{"id":911,"date":"2018-10-11T13:33:03","date_gmt":"2018-10-11T12:33:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eslkidstuff.com\/teach-english-abroad\/?p=911"},"modified":"2018-10-12T09:58:47","modified_gmt":"2018-10-12T08:58:47","slug":"teaching-english-in-china-harbin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eslkidstuff.com\/teach-english-abroad\/china\/teaching-english-in-china-harbin","title":{"rendered":"Teaching English in China &#8211; Harbin"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Teaching English in Harbin, China<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-921\" src=\"https:\/\/www.eslkidstuff.com\/teach-english-abroad\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/china-harbin.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"495\" height=\"303\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border: 0;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/embed?pb=!1m18!1m12!1m3!1d178156.08498818602!2d126.51193742727072!3d45.7573839060157!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x5e4364f8a6641461%3A0x5e7c92735aa02cd5!2sHarbin%2C+Heilongjiang%2C+China!5e0!3m2!1sen!2spt!4v1539259562077\" width=\"486\" height=\"200\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><em>Report submitted on<strong> 20 Oct, 2017<\/strong> by<strong> Paula K.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<h4>Teaching English in Harbin, China:<\/h4>\n<p><strong>How can teachers find teaching jobs in Harbin, China?<br \/>\n <\/strong>Dave&#8217;s ESL Cafe<br \/>\n <a href=\"https:\/\/www.echinacities.com\/\">eChinacities.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>The main English teaching jobs available are:<br \/>\n <\/strong><span class=\"s1\">Full time English language school positions, part time English language school positions, teaching at kindergartens \/ pre-schools, teaching at state schools, teaching at private international schools, teaching at colleges \/ universities, private teaching (not through a school, agency, etc.), Volunteering for non-profits or for-profits catering to low-income university students, such as Brian English.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>What are the minimum teaching requirements?<br \/>\n <\/strong>Generally, a native speaker from one of the big six: USA, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Ireland.<br \/>\n Uni and HS jobs require Bachelor&#8217;s degree, TESOL certificate and experience.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What teaching requirements would you recommend?<\/strong><br \/>\n <span class=\"s1\">Experience. You can volunteer in the states to teach ESL to get experience. I recommend a hand-on TESOL program, like Will-Excel TESOL in Harbin, a Canadian run, 150-hour excellent program. It&#8217;s really comprehensive and includes the TPR and communicative approach methodologies. It&#8217;s a month-long seminar, and after 500 hours of evaluated teaching, you&#8217;ll get a diploma in TESOL!<br \/>\n Also, a real passion for the culture is essential. You&#8217;ll have more friends than you can imagine!<br \/>\n <\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>What are the levels of payment?<\/strong><br \/>\n <span class=\"s1\">Uni is really cheap at about 5000 RMB (approx. 724 US$) per month, 5500 (approx. 796 US$)with a master&#8217;s degree.<br \/>\n Language schools start at about 6000 (approx. 868 US$) per month and go up to about 13,000 (approx. 1881 US$).<br \/>\n Int&#8217;l K-gartens go upwards of 20k (approx. 2894 US$), depending. But these require you to be onsite 40-hrs per week and teach maybe 30 classes.<br \/>\n I work at a public high school and make 16k (approx. 2315 US$)with a housing allowance of 1500 (approx. 217 US$)which covers my rent. I work 14 class periods and have free time for private students, 8 of which are my co-worker&#8217;s children.<br \/>\n <\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>How many teaching days a week is normal?<\/strong><br \/>\n <span class=\"s1\">4-5 days per week.<br \/>\n <\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>How many face-to-face teaching hours a week is normal?<\/strong><br \/>\n <span class=\"s1\">20 hours per week.<br \/>\n <\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the normal arrangement for holidays?<br \/>\n <\/strong>Depends where you work. I have Jan\/Feb free, paid half salary during these times. I also have half salary for the months of July and August, which again, I have free.<br \/>\n Language schools vary, but typically hold classes all but the governmental days free. February, spring festival, is a week long event and often vacation days for language school teachers.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What advice would you give to someone considering coming to Harbin, China to teach English?<\/strong><br \/>\n Be healthy \u2013 don&#8217;t have asthma as we hit the #1 most polluted city in the world sometimes. Over 1000 on the AQI. This is due to the heating systems and usually only lasts a few days per year. The city burns coal to heat homes\u2026<br \/>\n Electricity is about 15 rmb <span class=\"s1\">(approx. 2,17 US$)<\/span> per month, and I cook everyday!<br \/>\n Don&#8217;t be sickened by foul odors, because you&#8217;ll smell the WCs and garbage periodically! Also, there are some fruits and foods that just smell, well, yucky.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What are the positive aspects of teaching English in Harbin, China?