Teach English in China
Essential Information to Help You Get Started.
Requirements & Qualifications
Requirements & Qualifications >>
What Qualifications Do You Need to Teach English in China?
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Yes you are very interested in teaching English in China. Now it’s time to find out whether or not you are qualified for a teaching position in China.
As the Chinese government constantly changes its visa policies, you need to keep yourself updated with the latest information. This article is updated in 2020 to give you the most recent update in teaching English in China requirements.
1. Is a Bachelor’s degree required?
If you want to apply for a work visa and teach in China legally, the answer is yes.
The process of getting a work visa is quite straightforward, and a bachelor degree is needed for this to be approved.
2. Is teaching experience required for jobs in China?
Having experience is not part of the teaching in China requirements, but if you do, you will be in a more favorable position during the interview, and more likely to land on a better package.
However, this is not a “must-have” for you to teach in China. In fact, there are a lot of programs offering training for graduates without any teaching experiences. A university graduate without any teaching experience can also land a good position and transition smoothly to teaching English in China life.
3. Do I need to be a native speaker to teach English in China?
No necessarily, however, due to China’s recent visa update, candidates need to be passport holders from native-speaking countries, i.e., United Kingdom, United States, Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand or South Africa.
4. Is the TEFL certificate necessary?
TEFL is the certificate to teach English as a foreign language which usually takes serious training for you to complete.
You do need a TEFL certificate in order to complete your work visa application, but you can also obtain it after you’ve secured a position. In fact, some teaching positions offer you TEFL course at a much cheaper price. So if you don’t have one already, don’t worry, you’ll be fine.
P.S. There are also many different kinds that are equivalent to TEFL, such as TESOL certificate, CELTA, Cert TESOL, Dip TESOL, those are big ones.
5. Can I teach in China without a degree?
A Bachelor’s degree is a must-have to teach English in China as it’s needed for the work z visa in China.
There might be some positions available for people without a degree due to the high demand, however, it’s not recommended to take the risk to teach in China without a work visa.
The good news is, there are countries hiring English teachers that don’t require you to have a Bachelor degree. For more detailed information, please check out our summaries of teaching abroad requirements.
6. Any other requirements for teaching English in China?
In order to obtain a legal work visa, you need to have a clean background check, a valid passport, and an updated curriculum vitae.
To recap, here are the basic requirements for teaching English in China:
- You need a Bachelor degree
- You need to be a passport holder of either United Kingdom, United States, Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand or South Africa
- A TEFL certificate is required for the work visa (but it can be obtained after the interview with the support of your employer)
- Teaching experience is not required but preferred
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