If you are planning on spending a decent length of time living in China, it is possible, and actually very easy, to supplement your funds by Teaching English as a Foreign Language. There are two options for this: firstly you can teach in person to groups, individuals or organisations. Secondly you can teach online via Skype. If you are not a native English speaker you can opt to teach your native language online, or if you feel your English is proficient enough, even though you are not a native speaker, you can undertake a qualification to teach English for non-native English Speakers. (Check out iTalki on how to teach via Skype).

Although technically if working in China you are supposed to have a working Visa, employers don't check and pay cash in hand. Finding an employer in Qufu is easy. Simply walk around town, go into any kindergarten, school, college, university campus or hotel, and you will have a job by the end of the day.

If you are staying at the Qufu Shaolin Kungfu School and intend to teach part time, you must speak to Joy beforehand in case any problems arise. When I asked if I would get in to any trouble for not having a working Visa, one of the translators simply told me that Joy knows the Police. If you're used to living in a developed democracy it might seem strange, but contacts here are worth 100 times any piece of paper, even if that piece of paper happens to be a legal requirement.

Rates for teaching English in Qufu (as of 2014) are around 100RMB an hour. Teaching salaries are relatively high in China as the demand is great, especially among the young learners whose parents will pay a fortune for their only child's education. (Thank you communist single child policy!) If you want to teach online, you can set your own price. Start low to entice clients while you gain experience and build positive feedback on your profile. If you work for a hotel you may be able to negotiate board and lodging instead of a salary. A friend of mine who also trained at the school went down this route as a way of having a night out the school and somewhere nice to stay at the weekend.

Other ways of finding clients in China: post messages on colleges / university campus notice boards. The students these days do have some disposable income, most of them study English and want to prepare as best they can for their exams. If you are staying at the kungfu school then it is likely you will going to the Qufu Hostel, speak to the locals there and sell your services. Speak to any Westerners you see who don't train at the school. It's like they are studying at the Qufu Normal University and will be able to give you advice on teaching English, either at the Uni or elsewhere.

Get Certified

You will find many jobs require the employee to hold a basic teaching qualification, this is called a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) certificate. This can be obtained by native and non-native English speakers. The course will give you an excellent foundation of how to actually teach English and a quick look on any online job board will confirm that employers require candidates to hold TEFL certification. I actually did my TEFL certification online while living at the Qufu Shaolin Kungfu School. A quick google search will throw up plenty of providers.

Experiences

I started teaching at a Kindergarten in Qufu around 3 months into my year long stay at the Qufu Shaolin Kungfu School. I taught for about 6 months before deciding that for the remainder of my time at the school I wanted to focus on the training. I taught every Wednesday and therefore I was having a day off from Basics, Forms and Sanda class.

This was perfect at the time because I was training for the Great Wall Marathon by running up to 20 miles on a supposed rest day, so the Wednesday out teaching was not only for the adventure of teaching kids in China, but also a day off training for my body to recover a little bit. The position came about via Joy (who runs the school). Her child attends a Kindergarten in town and they wanted a native English speaker to teach the children.... done!

The children at the kindergarten were incredibly well behaved. I was only once or twice left alone with the children, and only then for a few moments. The staff were incredibly good at controlling the children and having them 'repeat after me' or sit when I wanted them to pay attention to something new.

If you are thinking of teaching at a kindergarten in China ask questions such as:

"Will I be expected to manage the class alone?"

If the answer is yes, walk away.

"Do the staff speak English"

It is amazingly helpful to have someone in the class to translate if you want to play a game, split the children into groups etc.

"When and how will I be paid?"

I discovered that the Chinese are pretty good at taking advantage of people, if you let them!

"If I am required to extend my working hours, how much extra will I be paid?"

After a month or two at the Kindergarten I was told that I would now be required to stay an extra hour to make the classes longer and fit in another group. No problem I said, I have a contract that states I will be paid 100RBM per hour + 20RBM transport expenses, I thought. Come the end of the month for pay day and the fact that I'm now expecting more money is a complete surprise to the Kindergarten. Commence awkward conversations about being paid by the hour, how much I was expecting now and eventually having to compromise on a months salary.

"Will I be expected to attend events outside my usual working hours?"

The Kindergarten I worked at liked to put on performances at any and every opportunity. These were in the evenings or weekends and as a teacher I was expected to attend, and perform! In China the shows were less about getting the children to sing and dance / have fun, and more about the parents and members of staff showing off any talents. Everyone is expected to get involved. I don't mind playing Santa at the Christmas Bash, but I put my foot down when they wanted my friend and I to sing a West Life song for all the parents.

Lesson Plans

(you're welcome :-D)

Kindergarten / pre-school level

Kindergarten (pre-school) level TEFL semester long lesson plan

Animals kindergarten (pre-school) TEFL lesson plan

Colours kindergarten (pre-school) TEFL lesson plan

Feelings kindergarten (pre-school) TEFL lesson plan

Fruits kindergarten (pre-school) TEFL lesson plan

Health kindergarten (pre-school) TEFL lesson plan

Weather kindergarten (pre-school) TEFL lesson plan

Review existing classes - kindergarten (preschool) lesson plan