Are you thinking about teaching English abroad? Have you just completed your TEFL course but don’t know where to go? Well, your TEFL location is an important decision you have to make, let us give you a little helping hand. I’m sure you’ve already done some research already and are excited about where your TEFL course could take you. And yes, I know there are many fantastic countries around the world in which you can use your teaching expertise but I want to push the case for China, it really truly is a remarkable TEFL location, and here’s why?    Teaching English is serious business in China A big demand for English and no signs of slowing, the Chinese education system requires students to learn English from primary school, middle school, high school and university. It’s a must, with English considered an important factor to graduate from university. Chinese university students are required to pass the College English test (CET) or the like to graduate nevermind getting into a good one through the dreaded ‘gaokao’ (China’s challenging university entrance exam which features an English section). Having good English means a more favourable chance of a good career. English is taken very seriously. So parents are willing to splash out for their kids to improve their English and take extremes to do so. There will be no shortage of roles for English teachers and there will always be a need. The right TEFL job is out there somewhere for you, and we can help you find it.    Amazing travel destination with a rich culture There’s literally something for everyone in China. It is such a wonderful and vibrant country with a unique culture and thousands of years of history, combining effortlessly tradition and modernity. Whether you’re looking to feel the burgeoning inner city hubs and lifestyle of its futuristic metropolises or go rural and witness some awe-inspiring views and landscapes. It’s a kingdom filled with world-class tourist attractions and UNESCO heritage sites, making it one of the world’s most popular travel destinations. From Beijing, Shanghai to Xian and Chengdu in the south west (that’s where we are) to the Tibetan regions. From iconic city skylines to sacred mountains, vast plains and ancient temples. From the Great Wall of China, to the Terracotta Army, to the Leshan Giant Buddha. There are endless places to travel in China and all this travelling has been made easier with great transport links. China is also an excellent base from which to explore other parts of Asia too e.g. Thailand, Vietnam, South Korea, Cambodia, Malaysia etc.    *If you’re wondering about which city in China to teach in, don’t worry, we got that covered too, check out our 9 best TEFL cities in China here: https://www.teachdiscoverchina.com/2019/08/13/what-is-the-best-city-to-teach-english-in-china/   International experience in the world’s second largest economy Whether you’re into TEFL teaching for the short-term or long haul, the teaching in China experience will look mightily impressive on your CV. Yes, I know it probably says that on all the TEFL sites out there for any overseas destination, but listen, the fact that it is in China gives it some extra gravitas, as it is not only credible international experience but credible international experience in the world’s second largest economy and a world powerhouse. You can walk along the street of any major Chinese city and just feel the impact of its booming economy, international importance, and its advanced technology.    Flexible schedule with lots of public holidays + winter and summer breaks As if you need anymore incentive to teach English in China but along with a usually flexible teaching schedule (with TDC no more than 20 hours face-to-face teaching a week) the Chinese calendar features many traditional festivals and on average 28 public holidays off, that is more than the UK and the US combined. Plus if you work in a public school, you will get your usual winter and summer break too. How does that sound? What a fantastic combo for teaching and travelling. You will get ample time to explore your new city and country. You wouldn’t get this in other TEFL destinations. And depending on your job, you will get full pay or half pay during your winter and summer holidays too. Here’s a list of the usual public holidays you will get off:    New Year's Day: 1 day off Chinese New Year: officially 7 days off *But public schools take somewhere between 2 or 4 weeks off, are you salivating yet?  