Do You Speak Chinese In English

Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences The following blog post is about an ITTT graduate who shares his story on how learning Chinese helped him to become a better English teacher in China. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Joseph S. A common saying imparted to me by one of my professors goes like this: "What do you call someone who speaks three languages? Trilingual. What do you call someone who speaks two languages? Bilingual. What do you call someone who speaks only one language? American." I have found this to be extremely true for the majority of cases, and, as a young student, it spurred me to want to learn as much of other languages as I possibly could. I grew up in a monolingual home, however, as a child, I spent much of...  [Read more]

Jon ITTT Alumni Experiences As a kindergarten teacher working in China I have a lot of experience dealing with students, fellow teachers; Chinese and foreign, management and parents. A few years ago I came to China to learn Chinese. To pay for my living expenses I started teaching young learners. Pretty soon I got a full-time job in a kindergarten and I fell in love with the work and I decided to stay in China and keep teaching. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Paul E. One of the first problems I faced was of course the language barrier. In the schools I’ve worked at so far not many people speak English; especially the schools’ management. It’s always quite a task to find out what is expected of you. In China don’t...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences The experience of living and working abroad for sure will give us another vision of the world. If you have been in China, enough you will learn to be more patient and tolerant. Live with another culture is not easy, and we learn how to be flexible. We are different, we live differently, our environment is different, our beliefs, our politeness, our food, etc. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Ana P. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. “Good morning, how are you today? “- They have never asked each other how are they? Instead, they ask “Ni chi le ma?” Did you eat? These people were starving for so many years, and the...  [Read more]

Dorothy Brown Smith Destinations Alumni Experiences I have always wanted to travel and go abroad. I talked about it with family and friends on many occasions. When the opportunity came for me to teach in China, I immediately said, “NO!” I was thinking of traveling to places like South America, France, Italy, Greece, etc. because I had romanticized these places in my mind from what I had seen on television and read about in magazines. China was not even a thought in my mind! The opportunity kept coming to teach in China. I would see advertisements, run into people who had just came back from China. I even met someone studying Chinese to be an interpreter! I kept running into people who had some kind of connection with...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences In recent years, the most popular destination for EFL teachers all over the world has been China. China is the country welcoming many foreign teachers, native and non-native, and is probably the country with the most rapid development of the English teaching industry. Online teaching has become just as important as face to face teaching and has been a teacher for an online company for a long time, I have experienced a variety of students, levels, and groups. Therefore, in this essay, I will write about the most common problems Chinese students face and some ways of dealing with them. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Aleksandra Đ. If you are ever in China, you will notice that you will...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Sheneil J. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Chinese does not have either of the “th” sounds (like “that” and “this”). Most other languages do not have these sounds and they are problematic for most learners of English. The difficulty is the point of articulation- the tongue has to be between the teeth, not behind them. Many people say that English speakers look like they’re sticking their tongues out all the time because of the “th” sounds. It can be difficult to get learners to do this because it violates a cultural proscription against sticking out one’s tongue. Confusion...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Language has always played an important role in communication between people. Today, in the globalization, the importance of mastering a foreign language has become increasingly prominent. English is the most widely used language in the world. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Xiao W. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. In the 21st century, English is not unfamiliar to us Chinese. In our life, we can find English everywhere with little attention. Most Chinese learn dumb English. Few people can communicate with foreigners without barriers. Some Western netizens can't help wondering why English is so difficult for Chinese to...  [Read more]

