experience needed?

[marita]

Hi every1 i'm a newie to the ESL thing but i want to go to china- Shenzhen- to teach english latter this year and i'd like to know if i need any teaching experience? I heard through the grape vine that experience isn't needed but all the job posts i have looked up have required experience and some also ask for a demonstration- not sure what this means! And since i don't have experience is the school going to/meant to train me? Your help would be soooooo helpful!

[gfell]

Hi Marita!

Having teaching experience is not mandatory for many entry-level English teaching jobs. The main thing schools look for are native English speakers with a university degree.

If you want to teach in a conversation school or kindergarten, then experience isn't mandatory. If you want to teach in universities or at company classes, then experience is a must.

Take another look at the ESL job ads. You will in fact see many teaching jobs where experience is not a requirement. Schools that don't require experience will most definitely pair you up with another teacher until you learn the ropes. It would be unlikely though that you attend formal TESL classes paid by the school. I would suggest undertaking a TESL course prior to boost your chances of finding a quality teaching job. Especially in your case when you have no experience.

A demonstration lesson is where you would pretend to perform a real lesson with the interviewers as students. You would stand at the front of the classroom, taking the role of the teacher and using the whiteboard, props, body language, tone of voice etc.

Let me know if you need more help.

[marita]

Wow thanks for the great advice it's much appreciated!