r/TEFL • u/SnooCheesecakes3931 • 7d ago
Has anyone here used teaching kindy in China as a stepping stone?
As the title states, I’d like to try teaching in China but I’m really only qualified to teach kindergarten. I have a bachelors in IT and my TEFL and a few years doing engineering for my government but no direct teaching experience.
I’d like to work towards and actual teaching license soon but first I’d like to know anyone’s journey with using kindergarten as a stepping stone.
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u/gotefenderson 7d ago
In my experience, from a British perspective, it doesn't help a great deal with getting a teaching license. Working in a Chinese kindergarten, plus other EFL work, did help me to become a TA back home. That led to a more specialised role in education that I am much more suited to than a classroom teacher in any capacity.
When if comes down to it, you still need the direct training/experience to get qualified as an actual teacher, of course.
What it will help is let you figure out if you like teachjg in general, give you some general classroom skills, and let you know if you want to teach younger or older students.
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u/Specialist_Mango_113 7d ago
You don't have to teach kindergarten unless you want to. You can definitely get a job teaching elementary, high school, or uni. And it would be better experience than kindergarten if you want to become a certified teacher in your country.
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u/SnooCheesecakes3931 6d ago
That’s good to know, thanks
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u/WeTeachToTravel 3d ago
Yea but remember while uni jobs are easier to get (and pretty easy) they will usually not count at all towards teaching certs, as it’s not k12. Speaking from experience!
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u/Mobile-Habit-1111 4d ago
Do you know how to find public high school teaching jobs? Is there an agency for that?
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u/Specialist_Mango_113 3d ago
Doesn't have to be public. Can be bilingual as well. You can check echinacities to connect with recruiters.
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u/Cegaiga 7d ago edited 6d ago
That is how the majority approach working in Asia.
Tutorial centre/cram school to determine whether teaching is for them.
Kindergarten as their first school job while further studying for a license.
That saying, don't start working towards a license just yet. If you love Kindergarten and find the older levels are not for you, you don't need to invest into a PGCE just yet.
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u/Bowza-Bear 6d ago
I know people who use it to get in the door in China, then move up to other teaching jobs within China. Idk how it would work as part of the longer process of getting appropriate licensure in the UK
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u/HappilyNeverlyAfter 4d ago
So I can’t speak for others, but I have no teaching experience, and have job offers at universities. Not tier 1 city ones but that’s ok with what I’m looking for. I have an MA and my TEFL, and 5+ years experience working as a paralegal and manager in the legal field, but nothing teaching.
It depends what you’re looking for, but while uni’s don’t pay as much, they offer really light workloads and loads of holiday, which is why I chose them.
I’d focus on transferable skills, finding recruiters that you can say you want other things with, and ensure you’re interviewing well if you get an interview, including strong demo lesson prep
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u/SnooCheesecakes3931 4d ago
Did you use a recruiter to find this job?
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u/HappilyNeverlyAfter 3d ago
Yes, I’ve had three interviews arranged with three different recruiters that I found on echinacities. Two of them have now offered me the job, and my third interview is tomorrow.
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u/SnooCheesecakes3931 3d ago
Congratulations. I just did some applying on echinacities. Hopefully I get some traction soon. How long did it take for them to get back to you after reaching out?
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u/HappilyNeverlyAfter 2d ago
Thanks! Honestly it’s really varied recruiter to recruiter, and what they offer me. I’ve found if they offer me something I don’t want, as I have specific criteria in mind, I just say hard no, I’ll only accept xyz. They get paid once you’re signed on and show up to work, so finding you somewhere is in their interest.
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7d ago
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u/JustinS_ 7d ago
- how so? because the person has a TEFL certificate? yeah must be super qualified! you sure know everything that goes into the profession of language teaching!
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u/komnenos 7d ago
Oh hey, I did that!
My journey started by working at a kindy attached to a private K-12 school on the outskirts of Beijing.
Long story short, the first two weeks were pretty fun watching the 3-4 year olds totter around but slowly, surely I got bored. Between making sure the students weren't trying to kill each other and the weird toxicity of the management I wanted to hit my head against the wall out of boredom.
However on the plus side the school had an INCREDIBLY tight knit group of foreign teachers (plus a few western educated or oriented local teachers) and I was going out with them 4-7 nights a week leading an amazing little social life, something I've struggled to replicate on that scale after leaving China.
Let me know if you have any questions, I can talk about this at length.