August Internship

I'm really surprised that you are having trouble because you are from SA to be honest... Every vacancy I have seen states that you have to be from one of the big 7 countries. U.K, U.S.A, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa. Thats China, Japan, Indonesia, South America, Prague, Thailand, S Korea. I've looked for jobs ALL over and believe me, thats what they want in those countries. A native speaker from one of those 7 countries. :)

Thanks Rin, Sasha & Emma  -  I will keep trying!!!   :)

Lol BNelson 

I sent you a list of sites I found... Have a look & keep in touch,

we S.A. boys gotta stick together haha.

Hey Shaun,

I've worked with non native speakers and if anything I think they make better teachers than native speakers. If you have learnt a language you know how it feels to be a learner, you've gone through the process and you know the grammar and usually how to explain it.  Unfortunately a lot of people in the industry still want a token native teacher as this is usually what students usually request. Hopefully opinions will start to change! 

Honestly, get applying to lots of schools - you can take a look at www.eslcafe.com.  Sell yourself in the interview and mention what I said above!  Don't worry, there are TONS of jobs out there!!!  I always apply to many and then let destiny decide :-)  Good luck!!

Shaun, that majorly sucks!!!  I also find that strange because there are a few people currently on the internship who aren't native english speakers!!! I don't know why they wouldn't allow it now!!! 

Ah, that really does suck! Guess I'm in the same boat as you man, was just considering the Internship after reading all the comments here but looks like I'm going to have to give it a miss. Could have sworn English was my 'native language' judging they most people don't really understand me when I attempt any other languages.

Oh! What a shame!!
Where are you from Shaun? I am 'going it alone' I'm heading to China in 12 days to a job I found myself. Well, actually I'm going with my boyfriend, but still, not going through an internship. Don't be disheartened, there are still lots of opportunities out there for you! :)

P.S. I found from my telephone interviews that as long as they hear you don't have a really strong accent, they are fine! :)

:(  I got a call from a lady in the UK i to i office, I cant take part in the internship program.... because Im not "native english" (USA\UK).

Even though the site and t&c say that, even though they prefer native, near-native English speakers may apply!

( I also read, somewhere else, that you can get a certificate as proof of English speaking proficiency or that the company\employers otherwise do an interview to hear your level of English...)

The lady was very nice and all, even said that I can still do the online course but I will have to find work on my own....

Great, what now? LOL, I can either do that or find another program.... I found a few but now I got to go through the whole proces of asking question etc. all over again, oh well...

Any advice?

Shaun  :)

Gosh thank you all so much this really helps me out a lot!!!!!!!!!!!  

Thanks

Shaun   :)

Hi Ive for worked in china for 7 months now.

living in china is generally very cheap. The schools tend to provide accmodation for free. My electricty is on meter and my water is provided. This varies obviously.  Food in china is very cheap noodles and rice without meat is usally beetween 4-5 rmb(40p/50p) with meat its slightly more.

Traveling in china is fairly cheap and you could easily travel to hong kong by train or plane.

A good site to find train times is at : http://www.chinahighlights.com/china-trains/

Also I would recommend getting the lonely planet china guide because it is full of maps and place names in chinese.

Hi Shaun,

I don't work directly on the internship team...but I've done my best to find the answers for you....

   1. Yes, you need to do the 120 hour course before you go.
   2. You get accommodation free and food 5 days a week (while you are working).  The school will pay for utilities up to certain limits (RMB100-300) – this will vary from school to school. If the gas, electricity and water expenses exceed this limit, the interns need to pay the rest.
   3. Flights are not included in the price.
   4. You will be required to work 35 hours a week at the school, including face-to-face teaching, preparing lessons, meetings, activities, etc. In the majority of cases, 15 contact hours with a minimum of 10 hours per week.
   5. The teaching hours vary between each school, though the timetables should be the same each week.
      Classes can be in either the morning, afternoon or evening. Most school days for younger learners finish before 5pm, though training centres can run after school classes.

   6.  Sickness pay- '

      When applying for sick leave, the Teacher Intern is required to inform the school in advance (except in emergency situations) and supply a note or certificate from the hospital within 3 days after seeing a doctor. Without a valid note or certificate from the hospital, it will be regarded as absence from work and the above mentioned (Part VI item 10 of this contract) penalty will apply. The sick leave will be unpaid.'
   7. health insurance - You need to get travel insurance to partake in the internship program, but it's up to you if you get health insurance (some policies include this in the travel insurance). Participants from Europe can get insurance cover for 5 months for £162.64 / €227.69, 6 months for £195.16 / €273.22 with our providers FOGG Insurance.
   8. Additional training - there is no additional training as such.  However you will have some observations from the TTC program which you may request feedback from.  Also, I would always recommend if possible, working with other teachers and gaining from their experience.
   9. Extending the contract - this would need to be discussed with TTC - it is possible, but not guarenteed.