Qingming Festival: 3 days off May Day holiday: 4 days off Dragon Boat Festival: 3 days off Mid-Autumn Festival: 3 days off National Day holiday: 7 days off   *Find out more about the key Chinese festivals you should take notice of here: https://www.teachdiscoverchina.com/2019/09/21/top-7-chinese-festivals/   Great salary packages As the demand for native English teachers is so high, schools, universities, and private language training centres are competing in the same pool looking for the best and brightest in teaching English. So they are also competing in terms of offering the best salary and job packages. For example here at TDC, you will get a stable monthly salary, no more than 20 teaching hours, free accommodation near your school, full or half pay during the holidays, flight reimbursement, full work visa guidance, and you get to go on our social program where we take you around to see some of the famous sites of your placement city.    Low cost of living and convenient lifestyle One of the best things about teaching English in China is that it is relatively cheap to live a decent quality of life here. The cost of living is quite low for expats and transportation around any city is quite cheap with buses and the metro. You can find some delicious Chinese food that doesn’t cost a lot. You can walk into a convenience store or a supermarket and get your daily necessities for a good price. I mean here in Chengdu, it cost just 2 RMB for a bottle of water, the same as a bus ride. Potentially you could save thousands of pounds/dollars of your ESL salary (*Check out our article on how to transfer cash out of China here: https://www.teachdiscoverchina.com/2019/08/22/transfer-money-out-of-china/   Also with the leaps made in technology you can’t downplay the fact that China is now a very convenient place to live for foreigners too. With excellent transportation it’s easy to get from one place to another. And contrary, to what people might think, you don’t actually have to learn Chinese to live here. With multipurpose apps such as WeChat, ride-hailing services such as Didi, food delivery services as ‘E Le me’, and translation apps, the language barrier is less of a barrier than it once was and it is more convenient to live in what was before considered a distant and introverted country. And I know I keep on harping on about Chengdu, but this amazing city I’ve come to be extremely fond of is renowned for its very leisurely and relaxed lifestyle compared to the rush of Beijing and Shanghai. I, for one, have felt extremely comfortable here.   *Check out our Top 7 apps to use in China here: https://www.teachdiscoverchina.com/2019/08/30/top-7-apps-in-china/   No better opportunity to learn a language of the future (Mandarin!) Whilst it’s no longer a necessity to learn Mandarin to live, work and travel in China, you will not get a better opportunity or motivation to learn Mandarin than teaching in China. Because of China’s economic power and increasing importance in global affairs, Mandarin is touted as the language of the future. It is definitely a language worth learning, probably more so than any other language with the exception of English. Of course it will also contribute to making your new life in China more comfortable and easier. Also, international experience on your CV is one thing, but being able to speak the language of your international workplace is another. Lucky for you peeps, if you decide to enrol on our TEFL program we will provide online Mandarin lessons with a professional native Chinese tutor courtesy of our friends at Instant Mandarin.    *Check out our 13 useful Chinese phrases to help you around China here: https://www.teachdiscoverchina.com/2019/09/10/useful-chinese-phrases/   Final word Are you thinking about teaching English in China? Well, let me tell you, you will have a great journey ahead and it will be one heck of a ride. There are too many reasons why China is a great TEFL destination: great salary package, no shortage of opportunities, wonderful travel paradise, many holidays, low cost of living, and international experience. You will not regret it one bit. China really is a great place for both work and travel. Just make sure you take the shackles off, and you immerse yourself in the culture, embrace and enjoy! We’d love to see you here.    *Lastly, you also get to eat Chinese food everyday! 

