EDUCATION TIPS
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Time management tips help you establish a working planning schedule to plan for your students’ success.By using time management tips, you can manage to teach a lot in every single lesson – or at least every week.

There are many teachers out there who don’t teach quiet cooperative classrooms without distractions and interruptions. Perhaps you’re also one of them.

Many of these teachers have small children and pets to take care of. Some of these teachers even have other part time or full time jobs. Yet they still manage to succeed as teachers. The big question is: How do they maximize the short periods of time they do have to help their students succeed?

Teaching Under Tight Curriculum and Time Constraints

First, get organized so you can get some teaching done. Don’t just hope you will have the time once you’ve completed all your other tasks or taken care of other responsibilities.

It’s just as important to continually organize lessons as it is to use time efficiently. The way you plan lessons isn’t the only important thing. The most important thing is to set aside time for deciding what to teach and a new teacher system in place. New teachers who expect teaching to be easy don’t usually set aside enough time during their busy week for planning. When they sit down and decide what to teach, and feel stuck, they tend to give up and move on to something else.

Establish a Working Schedule

Busy teachers establish a working schedule on a regular basis either on their own or in teams. At first, it can be distracting especially by the events of the day. But after a few days, weeks and months, you will become conditioned whenever you sit to work.

Maximize Lesson Planning

Bring lessons to life by keeping a lesson notebook. This can of course, be either a looseleaf notebook or a spiral notebook where you keep notes in about a particular class. You can make notes about student performance during an activity, whether it was hard and what was hard about it. You can can also write down how students behaved and exactly what they were doing. When you open your textbooks and planning materials, you’ll have a better idea of what your students were capable of doing at the given moment and can bring your lessons to life!

Think Successfully

Make your time count by having an intention for success. Start by picking just three simple tasks for a particular class. By the end of the week, follow through to make it happen. At the same time, evaluate what worked, what didn’t and what’s next in terms of various areas of your instruction.

Avoid Distractions

As a new or veteran teacher, you will face distractions constantly. When the teaching isn’t going well, these distractions can be particularly enticing and lure you into putting the lessons away for a while. However, you can avoid even the most attractive distractions if you can find a way to totally commit to your work. Use time management tricks such as setting aside a time when you only speak with parents or hire a helper or send your kids out to do errands, if you find you can’t work because your children are constantly interrupting.

Have a System for Success

A system is just a plan made up of simple steps to follow in order to reach their instructional goals. Without a system, you will find yourself doing a lot of work without really getting anywhere.

Set the Intention to Succeed

Even if you had a lousy day teaching, you can still set their intentions for what you would like to have happen. For example, if you are trying to find successful tasks to stimulate your English language learners, and it just isn’t going well, find a quiet place to take a few deep breaths and let your minds clear. This works! Slowly, set the intention either in your head or out loud. By relaxing and staying focused on the task itself, you will immediately let go of thoughts of anything else that may center your mind. When they enter the classroom, keep that intention in your mind. Remind yourself of how much you are doing to succeed and how much you care about their students’ success.

Take the time to find time to plan without distractions funneling through your brain. You’ll be amazed at the amount of productivity you will gain when you are able to set and stick with a schedule despite tight curriculum and time constraints.

To download a template on time management tips and tricks, visit the New Teacher Resource Coaching Center at http://www.NewTeacherResourceCenter.com and click on “Join the Coaching Center.” When you do, you’ll be able to download a wealth of teaching resources, tip sheets and charts at your fingertips. Register for the mailing list at the center and when you do, you’ll receive a free e-book from the Teachers’ Diversity Coach called, “Taking Control of the Classroom” and a free weekly ezine full of tips and information.

Maintain positive expectations for student leadership goals.

Read all the self-help books and communication guides you like and you will find time and again the fact that we get what we expect, from ourselves and from others.

Maintain laser-guided focus on what you do want to happen. Make your spoken and nonverbal language clearly convey that you have absolute faith and conviction that the positive outcome you’ve discussed as a team will come to pass.

