News from our grads
Toby and Emma in China
Teach International graduate Emma Gill was looking for a change that combined a new career with travel, teaching English seemed the perfect option. Hear about Emma's adventures in China and how you can be a Keanu Reeves look-alike in an unlikely location.
1. How/Why did you first think of doing a TESOL course and going overseas?
Primarily we wanted to see more of the world, but we wanted to work while we travelled. Secondly, for me, I wanted a career change. I had studied languages at university and wanted to get back into a language related field.
2. Why did you choose Teach International?
I read an article by a TI graduate in the local newspaper, and he praised the course and instructors. I then checked out their website and various others – TI seemed like the best option, and offered more 'after graduation' support than other companies.
3. How did the course help you prepare for the journey ahead?
Having never taught before, it gave me an excellent grounding. I have used so many of the games that we were shown – most of which I might have struggled to think of on my own at first. It also gives you the confidence when going into a classroom for the first time.
4. Where are you teaching, how long have you been there and how did you get the job?
I am teaching in China, in a city called Jiaxing, which is an hour away from Shanghai and Hangzhou. My husband and I have been here for about 10 weeks now. We saw the position advertised on the TI website, and we made contact with the owner of the school. The whole process was fairly straight forward. Most of the other foreign teachers that have taught here have been TI graduates.
5. What do you enjoy most about
living there?
The Chinese people are very friendly, and have made us feel so welcome – particularly the other Chinese-English teachers. The city is not too big, and the locals are quite surprised to see us when we walk by! But they are also very friendly. Everyone says Hello. Every week we see something new, or try something new. I like the fact that there are very few foreigners here because we really feel like we are getting a true sense of Chinese culture and life in this area. Also, the fact that there are few foreigners means that we have made Chinese friends, and are attempting to learn the Chinese language too.
The other great advantage of working at this particular school is that we get 3 months paid holidays from June to September!
6. What do you find challenging about living there?
I suppose the communication barrier is challenging. No-one here really speaks English. Outside of the school, our every activity has to be planned in advance to some extent. For example, if we want to catch a taxi somewhere, we have to make sure we can say the location in Chinese before we go. If we go to a restaurant, it can be challenging, although we are learning to read the symbols for various foods. We haven't found anything else to be too difficult, and even with the language barrier, you can always get by with pointing.
7. Do you have any funny stories?
The kids that we teach are 15 years old, and they say funny things about each other all the time! It's hard to keep a straight face sometimes, and try and focus on the fact that they've just produced an excellent sentence in English.
Aside from in the classroom, I would say that 'unusual' things happen to us on a daily basis. Since being here I have been compared to 'a very long doll' (because of my height) and 'the statue of liberty'. My husband (who has red hair) was told he looks just like Keanu Reeves.
8. What advice would you give to someone planning on teaching there?
I would say, 'expect the unexpected'. Nothing is really planned in advance here. The school is great, and the teachers are lovely – but they will sometimes drop things on you at the last minute. But this is not exclusive to our school – it seems to be the way of things here.
For example: We arrived in Jiaxing on a Sunday afternoon, after having spent 25 hours on the same train, and were told we'd be teaching the very next day! We were a bit panicked by this because it didn't leave us much time to prepare our lessons, but we did it, and it worked out just fine. We have learned to just 'roll with it'. We have also learned to relax and not take things too seriously. Things will normally work out.
I would also say that if you come to this part of China, it is useful to try and learn some of the language.
9. What are your future plans? Will you keep teaching and travelling?
We will be at this school in China until May 2009. Then....who knows where. We definitelywant to keep teaching and travelling. Perhaps we'll try another Asian country such as Korea. Or we may even try Eastern Europe. We'll be doing a 2 month backpacking tour of Europe and Russia this summer, so we'll see what we think.
10. Is there anything you would like to add?
Just to say that choosing to come to China was one of the best decisions we've made! The lifestyle for us here is so much more relaxed than the daily grind that we had in Australia. To anyone thinking of taking the plunge, I would say just “go for it”.......but do a TESOL course first!
Emma Gill - Teach
International Graduate
