United States
US
Rihards Ozolins-Orzols
Teach Enrich Empower
My Adventure in China
My name is Richard and I’m a 26-year-old guy from Latvia. My journey with The TEFL Academy started in early September of 2017. One month has already passed since I started my new job as an English teacher in China and I am writing this story from my kindergarten in Wuhan, China.
Let me share my story of how I got here. It all began at the start of September when I was looking for TEFL courses to gain my TEFL certificate so that I would then have a qualification to teach English in China. As a non- native speaker, I needed all the help that I could get because recently they changed the rules making it harder for non-native English speakers to obtain the Z work visa.
Having finished my TEFL course in just 2 months, I was very pleased with the fast response to my emails whenever I needed any help with my assignments or any questions in general.
After graduating from The TEFL Academy in November, my search for a TEFL job began. I didn’t need to look far. Fortunately for me The TEFL Academy provides a good amount of job advertisements on their website. I chose to work in China, as it was the first country in Asia that I wanted to start teaching English. So, I began sending my CV and cover letter to employers. To my surprise, the next day I had already lined up 7 interviews for potential job opportunities. So, after going back and forth with potential employers, I selected my new job location, which was in the middle of China – WUHAN. As my employer said it’s a ”small city” (10 million people live here); I come from a country with a population of 1.8 million. I chose this place because it’s surrounded by many lakes and it’s in a very convenient place if I want to travel somewhere outside of China.
“I had no prior experience in teaching, but thanks to The TEFL Academy’s TEFL course, I had confidence.”
In mid-November, I started my journey to obtain a Z visa with plenty of time before my job start date on 1 March. The whole process of gaining a Z visa was very stressful, but very well worth it. Under the new rules it’s not easy to obtain a Z visa for non-native English speakers. However, I soon realised that with a Bachelor’s degree from an English-speaking country and a TEFL certificate and clear police background history there shouldn’t be any problem. So, I urge any non-native speaker to try obtaining a Z visa and don’t be discouraged by the new rules.
So all packed and ready to start my new job in a country I had never been to, my journey began on 26 February. On arrival at the airport, I was greeted by two smiling colleagues eager to show me my new city.
On 1 March, it was time to start teaching young children in my kindergarten. I had no prior experience in teaching, but thanks to The TEFL Academy’s TEFL course, I had confidence. As the weeks and months went by this proved to be the case.
I can truly say that I got this great job thanks to The TEFL Academy’s excellent TEFL jobs board. I am confident on finishing my 1.5-year contract and may even stay on in China. I would strongly suggest anybody who wants to do something new and interesting, China is a great place to start.
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