Ramon Perez Destinations Alumni Experiences The prospect of working in a foreign country can be an exciting experience for any person seeking a change a pace. Every country has a unique adventure to offer, and many times we ask ourselves, “Which is the right place for me?”. Here, we are going to discuss on how to gain access to the bountiful opportunities China has to offer for English language educators. Despite some strict governmental policies China has in place, the English language labor market is open to native and non-native speakers.   Before you can embark on your new and exciting journey to China, there are some steps we must follow before we are eligible to work there as a non-native English speaker. Take an...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Most teachers come to China to teach English with only a general idea about Chinese culture and language which they should have to deal with as soon as they arrive in China. The reason I chose this topic is that I am fluent in Chinese and have experienced Chinese culture in all its facets for over than seven years. But let’s not beat around the bush and get down to the nitty-gritty. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Ruben M. Chinese people often seem to be shy or introverted, especially in front of foreigners or in the classroom. However, they are not always. Chinese society is built on 关系 Guanxi, which means “relationship(s)” and can be described as any kind of connection...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Working as an English teacher in the kindergarten is very entertaining and challenging, as the teacher will deal with the children who don’t have even a basic knowledge of English, have the very short attention span and very different in terms of their behavior. Before I moved to China, I haven’t prior experience in teaching the kindergarten level students, because I always thought that teaching the young learners would be annoying, hard to discipline and far too energy-consuming. So what I had learned was just through my own experience. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Nasiba Q. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. My decision...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Susan T S G. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Singapore is a multilingual and multi-ethnic society. We have four official languages Malay, English, Chinese (Mandarin), and Tamil, with Malay as our national language. English is used as the main medium of instruction in our education system and learning a second language is compulsory in school starting from pre-school age. Being Chinese, my second language is Mandarin. I also speak a third language called dialect especially to our parents who do not understand English or Chinese. Also Read: The Most Important Personal Qualities in the ESL...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Learning a second language can be difficult, and this is especially true when the learners L1 and their target language are completely different in structure, sound, and tones. An English as a second language student who speaks French, German, or any other European language will have an easier task than one who speaks a language that is not of European origins. One such language is Mandarin Chinese. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Ashley L. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. The areas that native Mandarin speakers most often run into difficulty are pronunciation, tones, tenses, and sentence structure. A Chinese speaker might...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas In this topic, I will be talking about my own “Personal Teaching Experience” in two Asian countries that I’ve had the privilege to work in and teach such as, China and Russia. So you might want to ask yourselves, What’s the difference between teaching Chinese and Russian students? Well honestly there is a huge difference so let’s get started. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Jhonatan J. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. First of all, let’s start with the cultural differences in the classrooms between Chinese and Russian students. Let me mentioned to you that in both countries I’ve had jobs mostly in private...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Destinations The Chinese education market has been growing for the recent ten years. As the country is getting more and more open towards the rest of the world, the demand for proper English training becomes ubiquitous. Compared to the Russian system, where English starts to be taught in primary school, in China, they try to include English as early as the nursery. The difference in culture, language structure, and the lack of proper training of the school staff open the doors to expats. If you find a position for an ESL teacher in China, chances are you get into a kindergarten. Two years ago, I found a teaching job in a private bilingual kindergarten chain in China. There were two main branches: a multiple intelligences...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas I chose this topic because I have first-hand experience with my trilingual child. She is 3 years old now, we are a couple of Romanians living in China, and my husband is a middle school English teacher. My daughter was born in China and I can both speak Chinese. ‘What language will my daughter learn first?’ Was one of the questions that haunted me and I thought it would be the greatest challenge of motherhood. Well, the reality proved me wrong – it was the easiest task and now my daughter can speak perfect English, she can understand and speak Romanian very well and she understands Chinese and can speak when she has to. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Lenuta M. Please note that this...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Teaching English in China has become very popular for ESL teachers and many are looking for job opportunities in China. Finding a teaching job in China isn’t too hard but working with Chinese students can be quite challenging. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate VIKTORIIA H. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Chinese grammar is very different from English and many Chinese students try to copy the grammar rules of their native language and apply them to English. As a result, they form awkward sentences that are difficult to understand. They struggle to use gerunds and articles as these parts of speech do not exist in Mandarin....  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas As an aspirant teaching English to Chinese children, I chose ‘Pronunciation problems of Chinese people’ as the most attractive and the most useful topic for my summative task at this moment. As resources of this joyful and useful research on the internet, I have used three videos on Youtube made by the three experienced teachers of the English language. Only one of them works with children. And only one of them (accent coach from London, Luke Nicholson) gave a lot of live examples of the flaws in pronunciation that Chinese people, in general, make when speaking English, by showing the interviews with the Chinese actor Jackie Chan who sometimes manages to confuse his experienced interviewers. This post was...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Most researchers agree that the learner’s first language influences the pronunciation of the target language and is a significant factor in accounting for foreign accents. So-called interference or interference from the first language is likely to cause errors in aspiration, stress, and intonation in the target language. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Vesna A. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Some Chinese students tend to have difficulty with English sounds because they are deeply influenced by similar Chinese sounds. However, they are very different from each other. A particular sound which does not exist in the native...  [Read more]

Mark Crocker Destinations Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Teaching in a foreign country is a dream for many people who are passionate about education. However, it can be confusing and scary thinking about teaching in a country with a culture and language that you are not familiar with. However, as long as you are a qualified, professional and patient teacher, you should have nothing to worry about. Teaching in a country like China might seem like a big challenge at first, however, there are many techniques and teaching methods that a professional teacher can apply during the lesson to ensure a successful outcome. So, the question is: How can a teacher apply what they have learned during a TEFL course in a...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences This essay answers the question for number 10 “what are the main problems for learners in the country of China?” I am a professor at Jiangnan University in Wuxi, China and share my observations. Our students are in the North American College (NAC), with partners in Canada at Lambton College and Northwood University, USA. Three areas are most interesting to their learning challenges: college preparation, listening and writing. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Annette P. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Students enter NAC with a low score on the national gaokao entrance exam. The student body represents a culture where...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Grammar is not only about vocabulary and sentence structure but also can improve our communication and ability of logical thinking. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Meiheriayi M. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Some people always ask a question that what is the point of learning grammar? Foreigners never learn grammar, but they speak better English than us when they travel abroad. Also nowadays, more and more young students go abroad to further their studies. Most of them worry that they can't understand what the teacher says or they can't communicate with foreigners. Listening and speaking are indeed very important, but you...  [Read more]

