An award-winning TEFL experience in China
Do you dream of teaching English as a foreign language? Or you may have your hopes set on living in China. Read Sarah’s story for a little TEFL advice.
4.6 out of 5 based on 9,674 reviews
It’s hard to believe that I will be celebrating my second-year work anniversary at BFSU (Beijing Foreign Studies University) just two months from now. It’s hard to write an article like this without sounding like a massive cliché, so I’ll get those out of the way now. Moving to China to teach English has changed my life. I have grown and changed in more ways than I can even begin to count. And yes, you should do it. If not China, somewhere else in the world (although I’d thoroughly recommend Asia)!
Why I chose TEFL
My primary motivation for travelling globally was a combination of wanderlust and graduating into a recession. I was adamant that I wouldn’t follow in the footsteps of so many people in my generation and live a life where I would struggle to pay my rent and juggle two or three jobs, not even related to my field of study, just to make ends meet. I had a Skype interview on Christmas Day 2013 with BFSU, found out I got the job just after midnight on New Year's Eve, and had moved here on Valentine’s Day.
Where I went and what I did
I arrived here with no Chinese, little money, and no sense of direction. I was placed at a campus in southern Beijing, which is now like my second home. I have been teaching at the same campus my whole time here, which is quite unusual for many foreigners who flit between jobs depending on which way the wind is blowing. Still, the company I work for is solid, legitimate and has a serious amount of关系 (GuanXi). GuanXi means connections of significance and somewhat translates to the Western world as ‘Friends in high places’; so working here is a fantastic, fulfilling and enjoyable experience.
I enjoy working for a government company, although it can sometimes be culturally challenging. I work with many local people in Beijing and provinces that are far away. One of my best friends in Beijing is my teaching assistant, Flora, who I’ve known since I arrived. She is from a small province in the southwest of Beijing and has helped me personally engage with Chinese culture. I know we will always be friends, which is something special. My colleagues are extremely helpful, kind and respectful of my culture and experiences, and they like sharing treats from their home provinces or videos of their families living in faraway cities.
A few months ago, one of my students had his 8th birthday, and I suddenly remembered I had also been there to celebrate his 6th and 7th birthday, which made me incredibly nostalgic. For the last 2 years, I have been a regular fixture in over 100 students' lives, who look forward to seeing me every week, bearing drawings of their inventions like ‘a snail bus’ or a very intricate drawing of a raccoon riding a train.
In October and November this year, our company had a competition in which all the teachers across China competed for the title ‘Most Oustanding Teacher’. To compete, every teacher had to prepare a 20-minute class to highlight their teaching capabilities while meeting the requirements of all the students in the class. The company is enormous, with campuses in southern China and all over Beijing, so every region was represented by a finalist in the competition. I represented the southern region of BFSU.
The competition had several rounds, and the teachers' classes were filmed and analysed. Eventually, they picked the finalists for the competition. I beat hundreds of teachers and was down to the final few. There is a strong team spirit at my campus, so my principal and all my Chinese colleagues supported me at the event. I had to perform a class to over 150 people on the day of the final, which fellow teachers attended. Also, the people who ran the university all had extremely elegant titles, such as Professor and Doctor. Eventually, I won! I won the esteem of my colleagues, but also an iPad, which wasn’t a bad way to spend a Wednesday morning at all.
Reflections on China
Riding on the success of this competition, I also won another award a few weeks later. They gave me an award for my outstanding performance as an employee, and I got a very snazzy Oscar-looking glass statue with my name engraved. This was a big deal for me, but an even bigger deal for the school as I was the first foreigner to be given this award since the company was founded around 50 years ago. Needless to say, my parents were pretty impressed with me!
In Beijing, I have made lifelong friends. I met my roommate in a bar, and now we plan to travel around the world together. I met some friends whilst putting on a theatre performance, and now we spend our weekends cycling around and bungee jumping!
I am so proud of everything I have accomplished and can’t believe how lucky I am to have such a fulfilling job. People in Asia regard teaching as a very respectable profession, which is a drastic difference between the UK and Asia. Teaching takes every ounce of energy, but the memories and bonds you create are worth every moment.
We can’t promise every TEFL teacher will win an award, but we can offer an award-winning experience when you sign up for one of our TEFL courses.
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