When you need to correct your course, remind yourself of the goal, adjust your approach, and set your sails once again for the shore, positive in your expectation that you will reach the point you desire.

Remember Others for developing loyalty in people.

If you are in a student leadership position, you are probably overworked and certainly underpaid, right?

You will build trust and loyalty among your people if you remember them and get to know them as individuals and not just members of the SGA or the student newspaper.

When people do speak to you, you need to remember what they say, so you can build your relationship with them.

When you talk to people, listen carefully to what they say. People reveal more that you might imagine. They will open up and tell you exactly what’s important to them.

All you need to do to cultivate relationships with them is to listen and remember what they’ve told you, and reference it in future conversations.

You’ll be amazed at how flattered people are that you remember them and how much more loyal they will be to you.

If you are a physics teacher, thinking that it is difficult to make your student like the subject, we suggest that you use toys during the class. These toys will make them enjoy the class more as they are playing and studying at the same time.

As the first and simple toy we would suggest for you, marble becomes a good idea to teach your students physics. Tell them about the concept of marbles game, that every action gives an equal and opposite reaction.

You can explain them that when the shooter collides with another marble, the shooter actually makes the marble move to the same direction the shooter was going to, even though the shooter has stopped running. It seems like the marble continues the shooter’s track. From the collision, the smaller marble will absorb the energy of the shooter as the larger marble. The energy pushes the marbles to move forward in the same direction.

Another toy, a yo-yo can lead your students into understanding on kinetic energy, angular momentum, and force. These scientific concepts are gained when the yo-yos descend and move in spiral. Let them examine how the toys work while playing them.

Talking about motion, you can also use Matchbox cars to explain the concept of inertia. You can place something small on top of the matchbox car roof, such as a match stick. Push the car until the stick falls from the roof. With this toy car you can also teach them another physical scientific concept. In this case, you need another toy car with different size. They will see how things with more mass will make larger impact as they gather momentum more quickly.

If you want to teach your students aerodynamics and gravity, you can firstly have them to make airplanes from origami (folding papers). These paper airplanes show how the shape and the balance between the body and the wings influence the ability to fly. In this case, they also learn how the actual plane flies. Those are some toys that you can use to teach physics. Teachers are supposed to be more active and creative to make the students interested in studying any subject, including physics.

Talking about physics, you are probably interested in any discussions on ray spectrum and any devices dealing with this subject. Thus you can read other articles of Lucien Lester on diode array spectrophotometer and raman spectrometers. Within those articles you can also find reviews on such spectrometers which you can take into consideration before you purchase one.

A master degree program online could be a good fit for the type of education you are interested in. A masters degree is one of the higher levels of education, depending on the area of study that you are focusing on. The master degree is achieved after students receive their bachelor degree. You will be unable to enroll in a master level program without your bachelor degree in hand already. For students, this type of degree is the completion of their education.

Some schools are now putting their masters programs on the web. This allows students to enroll in the school and attend courses through the web. The courses may be textbook or lecture based. The student simply logs into the website of the school to complete his or her assignments and to attend a virtual classroom rather than enrolling in a traditional school that requires their presence in the classroom.

There are several reasons why students are turning to this self study method. At the master degree level, many students are employed. They are unable to stop working to go back to school and therefore this master degree program online allows them to get the education that they need from the comfort of their home. Further, these programs are affordable, readily available and there are less stringent requirements on prerequisites for many courses.

Nevertheless, when a student does complete his or her master degree program online, assuming he or she went to an accredited school and program, he or she will have achieved an accredited degree that is recognized by employers and other schools as such. In effect, the student is able to get his or her degree from home at the same quality level that they would have received if they attended a traditional school. In general, there is no reason not to get education in this manner.

A Computer is the greatest machine that has ever been invented. The invention of computer changes our life forever because it makes our workload easier. Banking, shopping, connecting to other people, in medicine and even in education, this technology contributes a lot by boosting the knowledge of professionals across all ages. It makes the life of students in any level easier, and it also makes our children nowadays even wiser. As it is part of our daily lives, schools have included this as a subject to let the students be aware on how to use this machine properly.