Jon ITTT Destinations Teaching English in China is as popular as ever and is one of the best places to put your TEFL certificate to use. In 2014, 7.26 million students graduated with Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees and the numbers were expected to rise in 2015. There are over 30,000 organizations or companies offering private English classes, with the Chinese market having nearly doubled in size in the last five years and is now worth around $3.1 billion. Certified TEFL teachers in China can expect to make between 6,000 - 16,000 RMB ($942 - $2,500 USD). Those teaching at an international school, however, can make up to 30,000 RMB ($4,700 USD). How far exactly will your salary get you in China? Most TEFL teachers put away a good amount of...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Destinations Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas The development of information lined social life and the economy's globalization make English more and more crucial. As one of the essential information carriers, English has become the most widely used language in every field of human life. English ability has become a necessary skill for every learner. The benefit of gaining a foreign language is tremendous. It will help him/her open the door to another world of learning different or new knowledge and achieve the goal of multiple learning and self-actualization. According to the number of people from all over the world, English usage has more than any language. English is the official language...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences English is one of the most widely spoken languages and it is taught in a lot of countries. Globalization, fast economic development makes many people study English. People learn English for different reasons: business, education, life abroad, traveling, personal interest. Chinese students are not an exception. With the growing economies of China, the need for learning English increased dramatically. What challenges do Chinese students face when learning English? What challenges does the teacher meet teaching Chinese students? What teaching approach can be found? This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Darya M. Let’s talk about the most typical challenges when teaching Chinese learners and...  [Read more]

William Noble Destinations Teaching Ideas I have been an online ESL teacher to Chinese students for over 13 years, mostly with primary students but also with secondary and adult students. I am also a father and have homeschooled my daughter over her primary years. Like many teachers, I’ve enjoyed teaching at this level of education as it lays the foundation in English. As it set the foundation, my teaching helped students to overcome common errors in production skills, speaking and writing. Teaching both my daughter and Chinese students at the primary level also helped me also to understand the different expectations between first language and second language students. Since English is very different from China, many Chinese...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas In this article, we share the most common teaching mistakes that even experienced teachers do in their everyday work. Read what are they and how to avoid them. Teacher Talk Time (short: TTT) is an important teaching point and skill to practice. The more a teacher talks, the less the students have time to work on their speaking abilities during the lesson. Reducing TTT depends on proper planning, so remember to focus on preparing your lesson plan in advance. TTT shouldn’t be used as a time filler when a student prepares to answer, so it is better to accept silence and let the classroom be quiet for a moment. Lessons usually get messed up due to unclear instructions. Pay attention to the way you explain tasks and...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Destinations China is a great destination to start your ESL teaching career as the country offers a lot of job opportunities, high salaries and employers usually don't require many years of teaching experience. However a lot of teachers wanting to teach there have no idea how to look for a suitable position in China. Here are the top 4 tips how to find a teaching job in China. Also read: 5 Reasons Why You Should Teach English in China Since Google is not accessible in China, you won't find many available jobs there. Therefore, I suggest you create a profile on LinkedIn and indicate that you are looking for a job in China. Chinese agents and HR managers will quickly reach out to you and will invite you to talk on WeChat (a...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences As we know English is a very important language, which is also very practical and helpful in our lives. If everyone in the world could speak the same language, it would be so convenient for us to communicate with each other, and we could go anywhere without worrying about communication barriers. Here are some of the benefits that I think English globalization brings to us. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Ying S. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. I think that whether it's traveling abroad or reading English magazines at home, you will realize that knowing English language is so useful, even when you go to some Asian...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Many Chinese students face the common problem that although they spent 10 years studying English at school, they can't pronounce an English sentence correctly, and they are not confident enough to communicate in the language. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Mengru W. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Our students struggle to speak in English, they are good at writing and reading, but cannot speak, even though they studied the language from third to 12th grade. Most of the students also study English at a language center, but they still find it hard to completely reach the goal, even when they go to college, speaking English...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences It is generally agreed that education is one of the most important issues in every country these days and China is no exception. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Ekaterina G. It’s a well-known fact that China is the most populated country in the world with a long and mysterious history, rich and varied culture. China recognizes 55 ethnic minority groups within the country in addition to the Han majority. Standard Mandarin is the only official language, though there are more than 200 hundred living languages spoken all over the country. While being China’s capital, political and cultural center, Beijing is also known as a melting pot where you can meet the representative of almost each...  [Read more]