FAQ China

Q. Does it matter that you are based in Ireland and if I am not Irish?
No not at all; we recruit from all the following English speaking countries; Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, UK & USA. We also have an office in Korea with more opening as we expand our services.

Q. Do I need a degree before I can teach in China or is my TEFL certificate sufficient?
Unfortunately, all the institutes and schools we recruit for require teachers to be native English speakers and hold a recognized university degree. Some associate degrees along with TEFL certificates may be accepted in some circumstances.

Q. What is the shortest term of a contract available?
The minimum term for a contract in China is one semester (5 to 6 month period). Schools are generally not willing to offer shorter term contracts because of visa processing times and staff turnover levels.

Q. When is the best time to apply?
The vast majority of teaching positions are available in February/March and August/September as these are the start of the school semesters in China. You can apply at any time that suits yourself as we are recruiting on a continuous basis to fill all our schools teaching positions for both semesters each year.

Q. My partner and I are very keen on teaching in China early next year. Is there accommodation available for couples?
Yes, there is accommodation available for couples; we can find positions for couples at the same school so as they can share accommodation.

Q. Can I apply with my friends?
Yes we accept groups or friends applying to teach in China. While we can’t guarantee positions in the same school, we will place friends close to each so you can regularly meet up.

Q. I have my C.V/Resume, but I can’t upload my photo on your website. What should I do?
Please contact us at your earliest convenience and we will have the matter resolved as soon as possible. You can also email your CV & Photo along with your preferences (student age groups, starting date, salary, location) to recruitment@tigerenglish.com

Q. What will this endeavour of teaching English cost me?
There is little cost to a teacher applying for a teaching position through Tiger English. Firstly, we don’t charge any recruitment or placement fees to teachers. Teachers will also have to pay a small fee to the Chinese embassy for processing your working visa. The main cost will be your flight, however most schools and universities offer up to RMB6000 in reimbursement to teachers towards their flight costs at the end of a 10-12 month (2 semesters) contract.

Q. Currently I am living in London, will it be a phone interview or will I have to do a personal interview?
All interviews are telephone interviews. We recommend you supply both a mobile/cell phone & landline telephone number to ensure the interviewer can contact you at the designated interview time. 

Q. Is it possible to stay for longer than one semester or even two semesters?
Yes, it is possible to stay longer. Schools generally encourage teachers to extend their contract, as this benefits the school and students. You would most likely receive a higher salary upon resigning for your school. If you want to continue teaching in China but you wish a change of location, contact our team and we can go through your options both in China and in other countries.

Q. I have received a contract offer from a school, what should I do to secure it?
Once you have received a job offer, we recommend you carefully read through your contract and any other information Tiger English has provided you about the school, location and contract. Then we would recommend returning a signed and dated scanned copy of the contract to our office via email. If you procrastinate for too long, the school may move on to the next available candidate. It has happened in the past so to avoid disappointment, we ask teachers to make a prompt decision and return their contract signed as soon as they are ready to accept the job. Of course, if you have questions about your contract, contact our staff right away and they will go through it with you or they will have the school provide clarity on any points. 

Q. Do I need a TEFL Course?
You do not need a TEFL course in order to apply for a teaching position in China. Although, some teachers find it beneficial to complete one and it would also make you a more attractive candidate to employers.

Q.  Can I obtain a TEFL qualification online?  Do I really need one?
A TEFL course is not required but may prove helpful in getting a position as well as actually teaching day to day, an online course would also be fine.

Q. Do you have to start working at the beginning of the semester or is it a month by month job.  If it must be at the start of the semester, when would that be?
Yes, you will usually commence work at the beginning of one of the public school year semesters either in February/March or August/September. There are a few teaching positions with different starting dates.

Q. How much money do I need until my first payday?
We would usually say about 800 US Dollars or equivalent in your local currency.

Q. Is there anything else we need to do now or do we need to wait until we get our visas back from immigration?
There isn’t anything else you really need to be doing at this point except preparing to leave for China i.e. packing, arranging finance, vaccinations and farewell parties!

Q. What are the restrictions on baggage and hand luggage?
The weight restriction on an economy class ticket is 20 – 25kg. You should check your ticket or consult with our travel agent. 20kg would generally be a full 100litre Rucksack. You can also bring one piece of hand luggage so you may want to put more delicate or heavy items in it. If you’re bringing a laptop, that’s usually fine, and not counted as your one piece of allowable hand luggage. If you have questions about this, you can speak to our travel agent before departure for clarity as rules can vary or change.