Do you dream of teaching English as a foreign language? Or you may have your hopes set on living in China. Read Joel’s story for a little TEFL advice.

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TEFL in Xiangyang: Joel’s Story

Do you dream of teaching English as a foreign language? Or you may have your hopes set on living in China. Read Joel’s story for a little TEFL advice.

Our customers say Excellent

4.6 out of 5 based on 9,712 reviews

Upon reaching the six-month milestone of my time in China, I can say it has been the best decision of my life so far. Yet, this is not solely due to the abundance of incredible experiences, amazing sights, and interesting people I have met. Rather, the trials and tribulations I have had to overcome have made this exotic venture such a special one.

Why I chose TEFL

One obstacle I did not have to overcome was moving abroad alone. I will be going with my girlfriend, Menna, whom I met at university. Halfway through our final year at Swansea University, we had decided that our joint love of travel, combined with our natural tendencies towards teaching, made the TEFL qualification such a desirable and obvious move.

How I became a TEFL teacher

In July 2017, less than one week after our graduation, we accepted a job offer to move to Xiangyang - a third-tier city in central China. China had always been an alluring and mysterious destination. I was drawn to its natural beauties, gigantic metropolises, and its unrivalled cultural heart.

To experience such a social change at the age of 21 was something that I was desperately keen to pursue to test my own character and beliefs. Ironically, my most significant test came not in adapting my lifestyle but rather in the essence of my reason for moving - teaching. I have always had issues with public speaking, starting with simple conversations all the way up to full-blown university presentations and dissertation debates. I even found the 20-hour TEFL classroom course incredibly tough. Although, looking back now, it served to form the basis for the new-found confidence that I would take to China.

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Where I went and what I did

My first week in China was a blur. The initial drive through the city, a place completely alien to my own comfortable town back in England, was the first of many shocks. Blaring car horns, reckless driving, and a sheet of smog across the sky are a few memories of my initial impression of my new home.

Within 8 hours of arriving in Xiangyang, we had moved into our apartment, met our fellow staff—both the foreign and Chinese teachers—understood a basic map of bus routes and geographical locations, and observed an English lesson. The weeks that followed were no less hectic. We had to buy SIM cards for our phones, set up a new bank account, have medicals, obtain our resident permits, and prepare for our new teacher jobs!

I mentioned this before, but to reiterate and clarify - we were living in a tier-three city. This means that our city, Xiangyang, is less developed and less modernised than the more well-known cities in China. A tier-one city, such as Shanghai, is globally famous and thus attracts a huge number of foreign visitors every year. Economic, business, and social ventures are highly concentrated in these larger cities. The size of the expat group in Xiangyang is minuscule, perhaps 40-50 non-Chinese people. As a result, it is not uncommon to be photographed on public transport or stopped in the street.

In my own responsibilities as a teacher, I teach children aged 3-12. Around half of my classes are focused on very young learners, aged 3-6, where I play many fun yet repetitive games. My students' parents also observed me during these lessons, which shocked me in my initial few weeks, but soon adjusted to it. The other half of my classes are in a classical classroom-type format, with a board for writing and mini tables for written activities. These are for children aged 7-12. Whilst these lessons are generally larger and longer, they do not require you to be as playful with the children as you would be in the kindergarten style classes.

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Moreover, I teach a handful of weekly demo lessons, where I am given one hour to impress potential new students and parents. The variation and diversity in ages and abilities have kept my weeks fresh and interesting, more so than if I was teaching only one particular age group.

Older members of Chinese society, those who have lived in Xiangyang their whole lives, are particularly surprised and curious about my presence. On a good day, this is amusing. However, it can become frustrating, especially when I have lived there for six months and no longer consider myself a new member of that society. Nevertheless, it demonstrates that life in a tier three city - culturally incomparable to cities like Shanghai and Beijing - is perfect for those seeking an authentic and accurate depiction of traditional Chinese society.

Reflections on China

I would be lying if I said I came to China solely to teach. Whilst this was my priority, my obsession with travelling and seeing new places was a prominent reason for coming to China. Thus far, my TEFL certification has enabled me to travel to Beijing, Xi’an, Harbin, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Nanjing, Tianjin and Wuhan. As we sat on The Great Wall of China, stood silently in Tiananmen Square, peered into the rows of Terracotta Warriors, gasped in awe at the Harbin Ice Festival, and wandered around the West Lake in Hangzhou, I reminded myself and Menna how lucky and fortunate we were to be in such a mesmerising and captivating location.

In four days, we will explore the Yellow Mountains, which are supposedly a visual delight. In a little over two weeks, we will also travel to Hong Kong and the white sandy beaches of Sanya!

You may wonder how we have been able to travel to so many locations in such a short amount of time. Crucially, our employers allow us to have three consecutive days off weekly, enabling us to make short yet well-planned trips. Of course, Chinese New Year gifted us with more freedom to travel. Perhaps the most memorable moment of this trip was being in Harbin at midnight on New Year’s Eve. We wandered around the city in temperatures under minus 10 degrees Celsius when a barrage of fireworks and firecrackers went off around us. Hailing from England, we were used to organised and safety-conscious fireworks events.

Yet in Harbin, on the most celebrated night of the year for the Chinese community, we discovered quite the opposite: no organised rallies or zones. Instead, a spontaneous approach had been adopted - people set fires in the street, ran around with fireworks, and set firecrackers off close to passersby. It got no less bizarre; we watched as a small cart and trailer drove past, its precious cargo set entirely alight and in a blaze. Whether this was intentional or not, we’ll never know. But this symbolises the wacky and wonderful moments one can only experience in China.

The unpredictability of the fireworks and celebrations only made it more memorable. It was indeed a night to remember and one to cherish forever. I highly recommend anyone staying in China to remain there over the Chinese New Year; do not be put off by travel restrictions, stick to flights if possible, and plan well ahead!

could go on and on about all my experiences in China. However, the true beauty of this alluring country is that no single adventure is the same. I can guarantee that every venture will be special. Not everything has been a positive experience. To be dishonest and say otherwise would be tearing down the core and importance of teaching abroad - to adapt, flourish and appreciate a new culture.

You can follow Joel's adventures over on his Instagram

Read more about teaching English in China and check out the latest TEFL jobs in the country.

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Our customers say Excellent

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