Spot the difference

[Phalynx]

Shudders

Proxify is good, but you have to pay if you want to use websites that require log in and cookies, although when I last joined up it wasn't expensive...

[funetik]

Didn't notice this topic up until now.

I want to go to China for a year to teach so I did some research. On my travels I found a few interesting sites. Linked together, btw.

http://www.google-watch.org/china.htm
http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/home/

most interesting -
http://www.opennetinitiative.net/studies/china/

[formerly known as hf]

Thankyou for that last one, I hadn't seen that one yet - it was interesting to see a study on it.

Teaching abroad is brilliant, you'll have so much fun (as you probably know if you've done it before )
How easy is it to get a position in China? I know that a lot has changed recently, but when I was looking into a teahing placement in China three years back, it wasn't really a viable option. (It was hardly even possible to visit China as a tourist)

[Nalaris]

Well, that, coupled with my natural paranoia, really makes me want to do something. But what? What indeed. I, by the way, can't see any of the videos, and I intend to do something about it.

[Nick]

edit: :-/ this appeared in the wrong topic...

[funetik]

I'm not sure how easy it is. I think the country's more open than it was anyway and there's a lot of opportunities. As for required grades, I don't know.

http://www.chinatefl.com/indexe.asp

Lots of job listings ^

I think quite a lot of schools offer a return flight if you're working for a year, accomodation and food. If you're working for a semester/summer course, you'll have half the airfare/one way paid.

I need to do some more research really

A friend from Bose, Idaho, is interested too, so hopefully the plan is we can find positions near each other or in the same school. We'll see though

The best book I've read, written by an American teaching English over there, is Peter Hessler - Two Years on The Yangtze. I'd recommend it.

[formerly known as hf]

Make sure that you get a 'proper' TEFL certificate - there are a number of organisations out there that send people on teaching trips and give you a 'TEFL' course first, but it isn't actually an internationally recognised course. Which means that if you want to do it again some time, you will have to do another course...
(I speak from my own bad experience)

[funetik]

Yeah, I've heard about that before
Bad luck.

Where was it you taught English?

[formerly known as hf]

I spent my gap year (between A-Level and Uni) in Bangalore, India. It was a safehouse for slum children that I was working in, so I spent less of my time actually teaching them, more of it just keeping them amused and occupied, and helping them with their school work (when they actually had been to school to get any). It was really great though.