Teach English in China blog
Welcome to the Teach English in China blog!
Here you will find real stories, practical advice and opinion pieces about teaching English in China - all written by past or present teachers.
If you would like to contribute to the blog, please contact us and we'll be in touch.
So make yourself a cup of coffee, sit back and enjoy reading. You may even decide to teach in China!
From classroom to kitchen: how a Beijing expat turbocharged his career in China
Food
April 25, 2018 by Mike Cairnduff
Preston Thomas has been teaching English in China since 2011. In a bold career move, this entrepreneurial expat has just opened up a new restaurant in Beijing called The View 4109. I had a chat with Preston to find out about his time teaching in C...
7 weird things in China that gave me culture shock
Daily life
April 12, 2018 by Kim Ooi
As a foreigner in China, I initially experienced a lot of culture shock. Several things that I saw here frustrated and angered me. Nobody ever thought to brief me on what to expect or to explain why these things were happening. Eventually, h...
Teaching English in Jining, Shandong province – Q&A with Teacher Dan
Interview
April 11, 2018 by Mike Cairnduff
Canadian Dan Meikle has been teaching English in China for the past three years. He’s currently teaching English in Jining, Shandong province. I interviewed him to find out about his experience teaching in this relatively small city in easte...
The cross-dressing teacher in China
Interview
March 22, 2018 by Mike Cairnduff
A new book called China In Drag, by BBC editor Michael Bristow, provides an insightful glimpse into China’s colourful history and current way of life, woven together by the adventures he shared with his cross-dressing Chinese teacher. I inte...
How to set exams in China
Teaching strategies
March 05, 2018 by Kim Ooi
China’s education system is exam-focused and even foreign teachers can’t escape having to set exams. Yet, no TEFL course to my knowledge teaches their trainees how to set and grade exams. There are many ways to set exams and hopeful...
Teaching subjects in China
Teaching strategies
March 01, 2018 by Kim Ooi
You’ve passed your TEFL course. After a period of job hunting, you get offered a job as an English teacher at a university in China. Full of excitement and enthusiasm, you fly off to the Middle Kingdom. As you wander around your new surr...
It’s the Year of the Dog in 2018
Festivals
February 08, 2018 by Mike Cairnduff
In 2018, over a billion people in China and around the world will celebrate Year of the Dog. What is the Year of the Dog? According to the Chinese Zodiac, each new year is represented by 1 of 12 animals. This year it’s the dog. People...
Student life in China – through the eyes of a university student
Students
February 05, 2018 by Kim Ooi
Have you ever wondered what life in China is like from a student perspective? I taught writing last semester and offered as a prize to the best student in my class, the chance to get their essays published. I have reproduced below, with permiss...
What Chinese university students really want from their oral English class
Opinion
January 31, 2018 by Kim Ooi
What do Chinese university students really want from their oral English class with a foreign teacher? First, let me ask you a question. As an oral English teacher, if you had a group of students who are used to being lectured and who have difficul...
Spending Christmas alone in China? Here are 7 ways to beat the yuletide blues
Festivals
December 23, 2017 by Mike Cairnduff
While the concept of Christmas has become mainstream in China, spending it alone can be a difficult time. You won’t be surrounded by family and friends you grew up with, and the cultural traditions of Christmas in China are different from w...
