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Collected below are some questions that previous applicants and teachers have asked about teaching and living in China. While you might not have any of these specific questions, the answers provided here provide a good introduction to working with Aston and living in China. Since this page is a bit on the lengthy side, the questions have been divided into the following categories: Teaching, Work Procedures, and Living. Feel free to skip directly to the topics and questions most relevant for you.
Aston Schools provide help to teachers through initial orientation and on-going support. Orientation includes teacher training and information on living in China. Managers and teacher trainers may schedule a time with you to sit in on your class to give you ideas on how you can make your job easier and help your students learn. Aston has teacher trainers experienced in the specific needs of Chinese students to help you throughout your time here.
We have a curriculum and textbooks in place that we require teachers to follow at a set pace to ensure consistency and satisfy the demands of the parents. The style of presentation, however, is left up to the teacher. Teachers write lesson plans adding their own activities or additional material as they see fit to complement the lesson. We encourage a personal approach to teaching rather than straight "textbook" study.
Yes. At this time our Education Department, has collected sample plans for almost every lesson. There are also many teachers who have been here for a while and are familiar with most of the books to help newcomers with ideas. Schools have extra material in the form of idea books, activity resources and such but the amount depends on the size and age of the school. Aston Schools use a variety of textbooks, and classes are organized by English ability, not age.
Teachers are required to write out lesson plans to maintain quality, keep attendance records so that absent students are contacted, keep records of on-going assessment so parents can follow progress, and write a short class follow-up in the event a substitute teacher is required. While Aston schools do have strict curriculum and procedures you'll be expected to follow, we also encourage teachers to bring their own teaching style and ideas to every class.
China has not developed very far in this area. All of our schools have computers and Internet for the teachers. While all our schools also have additional teaching materials such as posters, activity/idea books, games, toys for young learners, balls, flash cards, and other odds and ends--the amount may vary according to the school. Visual aids are available to help with younger students and each school will have a limited selection of supplementary texts.
Technology is slowly making its way into the Chinese classroom but for now the expense to provide them to all teachers in China is prohibitive. TVs, DVD machines, and tape players may be available in your school and when used need to be integrated into clear lesson objectives.
All Aston schools try to have what our teachers need and are open to the suggestions from the staff on obtaining more items. If you know of something that would benefit the students then please ask the Location Manager.
You'll be assigned a combination of different levels. Since Aston schools have 14 levels of instruction for children and 9 levels for adults, its safe to bet that you'll teach beginners, intermediate, and advanced students. You will not, however, have these various abilities in one class.
The answer to this question depends heavily on the type of contract you decide to sign. For more info on the different contract packages we offer, please click here.
For example, a 25-hour teacher's schedule might look like this:
Saturday - Up to 8 hours of classroom time - anytime from 8:00 AM to 7:00 PM teaching kids from 6 to 17 years old. Classes are two hours with a break in the middle and time for lunch. Lower levels are taught by a Western teacher and a Chinese Teacher.
Sunday - Same as Saturday.
Monday, Wednesday, and Friday OR Tuesday and Thursday - One class of adults in the morning. One or two classes in the late afternoon.
Mon-Wed-Fri adult classes are usually 2 hours, while Tue-Thu classes are usually 1.5 hours.
A 15 hour teacher might have a Saturday and Sunday schedule similar to that described above with an English Corner on one day during the week.
A 20 hour teacher would have a Saturday and Sunday similar to the schedule described above as well as one Tue-Thu adult class or a full afternoon of classes on Wednesday.
The above examples are not rigid rules; each school may vary schedules slightly depending on local market needs. Teaching schedules are set by the Location Manager so any scheduling requests such as certain days off or vacation time are made with the school. Teachers may be scheduled for a substitution class, an outside company class, or other events such as English Corners to fulfill contract hour requirements.
Classes are limited to 18 students for kids and 16 for adults. There are occasional emergency situations when you might have 19 kids but these are rare.
Course material and development go through the Education Department and your manager or teacher trainer. There are procedures in place for this, which your manager can elaborate on.
Yes. Once your application is successful we mutually agree on a city before you commit to teaching at Aston and sign a contract. You are then put in direct contact with the location manager who takes over answering your questions.
Technically we are supposed to discourage private tutoring but as long as it doesn't interfere with your schedule most of the schools don't mind this. Any teaching for other training schools or companies would need the express written consent of your manager. The amount of overtime available within your school will vary according to school and season.
We normally promote from in-house staff. Depending on your qualifications and ability to adjust to living and working in China you may be able to move into a management position. A Location Support Officer would teach 15 hours a week and also have 15 hours a week of office duties including promotional work and interviewing prospective students. In a city where the school is growing very quickly or has multiple locations there would be a need for a City Manager who would not teach classes but would be directing all of the activities of the schools.
There are also possibilities for positions as teacher trainers in a city or in the Head Office if you have specific talents that Aston is looking for.
RMB stands for Renminbi and it is the same thing as "Yuan". These are the Chinese names for the currency in use.
At this writing 7.5 Chinese RMB is worth approximately 1 US dollar. Although the Yuan is slowly appreciating against the dollar the economy is stable in China and should not change very much over a 1 year period. The Bank of China is usually the best place to exchange money because there is generally a low fee.
They are all different depending on the city. They are typical Chinese apartments slightly above the norm. Some are more spacious than others and some are more modern. You can talk to the City manager for your school for more specific details.
They are 2 bedroom, shared apartments. Apartments are generally within walking distance to the school, and in safe neighborhoods.
We ask applicants their preference (smoking/non; male/female; old/young) and assign from there unless you specifically request a person you know.
Your school will act as an intermediary for you concerning repairs, utility payments and basic fitting out of the apartment. It is important to remember that people in China live very quietly in their homes and also go to bed early by western standards. We need to be courteous to our neighbors.
All you need to open a bank account is your passport. The staff at your school can go with you to the bank to help you fill out the application form.
Transferring money was difficult in the past but things are changing fast. You can find Western Union at the China Post office and also at the Agricultural Bank. The staff at your school can go with you to help you fill out the application form.
If you do a majority of your cooking at home, staying away from exotic foreign foods that carry heavy imported prices (like spaghetti and Campbell's soup), and eating out three or four times a week, you can expect to spend no more than 800 to 1500 RMB a month.
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