The role of an oral English teacher is to coach Chinese students to become comfortable and willing to use spoken English in everyday situations. Your students, on the other hand, are likely to be young children whose goal is to have fun. These goals don’t have to be incompatible!

You can have a lot of fun teaching English. Your classes should have an emphasis on learning through play, so students look forward to classes and learn to feel comfortable and relaxed when using English.

It is a good idea to give some thought to how you use English in your everyday life. What English do you read from day to day? Taking note of your English will allow you to gain some great ideas for teaching. You could, for example:

• teach reading/writing skills using road signs. bus timetables, text messages and/or social media posts
• teach speaking/listening skills based on everyday interactions like going through a checkout at a supermarket, booking your plane ticket, or discussing what to do on the weekend with friends

Collecting artifacts such as catalogs, suitable social media posts and/or text messages could be a great way to add interest to a lesson. You could also look for photos that show your life in your home country – this is likely to be of great interest to your students!

You may like to try and learn some Chinese and give thought to how you would like to be taught a foreign language. Chances are, if you make classes you would like to attend, your going to have a very high chance of success.

Formal training on teaching English as a Foreign language (TEFL) courses can help you prepare for your journey as an English teacher, as will the in-country training you will receive when you arrive in China!