Teaching In Xi'an

It is about time I outlined what can be expected from a teacher’s life in Xi’an. The first point to note and to emphasize is that it offers the chance of a very good life. It is easy for a native English speaker to not only find work here but to be paid exceptionally well for doing something, in many cases, that they are not particularly well qualified to do.

There is a full spectrum of opportunities for teaching English in Xi’an. It is possible to teach in state or private schools, Kindergartens, Primary and Middle Schools, English Training Schools, Universities and Businesses; you can teach 1-1 classes, small group classes and huge classes up to 100. The choice, after some initial work undertaken from an Internet advert, will be up to you. So, what about workloads, money and all that stuff?

My only advice is that whatever job you initially take, take it on a short-term contract, generally recognised as being for 6 months. The obvious reason being that if you don’t like what you are doing you are not stuck within a contract, which may cause you some unnecessary visa problems if you want to get out of it. The age or level you may wish to teach is obviously your decision to make and will depend on what jobs you first come across.

A University appointment or a post at an English Training School offers the most straightforward introduction to teaching life in Xi’an. I will begin by discussing the later. A Training School basically means a foreign company with Chinese associates who operate classes of about 16 kids, for between 1- 2 hours, all day on Saturdays and Sundays and some evenings during the week.

These schools exist not simply because of the increased demand for learning English in China, but because Chinese children are put through the ringer when it comes to extra curricula study in all areas of their curriculum, something, but not all, to do with ordinarily having 50-90 classmates and not learning that much !

Now, this option is usually quite good because, as long as you choose a reputable company, you will get a visa, a guaranteed minimum wage per month, a flat to live in and a bonus at the end of the contract. The company will also probably have some experience of helping people integrate into life here. Moreover, this kind of teaching requires very little planning and marking and, most significantly, primarily takes place at the weekends. In fact, if you do take this option I would recommend that you only take the minimum contract at first, which is usually just at the weekend, because you will very quickly find other work opportunities which will pay more per hour (100+Yuan), than the roughly 65 Yuan your average contract based wage equates to.

So, to recap, one very common, though not always that professionally rewarding first step into teaching in Xi’an, is to take a basic 15-hour contract at an English training School (Aston and English First are good places to start in Xi’an- see the links on the right). These schools will give you about 4-6000 Yuan a month (15-25 hours a week), a visa and a flat, and a small bonus at the end of the contract. Plus these hours will almost solely be at the weekend, giving you time to start learning Chinese, check out the city, pick up extra work for a higher hourly rate, or just hang-out doing whatever it is you like to do or have always wanted to do.

The other main option is working for a University, which you will find advertised in abundance around the web. Xi’an offers a multitude of opportunities here as it has so many Universities. The Universities will need anything from a bit of speaking practice within a class of 100, to small group tuition, to specialized linguistic and literature teaching, or even the teaching of more specialized subject content. Strangely, the Universities don’t tend to pay as well as the private schools and training schools, and often require a lot more contact time, preparation and marking. You just have to decide what you are in it for.

Of course, teaching university students in many cases will be more stimulating than teaching young ones. However, the level of English, the motivation, the size of the classes, the standard of the university will all be factors that can make teaching Chinese students a little frustrating, plus, unlike elsewhere, Universities want their pound of flesh when it comes to your commitment of time. Plus, young Chinese kids are a joy to be around. There will be though people with stories from across the spectrum, so read around, get a sense of what you are likely to be in for and sign a short term contract, you can always make a change later or stay on if you like it.

The average hourly rate for freelance work is still about 100 Yuan, but can go up, in some rather ridiculous circumstances, to around 200 Yuan (some people really need a teacher). If you’re looking around at Beijing and Shanghai for example, do not be put off by these rates, at 100 Yuan an hour, here in Xi’an, you will still be living a ridiculously easy life compared to the majority. You will, after initial acclimatization, be able to save a good chunk of what you earn. Many of the teachers I come across here who have been here a while, are able to save more than they would back at home, whether they come from Europe, Africa, the Americas or Australasia.

Also, unless you specifically find a rural school with a serious lack of funds or a legitimate voluntary work experience, do not be thinking: “Oh! The money’s not important, it’s just poor old developing China.” In the majority of situations, if you are not pocketing the money, the school’s manager or board of managers will be. If you are looking to just do a 3-6-12 month stint volunteering before heading back home then have a good look around, you don’t want to end up teaching some middle- class kids in Xi’an’s High Tech Zone. The links on my homepage to the ‘Yellow River Soup Kitchen’ and ‘The Library Project’ would offer you a first port-of-call for discovering legitimate voluntary opportunities around Xi’an, maybe try and liaise with them first. I will also attempt to find out more about the organisations I have seen on the Internet advertising volunteer placements in Xi’an and will update this note accordingly.

Teaching in Xi’an, whether for six months or for a few years, offers you the chance of a great life. Enjoy it. As a fellow teacher once noted: ‘Imagine receiving so many job offers you have to turn most of them down. Imagine a salary almost ten times higher than a native worker’s. Imagine a job that includes a free apartment, at least three weeks vacation and a plane ticket to return home. Imagine that this job requires no previous experience. Does this appear too good to be true? Not at all.’ You have the chance to choose your life a little here, as a friend and I often comment, it is like being retired with age on your side. Whether it’s just for a few months or for a few years it is a nice position to be in.

If you have any specific questions feel free to use the form on the right to send me a message.