Institutions are investing money to buy computers so that students can use it to enhance their knowledge, especially in Microsoft windows application, to create reports and other important data in offices and schools today. They also teach how to use the internet to make their research and studying fast and convenient. The internet offers a wide variety of reference materials, learning today has gone beyond the use of textbooks as the main source of knowledge. The new era introduces innovation that would simply outwit the primitive ways of learning.

In the classroom, computer aids teachers to make their teaching strategy more effective and reliable. They can show charts, videos and pictures which will help the students grasp and understand the topic vividly.

Computers with the help of the internet help people to study whenever and wherever they are through distance learning. Many online academies offer different types of courses from vocational to doctorate courses, any person can now earn a degree and become professional with the aid of this technology. Online courses are also convenient means for people to be educated without spending too much.

People can also learn by themselves over the internet, there are a lot of do-it-yourself sites and instructional videos which one can watch to learn things which will eventually open new doorways to other opportunities to make their lives more meaningful and productive.

The internet is a vast ocean of information which can help not just the young ones but also the young at hearts to have knowledge and information necessary to cope up with the fast-paced life that we have today. Computers help people get through with life hassle and bustle free. The information that is in this technology is unlimited and free for everybody; however, there are some who abused this for their own advantage. It is important to use the information for the good of all mankind to benefit even the next generation.

To enhance your kid’s knowledge about computer and its application, buy them refurbished desktop computers. This type of computers including off lease laptops will give them a functional machine which they can use everyday.

You can now change the visual perceptions of your classroom with the help of the interactive whiteboard and specially prepared content available for teachers. Lectures have come a long way from the days of the blackboard and chalk and this new platform is an example of the limitless powers of personalization that can give a new edge to any course. Once your students get a taste of the brand new world that would open up for them, their interests in studies could change completely for the positive. The main purpose of such boards is to make the process of learning fun and exciting, a concept that any teacher would love to implement in their lesson plans.

If you are confused about how to teach the complex principles and theorems of mathematics to your class, the new age designs of smartboard math could end up being the solution to all your problems. Specially created flash animation based content, also known as mini movies are available for all grades of students. You can describe angles and line segments for basic geometry and use innovative animations to deal with the concept of area and perimeter. The eager students are more likely to absorb the content through such presentations as compared to simple textbook notes.

You can also deal with lots of other student based curriculum with the boards. The entire platform is based on touch gestures and response, so you can let your students lead the class along. Participation in the lectures would lead to more frequent responses from your students and help them build on their fundamentals more strongly. The several mini teacher movie packs that are available for purchase across various online portals contain a lot of enriched content that include printed teacher guides and assessment sheets from your students. Such smartboard activity can help make each lesson come alive in its own unique way during demonstration.

Apart from the different theories and lesson plans that have been prepared by various teachers for smartboard math, you can tackle different subjects with your board. Historical lectures and events can be recreated like never before through interactive diagrams. Your students are sure to fall in love with each stage of the lecture and enjoy learning about the things being taught in class. Science based lessons are even easier with such boards as you can show the practical side of experiments for your students and clear any sort of doubt that they might have on the subject.

These boards can help you bring back the popularity into studies as your students would want to know more through such techniques in every lesson. You can be free from the hassles of preparing the content yourself and use the pre configured material to run perfectly based on your inputs. Once you let them see the more positive side of learning, you can expect better results and improved performance from each and every student. The concepts taught might still be the same, but you can utilize the potential of the interactive whiteboard to create an entirely new world in your classroom.

The following is a long detailed list of practical tips and advice about finding a job teaching English as a second language (esl) in China. I’m currently working as an English teacher in China and have been for 1 year. The following list is comprised of things I learned from my personal experience and from talking to other teachers. It’s sure to be useful for anyone looking to start their adventure as a teacher.

I can’t say from personal experience but I’m sure most of the items on this list would apply to finding esl teaching jobs in other countries as well.

If you have decided to teach then you’re in for quite the experience. Hopefully this list will help make that experience a great one!

