Teaching Jobs in China: Which Type of School Is Right for You?
Before I ever taught English abroad, I thought I had a pretty good idea of how schools differed. I was wrong. The differences can be much bigger than you expect. Teaching young children at a training center and teaching a high school science class can feel like completely different jobs. I wrote this article to help explain those differences as clearly as I can.
Even the same type of school can be different depending on the country. My friend works at a training center in Tokyo. They have Sunday and Monday off and teach everyone from three-year-olds to adults in their sixties and seventies.
In my experience, training centers in China usually meant working the entire weekend, with days off on Monday and Tuesday or Tuesday and Wednesday. Weekday hours might be something like 3–8 p.m. or 4–8 p.m., but weekends could run from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The weekdays were pretty chill, but the weekends were rough.
My friend in Tokyo gets Sunday off, so they still have part of the weekend to spend with people working a Monday-to-Friday schedule. That might sound like a small difference, but it changes your social life and how the job feels. The type of school matters, but so does the country you’re teaching in.
What does the job title actually mean?
When looking at teaching jobs in China, the titles can be confusing. A “foreign teacher,” “ESL teacher,” “homeroom teacher,” and “international teacher” may all mean different things depending on the employer.
Two jobs can have the same title and completely different responsibilities. Before getting too excited about the salary or the school’s photos, ask:
- What will I actually teach?
- What are the ages of my students?
- Who plans the lessons?
- Am I responsible for a whole class or individual English periods?
- What does a normal working day look like?
That last question is a big one. “Teaching English” tells you very little about how you will actually spend your day.
Training centers / language centers
Training centers have historically offered classes outside regular school hours, often in the evenings and on weekends, with weekdays off. I worked at one for six months before it closed during COVID.
The schedule was one of the biggest differences for me. Having free time during the week sounds great, and sometimes it is. But if your friends work Monday to Friday, your days off might not line up with theirs.
Training centers can be an introduction to language teaching, but the sector in China has undergone major regulatory changes. Do not assume an advertised role is lawful just because similar jobs used to be common. My experience describes the job I had, not a guarantee of what is available or permitted today.
Kindergartens
All five of my jobs after the training center have been at kindergartens. This is where most of my experience comes from, and even within that one category, the jobs have been very different.
At a kindergarten, you may work with children for much of the day rather than giving a few separate English lessons. Some schools expect you to act more like a homeroom teacher, leading activities and participating in the wider class routine.
Some use play-based, child-centered approaches. Others expect more repetition, performances, parent communication, or detailed reporting. You need to know which kind of environment you are walking into.
Kindergartens also differ enormously in paid holidays, management, class size, assistant-teacher support, and preparation time. Ask whether your schedule includes camps during school holidays. Just because the regular school term ends does not automatically mean you stop working.
This is exactly why I recommend getting a detailed sample working day before you sign. Ask what happens between lessons, too. Those hours are part of your job.
Public schools
At public schools, ESL roles may involve large classes and a timetable of separate lessons. Depending on the position, you might teach primary, middle, or high-school students.
The work can feel very different from kindergarten: more individual periods, larger groups, and different expectations around assessment and classroom discipline. Availability and hiring rules vary.
My earlier impression was that some public-school jobs offered more time off than kindergarten jobs, often at lower salaries. But that is not a promise. Check the actual calendar, what portion of the holidays is paid, and whether you have obligations when students are away.
A long summer holiday sounds great. Whether you are paid during that holiday makes a pretty big difference.
Private and bilingual schools
These can be appealing roles, but the label does not guarantee quality. Some resemble international-school teaching environments; others are run very differently.
A bilingual school may have demanding academic expectations, additional subjects, and more formal lesson planning. Depending on the school and position, getting hired may also be difficult without relevant experience.
Do not automatically take a private or bilingual school job just because it sounds prestigious. Ask what curriculum is taught, whether you are being hired for English support or subject teaching, and whether a teaching credential is required.
You should also ask how much work happens outside the classroom. Planning, marking, meetings, and parent communication all take time. The number of teaching periods alone does not tell you the full workload.
International schools
A genuine international-school teaching position is usually a different professional route, commonly involving recognized teaching credentials and relevant school experience.
“International” in a school name is not proof of any particular accreditation, curriculum, or student population. You still need to look into what the school actually offers and what it expects from its teachers.
If you are a qualified teacher, assess the school on its credentials, curriculum, management, and employment package. A good name or an impressive campus can get your attention, but you still need to understand the job.
Which teaching job in China is right for you?
Before moving to China, I did not understand how much the type of school would affect my everyday life. You see a salary, a city, and “English teacher,” and it is easy to think you understand what you are signing up for. Then you arrive and realize there is a lot more to it.
I have worked at one training center and five kindergartens. Even between the kindergartens, I could not assume the next job would work like the last one. Different management, different expectations, different holidays. The same type of school can still give you a very different experience.
So I would not tell you that everyone should work at a kindergarten, a public school, or an international school. It depends on your qualifications, the ages you enjoy teaching, and what kind of life you want outside work.
Ask the questions that sound obvious. Get the working hours, responsibilities, and holiday pay in writing. If possible, speak to a teacher who already works there.
You are going to spend a lot of your time at this job. Make sure you understand what an ordinary Tuesday—and possibly your Saturday and Sunday—is actually going to look like.