We offer a guaranteed job with a competitive salary, allowing you the opportunity to experience life as a TEFL teacher in China with support throughout, making things easier and less stressful for you as you get started teaching in a new country. You’ll be something of an expert on your local province after nearly a year of being immersed in its culture, and will be able to save money while having an exciting experience. 

Upon completion of your placement, you’ll be an experienced and certified teacher. You’ll be very comfortable standing in front of a classroom, and generally speaking in public, by the time the programme ends. This experience combined with the TESOL qualification you’ll attain will put you in very good stead to continue in TEFL jobs in China or elsewhere.

 Even if you choose a non-teaching career path after the programme, your experience and new-found understanding of China will be of great importance in a range of careers, as will the countless skills you develop here!

This is an exciting opportunity to experience something totally different and embrace the unexpected. You’re guaranteed to have myriad new experiences in China, with each day throwing something new your way.

• You’ll receive a minimum monthly salary of 10,000 RMB, which is just over £1000

• Your accommodation will be provided as part of the programme, so you don’t need to budget for this or for utilities

• Your meals will also be provided other than during the holidays (1 to 2 months of your time here), so you can keep food spending low. You will likely want to budget for extra spending on food over weekends etc., but should generally spend no more than 500RMB/£50 on a full weekend of eating away from the school, and it would only be that high if you’re really splashing out – you could eat for much closer to £10 per day if you wish.

• The amount that you save will depend on your spending habits, but we estimate that you could save at least £300 per month of work without watching your spending much, and could save significantly more if you tried to. Our estimates don’t account for extravagant purchases like expensive clothing or tech, though – or travel further afield on weekends. 

China and its culture

We know from speaking to thousands of you at university events that there’s often apprehension around the idea of going to China, but everyone who joins us here falls in love with it! Why?:

China is a captivating country with stunning landscapes, bustling modern cities, diverse cultures, and friendly people. It offers you the opportunity to step beyond Western norms and challenge your perspective in a very safe environment.

One of the best ways to experience China is through its food! Chinese cuisine is one of the richest and most varied cuisines in the world, with every region and province having their own style of cooking, and many cities having their own famous dish. In Hunan and Sichuan, you can expect a lot of spice, while in Yunnan there are lots of mushrooms in dishes and insects eaten as street food. Beijing food has lots of sesame paste, dark soy paste, and less rice (more noodles) than the south, while the food in Guangdong uses lots of ginger, garlic, sugar, and soy sauce.

Though the English level in China is lower compared to some of Asia’s backpacker hotspots, this offers an exciting opportunity for you to truly immerse yourself in the language and culture, providing a very different experience to typical travel for anglophones – although translation apps mean you can get by without speaking Mandarin when you arrive too!

Travel

On your weekends, you can see Hunan’s famous sites such as Zhangjiajie and Furong, as well as its not-so-famous, but still fun and fascinating, sites (the staff at your school will have lots of recommendations). During your holidays you’ll have plenty of time to visit some further afield sites, and China has plenty to offer! You can visit the towering mountains of Tibet (easier to do by staying within western Yunnan or Sichuan), experience the metropolis of Shanghai, visit deserts or tropical beaches, and of course visit the Great Wall of China – it’s not often you get the chance to visit one of the seven wonders of the (modern) world. In the winter you can also look at skiing in Jilin or Heilongjiang, head to Harbin’s annual ice festival, or even head to Mohe for a chance to see the northern lights… and experience Chinese New Year!

Your Gotoco coordinators have lots of experience travelling in China and will be more than happy to give you travel advice, and will even share their China Travel Guide before you get here. Besides, once you’ve been on a programme in China for a few weeks you’ll feel a lot more confident navigating travel here.

Your TESOL certification along with your teaching experience will allow you to go on to seek teaching jobs in many countries around the world! You can earn good salaries teaching in-person in many regions (and many of our participants have done so!) or also online around further studies or work back home – or around travel if you want to try out being a digital nomad. 

This programme sets you up especially well to continue with jobs in China, one of the biggest TEFL markets in the world. Lots of jobs in China are looking for some experience and TESOL certification, so once you’ve completed the programme you’ll be exactly the candidate they’re looking for.

As well as opening doors for English teaching, the TEFL qualification and your experience can open doors to work as a teaching assistant in the UK, and boost your application to do a PGCE if you want to go on to become a teacher in UK schools. If you want to go down this route, we recommend looking at Teach First, and they’ll fast-track your application if you show you’ve done a programme with us – just ask us for the confirmation code that you’ll need. 

Even if you decide that a year of teaching is enough for you, having a TEFL qualification and the programme experience will be a big boost to your CV! Teaching experience displays many skills to employers, particularly public speaking and confidence, as well as an ability to work on and implement a plan. Spending an extended period abroad suggests a high level of independence and open-mindedness, along with the ability to work with a range of people from different backgrounds.

Teaching abroad can also open up many other doors and career opportunities outside of schools. Long-time friends of Gotoco have leveraged their TEFL jobs to become full-time travel writers, work in Tokyo’s tech industry, and even set up their own businesses. An expat bar in Beijing, Bangkok or Ho Chi Minh isn’t just good fun, it’s also a great place to casually network!

Most of our participants join us without knowing a word of Mandarin/Chinese – and you don’t need to know any to join the programme. You won’t be expected to use any Chinese in your English classes and there’ll be staff on hand at your school to help you with most things. When you’re out and about you can get by using translation apps and lots of gestures.

With that said, you should seize this opportunity to learn the language, and we’ll provide you with support to do so. You certainly won’t leave here fluent in Mandarin, but should be able to navigate daily life – and could be conversational if you really apply yourself. If you’d like to start learning before arriving then you may wish to try the apps Hello Chinese, Du Chinese, or Super Chinese, or if you’re particularly keen then set up some online classes on websites like Preply or italki!