Keep in mind while reading this, that it may seem like a negative, difficult process full of trouble but that’s only because this article is attempting to provide you with information helping you prevent any trouble you can possibly come across. Chances are, your experience will be a good one, where you work low hours with relatively high pay in an amazing culture rich country so don’t let all these potential problems discourage you.

Your Qualifications

Before applying for jobs it’s important to know what employees are looking for in ESL teachers, and to ensure you have all the necessary qualifications ready to get the type of position you want. Your qualifications will also often determine what kind of visa you will be able to get. There’s really only 6 things employers look at when it comes to getting a teaching job, they are as follows.

1. Your native country - Most schools only hire from The USA, Canada, Australia, The UK, and New Zealand, although I have seen a couple teachers from the Philippines and Russia as well.
2. Your appearance - Although it’s unfortunate, when it comes to getting an ESL job in China people are sometimes discriminated by their race and color. Even if you were born in Canada if you’re from Asian decent it can be very difficult to get a job as they want teachers who ‘look’ like they are from foreign countries. It can also be harder for people of darker skin colors as a bit of racism is still prevalent in smaller towns in China but if you stick to the bigger cities with more modern mindsets you should have no trouble.
3. Your age – While I did have 2 older friends who were in their 50′s and 60′s that were teaching in my first location, they were were forced to work for a few thousand RMB less than younger teachers in the same area because most schools want their teachers from 20-30 years old.
4. Teaching Certificate – Most schools want to hire people with teaching certificates but if you have a 4 year degree you will still be able to get a job without one. Other teachers however will most likely have a preference over you. Most of the high paying jobs ask for both degrees and ESL certificates. I personally got a TESOL certificate before coming to China and it was a requirement for the job that I initially got. If you do decide to get a certificate I recommend taking the cheapest quickest course possible. From what I’ve heard people who have taken 20 hour TESOL courses get the exact same preference as those who have taken 120 hour course. I think the average price for a TESOL course is a little over $1000. The following certificates are all acronyms that are seen as basically the same from employers (TESOL, TEFL, ESL)
5. Degree – This is one thing I don’t have, (I instead have a 2 year diploma in video game design), and it has made things very difficult for me here in China. The big attraction for coming to China was that you didn’t need a degree to get a working visa, a TESOL certificate was more than enough. After arriving here however I was told there was a new policy and now 4 year degrees are required in most locations. If you have a 4 year degree then you don’t need to worry, but if not make sure to read the section of Visas below for more info.
6. Experience – And lastly they look at your experience. Obviously the more the better. Don’t be discouraged however if jobs boast they require >1 teaching experience… apply for them anyway, you’ll often be considered despite not meeting the requirements.

If you have your heart set on English teaching and you don’t fit into the ideal of the above categories than please don’t let it discourage you. You should still try to get a teaching job, but ensure your employer knows about all your qualifications beforehand and I recommend you sign a contract and get a working visa before you leave your country, just in case.

Starting the job hunt

• Job postings

When looking for jobs if you don’t have a direct connection to a school then your best resource is going to be the internet.

The absolute best website that I have found for looking for jobs, which helped me get the job I have now is echinacities.com. This website is far superior to any others I have found on the subject. Not only can you search through tons of new jobs, in the specific areas of china you want to work in, but you can also read tons of detailed information about the specific cities to get an idea of what it would be like to travel, or live there.

Other sites that come highly recommended are eslcafe.com and seriousteachers.com take a look at all 3 to improve your chances of finding a great position.

• Where to teach?

China is absolutely massive, and your experience of the country may be quite different from one location to another so it’s really important to research different cities before accepting a job to ensure it fits the kind of place you want to live in. Some cities are beautiful, some are ugly, some are really crowded, some are peaceful, some have great public transportation, and some don’t.

Chinas climate varies a whole lot from the south to the north and a lot of the mid temperature regions of china don’t have a lot of heating so keep that in mind for the winter months. Big cities compared to small ones will have a wide range of differences from everything to food choices to how foreigners are treated. You might also want a job in a location that makes it easy to travel to other popular destinations around the country during your off times.