There is a general conception amongst native Chinese that speaking is the toughest part of learning English and what they struggle with the most. Because, reverting to a stereotype, many Chinese students are good at exams, so they can pass an English exam with hard study, they have the textbooks, they can learn textbook grammar, they can listen to news and videos. But they lack proper speaking practice. They lack a native English sparring partner. That is why many English teachers are revered here because they can offer so much. What can you use English tongue twisters ESL for? So how would a TEFL teacher go about improving their student’s speaking and pronunciation? Well, one trick which we will go through today is to use some fantastic tongue twisters that are guaranteed to get your tongue-tied and also inject some much-needed fun and liveliness into your ESL lessons. What exactly is a Tongue Twister? A tongue twister is a sequence of words and sounds, it can even be a short poem or something senseless as we will see later, that is alliterative and are very difficult to pronounce quickly. Tongue twisters have existed for centuries being extremely popular in the 19th century, but the phrase was only coined in 1895, and they continue to be a humorous form of vocal exercise. Tongue twisters feature repeated sounds which are great for you to improve your English pronunciation, and different tongue twisters focus on different sounds and phonemes. You can incorporate these nicely into your lesson plans as a starter or at the plenary. *Tip: Remember to focus on your students’ articulation first and foremost, then once they get the pronunciation right then they can start reading it as quickly as they want. Also make sure that they regularly practice these tongue twisters as just a few repetitions won’t do, long term practice and you will see the benefits of these tongue twisters. Ok! I’ve kept you waiting enough, let’s get right down to it. There are so many great tongue twisters out there that it was so difficult for us to pick so we have just compiled 15 that we absolutely love, and we hope you guys enjoy these as much as we have. So here they are, 15 tongue twisters for any ESL classroom, in no particular order. ... Red Lorry, Yellow Lorry red lorry, yellow lorry, red lorry, yellow lorry, red lorry, yellow lorry. ... The Wish I wish to wish the wish you wish to wish, but if you wish the wish the witch wishes, I won’t wish the wish you wish to wish. ... I scream, you scream I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream. ... Say this Sharply Say this sharply, say this sweetly, Say this shortly, say this softly. Say this sixteen times in succession. ... The Mary Poppins One! Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious *Mary Poppins would be a nice topic for an ESL lesson. ... Sixth Sheep Sixth sick Sheikh’s sixth sheep sick. *This was once the Guinness World Record’s most difficult tongue twister. ... Pad Kid Pad kid poured curd pulled cod *Created by MIT researchers in 2013 for the 166th meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, this tongue twister caused most problems amongst volunteers, and therefore may have inherited the crown from the sixth Sheikh, did you see what I did there? ... Sea Shells by the Sea Shore She sells sea shells by the seashore. The shells she sells are surely seashells. So if she sells shells on the seashore, I’m sure she sells seashore shells. ... Peter Piper Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. Did Peter Piper pick a peck of pickled peppers? If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, where’s the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked? ... Woodchuck How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? He would chuck, he would, as much as he could, and chuck as much wood as a woodchuck would if a woodchuck could chuck wood. ... Betty Botter Betty Botter had some butter, “But,” she said, “this butter’s bitter. If I bake this bitter butter, it would make my batter bitter. But a bit of better butter– that would make my batter better.” So she bought a bit of butter, better than her bitter butter, and she baked it in her batter, and the batter was not bitter. So ’twas better Betty Botter bought a bit of better butter. ... To Sit in Solemn Silence To sit in solemn silence in a dull, dark dock, In a pestilential prison, with a life-long lock, Awaiting the sensation of a short, sharp shock, From a cheap and chippy chopper on a big black block! To sit in solemn silence in a dull, dark dock, In a pestilential prison, with a life-long lock, Awaiting the sensation of a short, sharp shock, From a cheap and chippy chopper on a big black block! A dull, dark dock, a life-long lock, A short, sharp shock, a big black block! To sit in solemn silence in a pestilential prison, And awaiting the sensation From a cheap and chippy chopper on a big black block! .. English tongue twisters ESL for adult classes And finally two more tongue twisters not for the faint-hearted, for older and more mature students as any quick repetition or mispronunciation will sound like a rude profanity. Be careful haha. I’m Not the Pheasant Pluckerpheasant plucker I am not the pheasant plucker, I’m the pheasant plucker’s mate. I am only plucking pheasants Because the pheasant plucker’s late. ... I Slit a Sheet I slit a sheet, a sheet, I slit. Upon a slitted sheet, I sit. ... We hoped you had fun with our English tongue twisters ESL! Are you interested in challenging yourself and teaching English in China? If so, get in touch!, we can find the perfect TEFL job for you. Do you already know that you want to become a TEFL China teacher? APPLY NOW or check our Job Board Read all our TEFL China blog posts here