I visited China a few years ago where I was offerd a job to teach which I shouldn't of turned down (n)

but now I have decided I would like to teach English there.

I do not have a TEFL yet or any degree.

Would I be abe to go to China a posably teach English in a school there?

As I have been speaking to some schools arround China they have said this is fine

and that I will do my TEFL whilst I am teaching in China.

I am just confused on what i can and cant do and the process of how it works.

If any1 can give me a heads up, it would be great, thanks!

Hello Ash,

You have to make up your mind first on whether you want to take up teaching ESL as a career, as a temporary thing or as a kind of adventure. That decision will determine the rest. If you want to be a serious professional teacher with credentials that give you the confidence to knock on the doors of any school, you definitely need some training and certification. Just make sure you choose your trainers wisely. Don't go for the cheap ones that brandish a TEFL certification to teach kids, teenagers as well as adults for as cheap as $100 and a few forms to fill and submit online.

China used to be what you mentioned in your post: Any western looking person could teach English, but times are changing. Recruiters are beginning to realize that: Not every English language speaker qualifies to teach ESL. The government is also cracking down on teachers without any qualifications. They will require you to present certificates that qualify you to teach ESL before they can issue a working visa without which, any school hiring you in China is doing so illegally. Beware of schools or recruiting agents who tell you "Everything is fine, just fly over." The main reason they say that is to get you hooked up with a school, pocket their placement commissions and then vanish into the thin air, leaving you on your own to deal with your problems when they show up a few weeks later.

There is another category of ESL teachers in China: We usually refer to them as "Tourist teachers." Most of them are in China for travel, short visits, business trips, etc. and happen to run out of money or get approached by some schools desperately looking for teachers. They then end up in the classroom trying to figure out how to kill the hours and skip to payday. We easily recognize these kind of teachers. They sign contracts as short as 1month with several schools at a time, run around with a bunch of crossword puzzles, word search and pages printed from the internet to throw at students and get them busy for hours. These people still make their money, the schools that hire them boast to the parents they rip off and the students are the sacrificial lambs.

I don't mean to say that because you don't have a degree you won't make a good teacher. No. Don't get me wrong. I have been teaching ESL since 1998 and I have met teachers with piles of certificates who couldn't handle a simple class of 10students. I have also met teachers with no certificates at all picking up teaching just from sitting in on other teachers' lessons and ending up doing a marvelous job.

So, It's totally your decision.  What do you really want?

I am an ESL teacher and consultant based in Shanghai.

You can get in touch with me here.

All the best.