<\/strong><br \/>\n Feel appreciated for doing a great job!<br \/>\n Build confidence!<br \/>\n Get exposure to all facets of teaching: TOEFL, IELTS, adults, kids, uni students, high school students\u2026everything.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What are the negative aspects for teaching English in Harbin, China?<\/strong><br \/>\n Students have learned the F*** and SH** words and like to use them in class. (This happened only once\u2026so make it part of your first day rules!)<br \/>\n Class sizes are unusually huge, like 62 in my largest class. This varies according to type of school.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What are some of the teaching challenges for English teachers teaching the local people in your area?<\/strong><br \/>\n You&#8217;ll get used to the common pronunciation errors, though over the years I&#8217;m finding the general population has gotten much better at pronunciation. I believe this is due to early childhood exposure to English.<br \/>\n You will have too many offers to teach independents. Don&#8217;t undervalue yourself and don&#8217;t accept them all\u2026you will need your free time to enjoy the city\/country!<br \/>\n Students attend high school from 7 am to 10:30 pm Mon through Fri and keeping them awake is often a challenge. Use activities and games to get them up!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4>Living in Harbin, China:<\/h4>\n<p><strong>Are there any visa or other legal requirements to live in China?<\/strong><br \/>\n Oh yes! It&#8217;s an ever changing, tedious process. Don&#8217;t let anyone tell you to come over on a tourist (L) visa! It must be a business (F, but I believe this has or is changing) or teaching (Z) visa. Then the school turns that into a resident permit. In this initial phase of the process you will receive a foreign expert&#8217;s certificate. Be sure to take possession of this document, as the school cannot cancel your resident permit without it. Sometimes when you want to change schools the foreign exp certificate is lost!<br \/>\n Follow all the requirements: these change often and are inclusive of having your bachelor&#8217;s degree notarized BY THE CHINESE EMBASSY, getting a criminal history report and providing a health check certificate from you doctor which includes some odd tests and the doctor to stamp and initial each page of the report. Like I said, a little tedious.<br \/>\n The good news is, once you jump through all those hoops, it&#8217;s easy to turn your visa (which is actually a resident permit) over for another year.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the cost of living like in China?<\/strong><br \/>\n CHEAP!! You can find spendy apartments (3500-7500 rmb <span class=\"s1\">(approx. 506 US$-1085 US$) <\/span>per month) but these are new and in gated communities with a view. I have an apt for 1500 per\u00a0 <span class=\"s1\">(approx. 217 US$) <\/span>month and it&#8217;s a walk-up 5 flights. It&#8217;s in a great neighborhood with a night market (meat, vegetables and fruit) on my path to and from school! A head of beautiful and fresh broccoli is 4 rmb <span class=\"s1\">(approx. 0,60 US$)<\/span>\u2026<br \/>\n You can find street food for cheap, too, though I cannot eat MSG so don&#8217;t. MSG is everywhere\u2026I cook for myself and still save tons of cash each month. And I buy organic meat at Home Park grocery.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What are the usual accommodation arrangements and how can you find accommodation?<br \/>\n <\/strong>Uni provides a nice dorm on campus. Language schools offer free accommodations or a housing allowance. People will help you find a place. They&#8217;re super friendly in the north! Generally the housing issue is covered in the ad.<br \/>\n It&#8217;s also a good idea to talk about it in the interview.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Other than teaching, what positive aspects are there for living in Harbin, China?<br \/>\n <\/strong>SHOPPING!!!<br \/>\n High-speed trains!<br \/>\n Learn Chinese!<br \/>\n It&#8217;s SAFE. No one (save for the armored car drivers) has a gun.<br \/>\n Banks are open seven days a week!<br \/>\n Taobao shopping is amazing!<br \/>\n Bargaining!<br \/>\n Beer is cheap \u2013 about 4 rmb <span class=\"s1\">(approx. 0,60 US$)<\/span> for a magnum of the local Harbin or Snow beer.<br \/>\n We have an IKEA store. And Metro for western products.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Meet friends!<br \/>\n See China!<br \/>\n Meet friends!<\/p>\n<p><strong>Other than teaching, what negative aspects are there for living in scenery, China?<\/strong><br \/>\n China is dirty.<br \/>\n Harbin is 300 miles (as the crow flies) from DPNK.<br \/>\n Harbin has two seasons, winter and summer. It&#8217;s fall and spring for about five minutes.<br \/>\n Winter is seriously cold; cold enough to play host to the Harbin Ice &amp; Snow festival since 1985. It&#8217;s an amazing thing: the workers pull chunks of ice from the Songhua River and haul them to Sun Island where competitors assemble them (including a lighting system within each and every single block) to build ice sculptures.<br \/>\n Yeah, mighty cold. Sometimes as low as minus 30 degrees F!<br \/>\n Food safety is an issue, as is pollution, but they&#8217;re working on it! It&#8217;s not nearly as bad now as is has been in the past.<br \/>\n Students talk during performances. It&#8217;s just part of the culture, as is picking their nose in front of you and belching, farting. But don&#8217;t pick your teeth in front of them!