After asking other foreigners my Chinese friends and doing a little reading about the different cities myself I found the following 4 areas seemed the nicest to find jobs in.

Foshan – Guangdong province

Kunming – Yunnan province

Chengdu – Sichuan province

Hangzhou – Zhejiang province

Here’s a little list of other places that were recommended to me that you may want to check out. They didn’t sound quite as nice to me when I read about them but you might have different personal preferences.

Dali, Chongqing, Xian, Nanjing, Sanya

You could always go to work in the giant cities like Beijing and Shanghai as well, but I wouldn’t recommend them as much if you want to get the real Chinese experience that the smaller or middle sized cities provide.

My 2nd teaching job to me to Yangshuo which is like a subdivision of Guilin, it’s an incredible beautiful place. It was a wonderful place to visit and a whole lot of fun but I literally couldn’t save a single RMB here as the salaries are very low in this area, and the fact that it’s quite touristy makes the prices a little high.

The truth is despite my suggestions each of these places are BIG and your experience is going to change depending on where you are in the city and what school you work for. Check the section entitled School for more tips on finding the right school and read the city guides, on eChinaCities to make your own opinions of what cities you find sound the most appealing.

Recruiters

So you have a general idea what kind of place you’d like to work, and maybe you’ve posted a resume online or replied to a job posting or two. Chances are shortly after you’ll start getting emails from recruiters.

Teaching positions are in such demand in China that the schools will often look to professional recruiters to help fill the positions. These are almost always Chinese people who speak pretty good English and have connections to many schools across the country. Sometimes recruiters are part of a large organization that fill jobs for thousands of schools.

Some people warn to avoid recruiters as you make less money with them due to their commission fees, but in my experience they’ve been very helpful in helping me find a good school and I can say at my current position at least I am being paid the exact same as the people who didn’t use a recruiter to find the job.

My recommendation is to talk to a recruiter that has to fill jobs for many schools but then lay out exactly what you want in terms of pay and hours and locations. Be very specific and ask for the best. They will most likely tell you it will be hard for them to find you a job, but when a good one does come up it will come to you first, and the less appealing jobs will go to those with more relaxed requirements.

It’s also fine to skip recruiters all together and just talk directly to the school.

The School

Your experience of China depends largely on what city you’re in, but it also greatly depends on what school you work for. I’ve heard stories about schools that sound amazing, and terrible stories about schools that cheat foreigners out of their money.

Unfortunately it’s a little difficult to see what a school is like before actually coming to the country. My number 1 tip when it comes to finding the right school to work in is to never go work at a school before talking with teachers who already currently work there. Ask them directly about their experience with the school, if they were lied to about anything, how the employees are treated, what the surrounding area is like, what the apartments are like, if they ran into any expenses they weren’t told about, and generally if they can tell you anything of value to help you make your decision.

There are 2 main types of schools you’ll find in China: Government schools and Private training schools. I’ve only worked at private schools myself but from what I hear from others government schools are a bit stressful. They will usually have 30-40 students (as compared to around 10 in private schools) they usually don’t pay quite enough to make it worth it and you usually have to work far more hours. In a private school on the other hand you’ll only work at times when the government schools are not running, namely nights and weekends.

Make sure you do plenty of research into what kind of money you should be making and what kind of hours you should be working based on your location. Wages and living expenses are different everywhere but in most mid sized cities wages range from 5000-8500 RMB for a 15-25 hour a week position. In the bigger cities like Beijing and Shanghai you’ll make more but your cost of living will also be higher.

All schools should also provide you with an apartment or should provide you with a monthly apartment payment that covers the cost. My first job provided me with 1500RMB a month (on top of my salary) for my apartment, and my second job simply provides me with a free apartment. When deciding on a school it’s also important to ask where the apartment is in relationship to the school. Sometimes it will be a convenient 5 minute walk, and in other cases a time consuming 30 minute bus ride. If they are providing you with an apartment it should be fully furnished and you should ask to see pictures of it before accepting it to ensure it’s what you want.

