Teaching in China provides a way to travel and teach, as well as a means to experience life here. It usually has flexible hours, a decent salary, and sometimes living accommodations and food. Most of the time, the only requirement is a university degree in any subject and a lot of patience. Many people who already teach here either full time or in a summer camp may be looking for an extra salary boost this year and also, as much as we hate to admit it, extra training is always helpful. By getting an online TEFL (Teach English as a Foreign Language) degree, you can learn strategies to be a good teacher, which both makes you more effective and also helps you keep your sanity because you are actually prepared for class.

As we all know, it’s pretty easy to find jobs teaching English in China. But just because you’re a native English speaker with a university degree doesn’t mean you can teach. If you are anything like me, you realized this sad fact while standing in a classroom with 35 screaming seven year-olds running rampant around the room and thought to yourself, "How did I get here, who am I kidding?!"

In my experience, teaching in China means there is no lesson plan. They gave me one book, and expected me to know the rest. What they like to call "Oral English" in China is much more complicated than you think. I had one high school class that included no book, materials or anything resembling a curriculum. This forced me to look online to try to find lesson plans submitted by other teachers and fend for myself. Anyone who has taught high school knows that it is one of the most challenging experiences there is because the students couldn’t care less if you even show up to class.

Getting a TEFL certificate through a training class is best, but sometimes you don’t have the time. Also, when you are traveling it’s still easy enough to find an Internet café. An online TEFL will prepare you so you don't feel like a lamb carcass being thrown to a bunch of tigers (AKA high school students). The only thing you need to complete the courses online is a computer and some time. Based on the hours required for the course, this experience will help you ask for more money. Let’s look at two kinds of TEFL certification: TEFL Diplomas and TEFL certificates.

TEFL Certificate
The online TEFL certificates are the cheapest, starting at around 200-350 $US, and take either about 40 or 60 hours. The lessons can be completed whenever you want and you normally have your own advisor who corrects your work and gives you advice. They include video tutorials and you have practice lesson plans and learn the basics of English teaching training. The certificates are internationally accepted but most of the time your employer will ask for additional experience. Either way, having this TEFL certificate can sometimes get you an extra 2-4000RMB a month and will give you an advantage over other English teachers.

The TEFL Diploma
The online TEFL diplomas are around 600$US and take 120 hours but include extra training in business English and young learner education. Business English teaching pays extremely well and you have the benefit of teaching adults who are usually eager to learn.

There are many additional benefits, like training videos, grammar classes, and more. Teaching grammar in your own language can be harder than you think. Just knowing how to use a verb tense is not the same as being able to explain it! The Grammar Advisor courses will not only teach you about English grammar but also make it much easier for you to teach, and you will learn why certain nationalities have special problems as well as cultural considerations. The TEFL Diploma also includes job placement, which is an obvious benefit.

Here are some places online that offer TEFL Online Certificates and TEFL Diplomas:

TEFL ONLINE (http://www.teflonline.net)
BRIDGE TEFL (http://www.bridgetefl.com)
I-to-I ONLINE TEFL (http://www.onlinetefl.com/online-tefl/)
ITTO TEFL ONLINE (http://www.tefl-online.com)

There are many more TEFL online sites but there are a few to get you started. Teaching in China can be extremely rewarding if you have the right tools to do it efficiently. There are many more tips you can use to find the perfect teaching job. Additionally, beware the teaching blunders that most people make. If you are trying to ask more money, you need more training; getting your TEFL certificate or diploma online is painless and won’t take up that much of your time, and the result is extra money, so why not? As William Arthur Ward said,

"The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires."
 

Related Links
5 Blunders to Avoid for English Teachers in China
Summer Camps for Extra Cash
5 Tips on Finding the Perfect Teaching Job in China

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