You may want to have a look at this FAQ list http://www.onlinetefl.com/docs/chinainternship_faqs.pdf

Hope this helps!!

ps. you will need some money as a safety net as we get paid in arrears - ie. i started teaching on 1st March but didnt get my first paycheck until 15th April. So make sure you have enough to last you for this time!

- Flights definitely NOT included

- Hours of work = so varied. My timetable varies from week to week. It's in our contract though that we work a maximum of 35 hours a week (lesson planning is included in this), so you won't be made to go over that. I NEVER have, in fact i always have quite a lot less than that!

- Sickness / Health insurance - no idea....!

- You can't extend the contract any more through i-to-i / TTC, but there are LOADS of jobs around so i shouldnt think it'd be too hard at all for you to stay out here if you wanted to.

- Visa application process - i took mine to the office in Manchester and picked it up a week later. Easy peasy, no problems at all.

- Finding a job after - not really sure, i will be straight on a plane to Canada!

Zoe :)

Haha seems like Sasha has been more than competent in answering all of your questions! Will throw in a few of my own answers too though as requested (although i will probably just be repeating what Sasha said - sorry):

- Yes you have to complete the course before you get here - it seems like lots of work at the beginning but you kind of get into the swing of it once you've started. And if you get stuck you can ask me for help!

-Expenses over here - you get your rent and bills paid for you, and then you either get meals provided at the school or a food allowance. I get a modest food allowance of the equivalent of 50 pounds a month which is just about exactly what i spend (if you eat out lots you will spend more). Food is pretty cheap if you buy fruit and veg from the street stalls and staples from the supermarket. Also there is some awesome street food available for pittance - i often have a pancake for lunch for 15p and icecream for 10p. Its AMAZING! Lunch for 25p! You also get a living allowance (currently 200 pounds) on top of the food allowance which i blow on trips to Beijing / Xian as there isnt much to spend it on in my city. The living allowance is more than sufficient for where i live but some people i know in Beijing find it hard to make it last the month.

Hi Shaun,
That's great you're thinking of doing the China Internship!
The 120 hours split up into 100 hours of online study and a 20 hour weekend course that is split over one weekend, saturday 9am-8pm and sunday 9am-6pm at a location near you. You can find more details on the course here:
http://www.onlinetefl.com/tefl-courses/combined-tefl-courses-120.html
Once in China you will recieve free accommodation and most of your living expenses (Private bedroom and all meals monday to friday) Your flights are not included in the fee. For more information on what is included and what isn't you can check out the link below:
http://www.onlinetefl.com/teaching-internships/china/
If you have anymore questions then please feel free to give our TEFL advisors a call on 0800 093 3148 and they will be more than happy to help!
Good Luck!

-It's not difficult finding another job and the company in Beijing will help you out even though they're not currently offering second semesters! There are heaps of jobs advertised online it's more you want to be sure they’re reputable!  I'd look at other teaching forums as well as talk with a rep from the school/institutions, get a tour if you can, and test how well they speak English, lack of English can be the biggest problem.

- Transportation cost to Hong Kong obviously depends where you are located in the country, if you have to fly obviously it will be more expensive though busses and trains are fairly cheap.

-The weekend course is a face to face course on a weekend but you would have to ask i-to-i more about that.

-You can't put in a preference what  kind of school but you can put in a preference for age group although it's not at all guaranteed.

-I went over with $2000AUD (that had to last me the 1st 2 months and to pay for the visa extension) and that got me through (with a tad to spare) until the first pay which doesn't come until the second month your there for eg. Didn't get paid for March until Mid April.

Sasha, the "The other 20hrs is the weekend course" is that online as well?

(If I get in/accepted I'll find out 'bout the insurance...)

Can you put in your preference for either public or private school, like you do 'bout the location?

(Besides the 'lil money that you earn - do you need to have a lot of extra cash on you - as a safety net?)

Eish... the whole no "second semesters" thing sucks but ok, is it really hard finding another job & sorting out the new visa? Hmmm so with the internship you only get the "F" visa huh?! Ok cool... oh and what does  transportation there cost, like with your side trip to Hong Kong?

Shaun  :)

...YAY! Thank You-Thank You!!! Every bit help Thanks so much Sasha  :)

-I just found out that it is possible to change from an ‘F’ class cultural exchange visa to a ‘Z’ class working visa by taking a little side trip to Hong Kong and applying for the visa there. But I still need to find out more about this myself.  It seems most schools and educational groups that higher foreign teachers want you on a ‘Z’ visa so obviously being on a ‘F’ visa is a bit of a problem.

I think i've answered all your questions!  Annoying Character limit wouldn't let me post them in one comment.  Hope that's of some help! :)