On top of the apartment many schools will also offer you round trip airfare reimbursement to and from China. Make sure it’s a reasonable amount. It is normal however for this to only be paid to you upon completion of an entire year of teaching.

Before accepting a position make sure to ask specific specific specific details about the location you’ll be working in. The job may technically be in the city you’ve been wanting to work in, but the school itself could be on the outskirts of the town with nothing around, or in a barren industrial area without even a single point of interest within walking distance.

Schools often have multiple branches, and after signing you up under the pretense you’ll be working at one branch they’ll move you to another one in a nearby city claiming that it was necessary and acting as if they didn’t expect it to be a problem. This doesn’t happen often, but it doesn’t hurt to ask just to be safe.

The Interview

After deciding on a location, finding a job that pays well and has low hours and sending your qualification in to the school or the recruiter you’ll probably do a phone or skype interview.

(If you don’t know what skype is look into it. It’s an internet communication service that can be used to call any phone in the world for a very cheap price and on top of that it’s completely free if you call skype to skype. )

The interviews are generally pretty easy from my own experience and what I’ve heard from other teachers. The employers mainly want to ensure you speak native level English. The person interviewing you will often be Chinese and may not have the best English so ensure you speak slower and more clearly than you would normally. This will make them comfortable talking with you and also give them confidence that you will be able to explain things clearly and slowly to your students as well.

The things employers in China worry about the most are foreign teachers that simply take a teaching job as a means to travel China without any real interest in teaching. They often see foreigners as unprofessional crazy party animals that can’t be trusted to show up to work on a regular basis or that will go home and abandon the school at the first sign of difficulty. Put their mind at ease by expressing your love for China and your professional, enthusiastic mentally towards teaching.

Oh… and if they ask you if you like children make sure you say yes!;)

The Contract

After the interview the next step will be to sign the contract. The friendliness you’ve been hearing from the school or recruiter will be out the window in this document as some strict rules will be laid out.

Most schools require teachers to sign a 1 year contract. If you look around a bit or negotiate though you can also find 6 month contracts which in my opinion is a much more fitting block of time.

Besides your pay and hours the contract will lay out everything from details about your apartment, to your duties as a teacher, to how and when you’ll be paid, to the punishment for breaking the contract.

Ensure that everything you talked about with the school is in writing in the contract. This includes overtime, airfare reimbursement, details of your apartment (including how its furnished), and anything else you agreed upon. If you agreed on something but its not in the contract don’t expect it to be fulfilled.

Keep in mind when reading the contract that some will say 20 hours a week and some will say 20 classes a week. Ensure you know how long each class is because they usually range from 45 minutes to 90 minutes which makes a huge difference.

Schools that have had bad experiences with foreign teachers in the past may set up their contracts with a lot of little catches. Some schools will deduct a percentage of your monthly pay as a deposit which they will keep if you break the contract in any way. Some will have large penalties for taking sick days. Some will throw in a line about your first month being a trial in which you only earn 60% of your normal salary. Ensure you carefully read and understand any of these clauses before you agree to them and generally jump all over ANYTHING that sounds suspicious or too vague because it’s probably written that way for a reason. Also be weary if you read something that says “The teacher will also be responsible for participating in unpaid promotional activities for the school.” This can be anything from simply handing out flyers to doing weekly time consuming English corners to putting on shows in public.

If there’s anything that sounds too unreasonable in the contract feel free to negotiate for it to be removed. In China schools are often quite desperate to get teachers quickly and will agree to give you special terms simply so they don’t lose you as a teacher.

If possible ask for a contract where you are paid every 2 weeks or at the end of every month. Most contracts will pay you on the 15th of the following month. They do this so that if you are unhappy and you want to leave before your contract is over you have to work 15 days for free before getting your previous month’s paycheck.

Having said all this, keep in mind that contracts don’t mean all that much. They can be broken and often are in little ways by the school, and there’s usually nothing you can do about it. It would obviously be incredibly difficult to sue a company in China and the schools know this. The contracts are basically just tools for you to use as leverage after arriving in the job. Having said this, most jobs do honor their contracts because they want to keep their teachers as happy as possible, so don’t let it worry you too much.

