7 Honest Reasons Why I Loved Teaching English in China

Have you ever wondered what it might be like to live and work in a foreign country? Ever wondered how you could afford it? Where’s the best place to work in and best job to have?

If you have, I’m here to tell you that it’s all completely possible. I’ve done it myself!

I personally have lived and worked in seven different countries outside of my home country, which is the US: Thailand, Vietnam, South Korea, Japan, the Czech Republic, and China. The last place I lived and worked in was Shenzhen, China.

But, how exactly did I afford living in these countries?

Teaching English!

I’m fortunate enough to be from the US and am therefore, a native English speaker. So, it’s relatively easy for me to find Teaching English jobs abroad. (But, it’s possible to find jobs even if you aren’t a native English speaker!)

There are all kinds of teaching English jobs abroad, especially in Asia. You can teach in kindergartens, public schools (primary, secondary, high school), private schools, international schools, colleges, universities, training centers, you name it!

I’ve personally taught in a private primary school in Thailand, training center in Korea, kindergartens in Vietnam, online with VIPKID, and a public primary school in China.

And which is my favorite amongst them?

My public school in China!

And without further ado, here’s why:

1) The glorious hours

At my school, I worked from 8:30 to 4:00 every day, but was granted a 2.5 hour lunch break! While working, I only taught fourteen 40-minute classes per week. The rest of the time, I was pretty much free to do whatever I wanted: desk warm, leave, whatever. Honestly, who could even argue about the glory of these hours!?

Most public schools are somewhat similar to this schedule as well. Obviously, not all are exactly the same. I’ve known people to work from 7:00 to 5:00, but the hours typically vary depending on the day. I’ve also known some teachers who had 10 classes per week! Some teachers also can’t leave the school premises during working hours, must coordinate extracurriculars, attend meetings, etc.

Bottom line: it does depend on your public school, but typically, the workload is light.

However, training centers have worse hours, in my opinion. Sure, you generally begin your workdays later. Generally, you’d begin around 1 or 2pm, but you teach far more classes until late in the evening. I’ve heard more horror stories about training center hours than good ones. So, I wouldn’t recommend them.

2) The benefits & pay

Teaching in China is honestly a goldmine. For working as little as I did (14 classes per week, 2.5 hour lunch break, etc.), I’d earn about $2,100 USD per month. That includes the stipend I received for accommodation as well.

However, it’s possible to earn more or less, depending on your experience. There’s also a huge flight bonus when you decide to come to China, health insurance, and social insurance (aka social security). And, when working at a public school, you get one month vacation during Chinese New Year, nearly 2 months off during the summer, and various smaller vacations throughout the year for random holidays.

I mean, come on. Way better vacation time and even pay than most teaching jobs in places like America!

3) The sweet, sweet freedom

Not all schools and teaching jobs are alike, as I’ve made abundantly clear so far. However, a lot of public schools will give you tons of freedom. For example, I was able to leave my school when I needed/wanted to as long as I finished my work and taught my classes. Not bad, right? So, I often went home, went around the city, ran errands, got coffee, and/or just waltzed around!

I also was able to construct my own lessons as long as they were based off the books provided. Easy peasy.

Granted, no job in this world is perfect for everyone. Keep in mind that I’m no longer in China. I taught there for a year, then left to travel and teach English online instead. But, that has more to do with personal mental health issues than anything China did. One day, I will return to China again and teach there, though! It’s in the future for me— undoubtedly.

4) All the love, admiration, respect, and spoils

Since I worked at a public school, I was fortunate enough to have students from all different financial backgrounds. So, to put it bluntly, barely any spoiled brats!

Because of that, a majority of my students were curious, excited, and respectful. They’d all look forward to my lessons and enjoyed my company even outside of class. They would treat me with respect (for the most part) because teachers are revered in China.

Not only did the students respect me, but as did most of the other teachers in my school. The amount of food, drinks, and other various gifts I got from them were countless. The teachers and school really enjoyed spoiling me (and my tummy) rotten!

Just some goodbye cards from my students! So precious

5) Easy and fulfilling work

As I mentioned earlier, I was able to create my own lessons as long as they correlated with the textbooks. But guess what? That was all I ever needed to do: create lessons and teach them.

No homework. No tests. No assessments. No grading of any kind.

So. Easy.

For me, though, I did find the work fulfilling because my students loved my lessons. I mean, really loved them. The amount of times I would walk in and cheering would instantly ensue is remarkable!

That, and I did get the chance to see my students progress. I got the opportunity to watch them grow, learn, and gain confidence in their English abilities. Granted, I did have over 700 students, which could often be daunting, but I did witness most of my students improve in their English abilities throughout the year! To me, that was the greatest part of teaching them.

6) Holidays on holidays

Two months off in the summer. One month off during the winter. Various holidays off throughout the year, such as National Day, which is an entire week off in October. I mean, come on. Who doesn’t love vacation time?!

However, here’s a negative about the holidays: China occasionally will force everyone to “make up lost workdays” by working designated Saturdays and Sundays. A real pain in the behind, but it’s a small price to pay for getting all the time off!

Me in Yangshuo, China during one of the many vacations

7) Culture

One of the main reason I taught in China: be thrown into a whole new culture. And boy, did I get what I asked for!

Here are just a few cultural aspects that struck me while living and working in China:

Huge language barrier. The biggest one I’ve experienced in all of my travels!
The Great Firewall. Yeah, you can’t access simple sites and apps in China, like Facebook, Instagram, Google, Gmail, Reddit, and more! You need a VPN in order to get to them. And then, with the VPN, your connection is drastically slowed down, which sucks.
Constant hacking and spitting anywhere and everywhere. Yes. Even indoors. It’s gross.
NOISE. China is just LOUD.
Thinking that drinking tea when you’re sick is a horrible idea because it “counteracts with your medicine.” Like…I don’t even know where to begin with that one.
Squatty potties everywhere. I’m used to using and seeing them, but they are really all over the place in China. More so than anywhere else I’ve been!
Some obvious backwards thinking: rice is healthy, Chinese medicine works just as good (if not better) than Western medicine, overbearing nationalism (which mirrors the American culture I left behind, ironically…),
Not being able to discuss political issues. Expats in China live by the 3 T’s Rule. Basically, don’t talk about Taiwan, Tibet, and Tiananmen Square. …And those are just some of the issues you shouldn’t discuss while there because the government is, well… the Chinese government.
If you want to know more culture shocks when living in China, here’s far more on that topic!

Since they don’t celebrate China, I introduced my students to it!

Granted, no job is right for everyone, nor is it perfect in general. For me, teaching English in China allowed me to work a reasonable amount, have a plethora of benefits, and save money. It was also a fulfilling experience and I do intend on returning to China in the near future to teach there again!