UoS Careers and Employability Service logo

Graduate case studies

Graduate case studies
← back to search results
Helena - 
ESL Primary School Teacher

Even though many of our graduates will have progressed in their careers since completing a case study, they are still of interest to students who wish to gain an understanding of the world of work.

About the job

Main responsibilities

My main responsibilities include making English learning personalised and fun, improving the confidence of students and always trying to keep English the main language of the class room. As my classes are all Grade 1 (ages six and seven) a lot of my job includes classroom management making English engaging, as they will go on to study it for many years in school.

Typical day

I live in an apartment with two other foreign teachers so we normally get up around the same time to have a cup of tea and chat about the day ahead. I have around four classes a day but they're not always back to back, so I normally sit in my booth in the staff room so I'm available to speak to students or help other teachers with marking etc. I teach two lesson plans per week which involve songs, short role plays, finger puppets and team games. The Chinese teachers often invite me out in the evening so we play badminton, go to yoga or have dinner. I've also recently joined the gym nearby which is a really nice place to go to wind down. In the evenings I go out for dinner with my house mates or we cook at home.

What do I enjoy about my job?

I really love that we are encouraged to be the 'fun' lesson. Chinese students chant, write and listen all day so my lessons are an opportunity for them to use fun materials like masks, puppets and rewards in order to coax them in to speaking English. We sing a lot of songs and do a lot of simple role play work and it's really rewarding to see these methods bring kids out of their shells and get them speaking English.

Challenging aspects

The language barrier is pretty tricky, especially seeing as I teach such young kids. Very quickly, though, you adapt your teaching style to the age you are presented with. I use examples on the over head projector, role plays and actions to get ideas across. Very quickly I taught simple phrases like 'stand up' 'sit down' 'write' 'read' which really help. I normally have a Chinese teaching assistant in the room but when they are absent, it's handy to have the confidence and those English key words laid down. It's in times like this when your reward and punishment system come into practice too - laying these down in the first lesson is vital to not only keep control, but also to keep a positive learning environment.

Why did this area of work appeal to me?

I've always loved kids and this program is a great way to get some real teaching experience. I'm still not sure of my career path, but teaching is something I've considered, and even if it doesn't end up being for me, I'll pick up a lot of transferable skills and experience along the way. I also really wanted to travel straight after leaving university. As flights are covered as part of the contract, it meant I could go straight into a job in a new country when I left education.

Skills/qualifications I use in my job?

For the summer program I needed no qualifications, although any public speaking and past work experience always helps the application process. For the year long program I needed a 60 hour TEFL which was included in the package fee. In terms of skills the main ones are enthusiasm, being able to think on your feet and patience.

Training I receive as part of my job

You complete your online TEFL course whilst in the UK and then the first two weeks of your trip to China are spent training in Beijing (accommodation and food here are covered by the package fee). This involves a TEFL training day, optional Mandarin lessons and a trip to the Great Wall. The main bulk of this fortnight though is spent in schools in the suburbs of Beijing where you are paired up with another foreign teacher and asked to teach three lessons a day to students there in order to practice and learn by doing. A few of these lessons are observed and you will be given constructive feedback. At the end of these two weeks you will receive your TEFL certificate and then go off to whichever province you have been assigned to.


Career information

Brief history since leaving University

I graduated at the end of July and then flew out to China half way through August. The beauty of this program is that as long as you have a university degree and have completed your online TEFL, you do not have to gain any further qualifications after leaving. It's such a great fresh-out-of-uni job.

Where do I see myself in the future?

I've only been teaching at my school for a month but already I know that deciding whether or not to stay on another year or not is going to be hard. I would like to explore some PR companies within Shanghai before I leave to see if I could do any sort of internship/work experience over summer. When I get home it will be much the same - I'm not set on a career path, but I think I am best suited to PR, so I'd like to give that a go.


Advice to students

My piece of advice to students

Be enthusiastic and be bold. It's a big decision to move somewhere else to work for a year but it's in incredible opportunity that you may never get again. It doesn't matter whether or not you see yourself going into teaching (many of my friends here don't) as long as you have a positive, work hard play hard attitude. This can lead to many other opportunities and the transferable skills and the life experiences you gain are priceless.

Other comments

It's worth noting that you do not need to be able to speak Chinese to come to China. 90% of the people on this program come with none and learn as they go along. It's tough at first but the best way to learn is to immerse yourself in it. Find a tutor, help each other and don't be afraid to ask colleagues/shop owners/pretty much anyone for the word for this or that. They love to see you trying and if you put your mind to it and practice then you will get there.


You may also be interested in...

Last updated: 19 Sep 2014