The Visa

Besides your typical tourist (L) visa there are 2 other types of visas you should be concerned with when it comes to teaching in China. The business (F) visa and the working (Z) visa.

Technically the only visa that it is legal to work in China with is the Z working visa. About a year ago it was well known that you can get one a working visa without a degree, even a TESOL certificate would be enough, but recently however it’s been getting more and more difficult, and now it appears a 4 year degree is necessary to get one. Even with this requirement I know it’s still possible to get a Z working visa without a degree, but this is usually only possible for schools with an ‘inside connection’ and a bit of extra money to pay.

While the Z visa is the only legal visa for working in China, about half the teacher I’ve met instead work with an F business visa. The reason for this is that F visas are far easier for schools to get and have basically no requirements to meet for their issuance. In my time in China I’ve only met 1 teacher that had to leave his job because of trouble with the police while teaching on a business visa… as the police usually don’t bother with such matters but it’s still a risk and will sometimes limit the schools you can work at to those in smaller cities.

As I said before I strongly recommend you find a school that is willing to provide you with a Z working visa BEFORE you leave your home country. This can be quite hard to find but it’s the only safe (and legal) option when it comes to teaching in China. Without this, schools can do whatever they want after you arrive and you’ll really have no choice but to accept it or to try to find another school. Make no mistake schools will absolutely lie to you about getting you a Z working visa then claim there has been a new policy recently implemented that prevents them from fulfilling their promise. Be safe, and get the visa first.

If you find a good looking job with the catch that they will only provide you with an F business visa should you take it? If you have the chance to get a Z working visa than take it, but if you can’t and you want to work in China anyway I’d say it’s worth the risk to work on a business visa because usually even in the rare case you are caught, the police will just force you to stop working for the school.

If you ever find the need to get your own business visa the easiest way to do it is to go to a company called Forever Bright Trading Limited in Hong Kong. This company will provide you a business visa in a few hours without the need for any of the usually required documents. You simply need to fill out an application and pay a bit of money. Their website can be found here.

Final Thoughts

Finding a job to work in another country can be an intimidating thing full of many unknowns and confusion but I hope this article does a good job of preparing you for what to expect and what to do every step of the way. I definitely wish I had learned many of the things I shared here before I came to China in the beginning as it would have helped a lot!

Teaching in China has been a very rewarding experience for me and if you’ve read this far you’re probably getting ready to embark on a similar adventure yourself. Feel free to post any questions in the comments or send them to me through the contact form and I’ll try my best to help!

Good luck!

One of the hardest skills for an English language learner to acquire is deeper comprehension. Many academic texts assume students have the cultural, social and textual knowledge to understand the “gist” of the text.

The best way that teachers can cope with this problem is by enhancing the background knowledge of ELLs. Background knowledge includes the background experiences and knowledge that a student brings to classroom learning. This teaching tip goes for all students, but is especially important for English language learners who often have to struggle with other elements of understanding such as social and cultural understanding that gets in the way as they are developing their academic language.

Often, mother tongue interference complicates the reading process for ESL students. Additionally, English language learners tend to overlook textual clues and guess wildly at the meaning of a passage and all too often, this lowers their confidence.

When teachers are able to successfully tap into the visual and physical experiences, they will have a better chance at reinforcing meaning. For example, smells are powerful memory riggers and are a great way to add direct experience to the virtual experience of reading.

Teachers need to elicit what ELLs already know as this will also help raise their confidence levels. It’s not that ELLs don’t have background knowledge – they have it in another language.

As you think about what your students know, consider physical or visual items that could get them on the same page with you. Also, connect an item that is already familiar to them to a new way of using it. Now, watch your students engage and remember more of your lesson!

This article is only part of a presentation regularly offered by Dorit Sasson as part of her in-service training programs for teachers of English language learners. For more information about speaking engagements and in-service, contact Dorit Sasson at sassondorit@gmail.com or visit the Teachers’ Diversity Coach, at http://www.DoritSasson.com and click on the “speaking” page.