United States
US
Andreas Lauffer
Teach Enrich Empower
Adventures in China
Hello, I’m Andreas and I’m 18 years old. Before I started teaching English I was a high school student in the Netherlands.
I really wanted to travel abroad and experience another country. A way to make it financially a good plan was by teaching abroad. Currently, I am a primary school teacher in Chengdu (China).
I am glad that I made the decision to move to this country for one year. During my year teaching here, I have acquired so many valuable and unforgettable experiences. In many ways China is completely different from my home country, the Netherlands. That’s what makes it so exciting to live here. The people are different, the culture is different, the food is different. When I first came to Chengdu I didn’t know anyone here. It’s like I was starting a new life. I thought this was exciting and a good opportunity to do things differently than before.
In the Netherlands, I was a high school student living in a village. In China I started as a teacher in a huge city. My life in the Netherlands was slow paced, but when I came to China there were suddenly so many opportunities. In this city of approximately 14 million people there is always so much going on everywhere. That’s why I think doing a TEFL course to be able to teach abroad was a good decision for me.
“Teaching abroad is a really good way to give your life a new direction!”
When I first came to Chengdu (China), I started as a kindergarten teacher. At the school I started teaching I was the only foreigner. And only a few of the staff spoke English. On the first day they just put me into a classroom and told me to start teaching. They didn’t give me any instructions but luckily, I had a teaching assistant.
So, at the start it was quite challenging, and I was expected to learn quickly. My lessons were expected to consist mostly of games which would teach the students English. The classes consisted of around 30 students and I taught around 18 hours a week. My lessons were 15-30 minutes long. In my opinion this was quite a demanding job because I had to teach 9 classes a day and during every class I had to be very energetic. Even though it was demanding, it was also a lot of fun. The students are sweet and lively, and the content was easy to teach.
I would really advise teaching abroad to people who would like some change or excitement in their lives. Teaching abroad is a really good way to give your life a new direction, and to have a new start. It completely breaks your old routine and gives you the possibility to reinvent yourself. In any possible way your year abroad will be valuable and unforgettable, and I think only very few people regret their decision of teaching abroad.
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