<br \/>\n Stores close early, as do many things.<br \/>\n There are lots of fake goods out there, so shop wisely and carefully.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What advice would you give to someone considering coming to Harbin, China?<\/strong><br \/>\n Research your area and school. I&#8217;ve had many different jobs here and have never had visa problems or been unpaid. Well, once I was not paid for a month, but it was partly my own fault\u2026communication misconception.<br \/>\n Don&#8217;t sign on for more than one year until you&#8217;ve checked out the school and your coworkers, students, etc. You may end up in a district way the heck outta town and feel isolated from the goings on elsewhere!<\/p>\n<p><strong>What things do you miss most (other than family and friends) from your home country?<\/strong><br \/>\n TV\/movies. There are a handful of films in English, so I don&#8217;t get to be too choosy.<br \/>\n I miss Taco Bell and gluten-free beer!<\/p>\n<p><strong>What do you think you will miss most when (or if) you leave China?<br \/>\n <\/strong>Friends and the insanely cheap massages!<\/p>\n<p><strong>What things would you recommend to new teachers in your area to bring with them from their home country?<\/strong><br \/>\n You can pretty much get whatever you want these days, though I don&#8217;t recommend coming and thinking you&#8217;ll get a prescription filled. I take thyroid medicine, and in China it&#8217;s in a box and I have to CUT IT to the correct dose. This is difficult to do because it&#8217;s a tiny pill to begin with\u2026ugh. I bring enough for a year.<br \/>\n Same with aspirin-like products and vitamins. If you&#8217;re fussy, bring enough for a year.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4>About Me and My Work:<\/h4>\n<p><strong>My Name<\/strong>: Paula K<\/p>\n<p><strong>Nationality<\/strong>: American<\/p>\n<p><strong>Students I&#8217;ve taught in China<\/strong>:\u00a0babies (0-2 years), toddlers (2-4 years), pre-school \/ kindergarten (4-6 years), elementary (6-12 years), junior high school (12-15 years), high school (15-18 years), university, adults.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Where I teach<\/strong>: #1 Experimental High School of Heilongjiang Province, Harbin, HLJ People&#8217;s Republic of China<span class=\"s1\">. Teaching for 4 years.<br \/>\n <\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"stcpDiv\"><strong>How I found my current jobs<\/strong>: Dave&#8217;s ESL cafe website. Great reference and job boards!<\/div>\n<div>\u00a0<\/div>\n<p><strong>My school facilities<\/strong>: <span class=\"s1\">Adequate. Broken podiums.<br \/>\n Chalkboards and chalk, not white boards.<br \/>\n One computer in room.<br \/>\n Crowded rooms.<br \/>\n SMELLY WCs<br \/>\n No hot water for hand-washing<br \/>\n <\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Do you teach English in China?<\/h2>\n<p>Tell us about your experiences &#8211; <a title=\"Submit Country Report\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eslkidstuff.com\/teach-english-abroad\/submit-country-report\">click here to submit your report about teaching English in China<!--more--> <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Teaching English in Harbin, China &nbsp; Report submitted on 20 Oct, 2017 by Paula K. Teaching English in Harbin, China: How can teachers find teaching jobs in Harbin, China? Dave&#8217;s ESL Cafe eChinacities.com The main English teaching jobs available are: Full time English language school positions, part time English language school positions, teaching at kindergartens &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eslkidstuff.com\/teach-english-abroad\/china\/teaching-english-in-china-harbin\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Teaching English in China &#8211; Harbin<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[102,7,188,6],"class_list":["post-911","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-china","tag-china","tag-english-jobs","tag-harbin","tag-teaching-english"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eslkidstuff.com\/teach-english-abroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/911"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eslkidstuff.com\/teach-english-abroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eslkidstuff.com\/teach-english-abroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eslkidstuff.com\/teach-english-abroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eslkidstuff.com\/teach-english-abroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=911"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.eslkidstuff.com\/teach-english-abroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/911\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":930,"href":"https:\/\/www.eslkidstuff.com\/teach-english-abroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/911\/revisions\/930"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eslkidstuff.com\/teach-english-abroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=911"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eslkidstuff.com\/teach-english-abroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=911"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eslkidstuff.com\/teach-english-abroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=911"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}