Teaching materials
You will be mainly teaching oral English to Chinese students. The schools will offer you textbooks and the curriculums for the grades you will teach. You will need to do your own lesson plans to meet the needs of the students. Picture dictionaries, simple word games, flash cards and magazines with lots of visuals on food, clothing and homes will be useful. Most of our students are children (7-12 years old) and teenagers
(13-18 years old) with low and intermediate
English levels.
Clothes
Clothes are very cheap to buy in China. Our teachers are required to dress in a professional manner. This does not mean that you need to bring your best suite, T-shirts and Jeans are acceptable as long as they are neat and not ripped. Shorts and muscle (tank tops) are forbidden in the classrooms. Modest sun dresses are allowed, but be conscious about wearing any dresses, sweaters or tops that are low cut and tight. We recommend that you bring the basics
with you and then go shopping once you get here and find out what you still need, after all you will want to travel light. Please use common sense and bear in mind that China is a more conservative country than the country you are from. Teachers hold a high social respect and are expected to behave in a professional manner on all aspects.
Daily toiletries and cosmetics are also very inexpensive and available in China. Again we recommend travel light and get all you need after you arrive.
Weather tips for dressing in Yangshuo, Guilin:
http://www.yangers.com/Yangshuo_weather.htm
Medical supplies
If you require prescription medication, bring as big a supply as possible with letters from your doctor and other documents supporting what the medication is and why it is needed. We also recommend that you bring a good supply of pain killers such as Ibuprofen, a multi vitamin and anti-diarrhea and/or travel sickness pills. Most other medicines such as cold and flu tablets are available at all pharmacies in China.
Gifts for students and Chinese friends
Chinese people love receiving gifts from other countries. Small flags, pins, post cards, coins, and inexpensive stamps make excellent gifts and also good rewards for students with outstanding work. Try contact your national heritage office or government representative, they will usually supply you with many of these items free of charge, such as flags, pins and stickers. A map of your country is also a good thing to bring.
Money
You should bring enough money with you for the first month, we suggest around 500 USD. This will get you through the first month as you may not get paid until the end of your first teaching month. The living expense is very low in China at around 500 Yuan RMB/month for the average Chinese person.
Traveler's Checks can be exchanged in Yangshuo.
VISA, Mastercard and other international credit card are also acceptable in the Bank of China. There are
Electrical goods
One thing you need to know is that Power Voltage in China is 220 V and Power Frequency is 50 hertz. This is the same as Europe, but if you are from America or Canada then you may want to consider bringing at least travel power converter to be able to use the electrical items you might bring
from your home countires. You can usually tell what power your eletrical item uses by looking at the input on the power supply box. For example, a laptop power supply will usually list the input as 100-240V. If the power supply lists 120VAC, if you can't find an input rating, or if the electrical item only has a power cord without a box, you will probably need a power converter.
Electric toothbrushes and razors usually require a power converter.
The video operating system in China is the same as the European System (PAL System).
Other
A traveling book, such as the Lonely Planet about China will be very useful for your traveling all over China during your holidays.
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