A city over 3,000 years old, even as it grows Beijing retains a strong sense of its traditional heritage. In China’s contemporary capital, skyscrapers rub elbows with ancient shrines and temples. Sharp-suited businessmen and expatriates in Beijing clamor for taxicabs, coffee in hand, while old men sit outside their family bungalows drinking beer and playing chess. It is a city of contrasts, and a city that is hungry for English instruction. Now is an excellent time to become TEFL certified and begin looking for work in Beijing teaching English.
The city of Beijing, containing a staggering 17.5 million residents, is in the midst of a mad rush to modernize. Mixing and matching the past with the present, the wide boulevards of “new” Beijing have largely overtaken the narrow alleyways, or hutongs, that once wound and wriggled their way through the capital. In Beijing, imperial treasures, epic palaces, and a sleek neon-lit cityscape coexist to create a uniquely appealing blend of cultures.
Many garden oases provide a place for shade and relaxation in the city. Used also for sports, dancing, recreation and meditation, these green spaces are filled with locals looking to unwind from a day spent navigating the urban landscape. The Lama Temple, in Dongcheng, is one of the most important temples and also one of the most stirring places in Beijing. Visited each day by throngs of devotees, its courtyards are nevertheless filled with a sublime and irrefutable silence.
The vitality of Beijing begins in the center, in the Dongcheng district. Here lies Tiananmen Square, the epicenter of Mao’s kingdom, and the Forbidden City, home to the Imperial Court during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Dually impressive in their vastness, both offer a respite from the outside world and encourage moments of inward reflection. They serve as monuments to time and also to spirit of the Chinese people- as an English teacher in Beijing, you will have the chance to discover and fully appreciate ancient Chinese customs and traditions.
Demand is currently very high for native English teachers in China. Due to a lower cost of living in China, and a customary provision of free accommodation, your potential to save is very high. A typical contract will provide you with airfare reimbursement, free housing or a housing subsidy, and a salary of 4000-6000 RMB per month (600-800 USD). This is a very nice standard of living and China with the ability to save 30-50% of your wages.
Teaching work in China tends to be concentrated within the big cities (there are over 100 with one million residents or more)—Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and countless others — though positions can also be found in schools throughout the country, even in the rural northwest.
With a TEFL certification you will be qualified to teach students of a variety of ages and proficiencies, from those looking to improve their business English to kindergarteners encountering the language for the first time. Who and where you teach is up to you!
Obtaining your TEFL certification through the International TEFL Academy will prepare you for a life-changing adventure in Beijing, Shanghai, or anywhere around the globe.
Speak with an advisor about our online TEFL course as well as our on-site TEFL classes in Asia and throughout the world.
