enthusiastically, other times it was like pulling teeth getting them to volunteer to speak or reply to discussion questions.

However at the end of the summer, this job ended and I was once again looking for work. I did now have a bit of experience and a few more contacts in the local area. But I wanted more work. So I printed several hundred flyers with the price of my services and the details of my service and myself on them and handed them out in public places like shopping malls. I gained various one to one students this way however the biggest job I received was that of the Henan College of Finance and Taxation which I have written about in a previous post. I don’t want to overlap too much but generally in the beginning, I would arrive upon a topic or a game or discussion and I would then recycle it with all my students. In my day job in the college, in my evening one to one classes, with any IELTS or TOEFL student I was working with. I had no formal teacher training, but I had presentation experience with my groups in Singapore and of course I had a university education from Strathclyde. One signature method I had which I repeated endlessly was mind maps. I’d use them myself to plan classes and discussions. I’d use them in class. In the beginning I also used lots of photo slides as I learned these took the attention away from me and the students were often very curious about life in Scotland. As the old saying goes ‘a picture speaks a thousand words.’

I think looking back, I stumbled upon a massive amount of demand in China for TEFL. This demand was not being met by the supply. I am the type of person who finds a lot of purpose and fulfillment in working. And there was a lot of work to be had, at all hours of the daytime. So my time in China felt satisfying. It was also a very social time for me. Teaching is a very social job where you often get an immediate return on your effort as the student eagerly engages in your lesson.

And that is my post on my TEFL experience in China in 2013 and 2014.