Foreign Teachers Guide Revision History

Revision 3.17.4d | April 2, 2012

Added Facebook and Twitter social networking buttons to all article and Guide pages.

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Revision 3.17.4c | December 30, 2011

Updated chapter on Days Off and Paid Holidays to reflect the 2012 Chinese public holiday schedule.

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Revision 3.17.4b | August 31, 2011

Updated chapter on Qualifications and Requirements in Practice to more accurately reflect current hiring practices.

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Revision 3.17.4a | July 11, 2011

Updated and expanded our guidelines for becoming a contributing author of Middle Kingdom Life.

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Revision 3.17.4 | December 31, 2010

Revised Official Chinese Holiday Schedule for 2011, Year of the Rabbit.

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Revision 3.17.3 | October 21, 2010

Added new city guide on Living and Teaching English in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, authored by MKL team member Alex Schofield.

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Revision 3.17.2 | October 1, 2010

Added a 25-item General Knowledge of China and EFL Industry Quiz as an entertaining and educational introduction to the Foreign Teachers Guide and a 20-item China Foreign Teacher Satisfaction Test for those who have been in China for awhile and may be thinking about career alternatives.

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Revision 3.17.1 | September 6, 2010

Added a section on How to Evaluate School Blacklists and White Lists in chapter on Finding and Applying for Jobs.

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Revision 3.17.0 | September 5, 2010

Added section in the chapter on the Occupational, Sociodemographic & Personal Aspects of Teaching English in China titled Summary Regarding Suitablility of Teaching English in China. Also revised some of the figures regarding discussion on the vialibity of English teaching salaries based on the escalating cost of living in China in the chapter Salaries for Foreign Teachers in China.

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Revision 3.16.9 | May 14, 2010

Added new city guide on Living and Teaching English in Yongzhou, Hunan Province, authored by MKL team member Christopher Albright.

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Revision 3.16.8 | April 17, 2010

Revised section Healthcare Benefits in the chapter Travel and Medical Benefits to more clearly advise that schools are not required by the SAFEA to provide medical insurance to their foreign experts.

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Revision 3.16.7 | March 16, 2010

Revised section Brochure and Content Websites in the chapter How to Create A Website in China to include a more thorough discussion of Joomla as a content management system.

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Revision 3.16.6 | January 22, 2010

Added reader submitted personal vignette to chapter on Office Politics and Western Colleagues.

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Revision 3.16.5 | November 24, 2009

Chapter on Paid Holidays was updated to include the 2010 China public holiday schedule.

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Revision 3.16.4 | October 1, 2009

The Guide's discussion on entering China for the purpose of earning income with or without a Z-visa has been updated to reflect a year's worth of findings from our Foreign Teacher Satisfaction Survey. This revision has resulted in modifications of the following chapters: The Z-visa Debate (formerly Working on Tourist and Business Visas), and Preparing for Your Arrival in China.

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Revision 3.16.3 | August 10, 2009

Based on female reader feedback, added a section titled Clothes Sizing System in China that more clearly and thoroughly discusses the issue of clothes sizing conversion in China with a focus on women's concerns.

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Revision 3.16.2 | July 26, 2009

Most of the Guide's introduction was completely rewritten to more clearly express our philosophy and mission statement. An article titled "How to Evaluate the Credibility of Internet Resources," based on the work of a faculty member over at George Mason University, was also added. We strongly encourage all prospective foreign teachers to read it, especially if they are just beginning to explore the possibility of teaching in China.

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Revision 3.16.1 | July 21, 2009

The link to the official SAFEA contract in the chapter on English Teaching Contracts now opens a slide show of the entire official document. The SAFEA contract is still available for download as a PDF document.

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Revision 3.16 | July 20, 2009

Reflects new SAFEA Salary Guidelines for Foreign Teachers and a brief reference to the problem of cheating and plagiarism among Chinese students, added as the fifth paragraph under heading "A Typical Day in the Life of a Chinese Student" in China's Education System, Chinese Students, and the Foreign English Teacher.

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Revision 3.15.2 | July 18, 2009

In response to reader feedback, added a brief section that discusses Casual Dating Opportunities in the chapter on Dating Etiquette, Sex, and Relationships in China.

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Revision 3.15.1 | July 17, 2009

This is mostly a maintenance revision. Navigational system was improved (font size was increased, number of main headings was reduced), home page was condensed and simplified, and chapter on Working on L- and F-visas was moved from ongoing work issues to precede the chapter on "Preparing for Your Arrival," as teachers are more likely to consider this as a possibility prior to arriving in China than after.

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Revision 3.15 | June 30, 2009

Based on reader feedback, we added a chapter titled "What to Expect After Arriving in China." Although most of the points made in this new chapter are addressed in (or can be inferred from) several chapters throughout the Guide, we agreed that it made sense to consolidate them in a separate chapter for the reader's convenience.

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Revision 3.14.3 | June 27, 2009

Added a brief section regarding other social venues to the chapter on Eating, Drinking, and Smoking in China.

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Revision 3.14.2 | June 25, 2009

Updated foreign teacher salaries based on recent posted salaries on several China EFL employment websites.

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Revision 3.14.1 | June 10, 2009

Maintenance revision. In response to reader feedback, reorganized all chapters across two broad sections: Teaching English in China and Living in China. Many readers found the previous developmental schema (before you go, initial adjustment, and ongoing issues) counterintuitive and confusing to navigate such that work and living issues were intermixed. We believe that readers will find this new organizational schema easier to use.

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Revision 3.14 | May 9, 2009

Completely revised chapter on Contract Renewal to provide more of an historical explanation for the situation that most foreign teachers find themselves in when attempting to renew their contracts. Also, advice regarding how to approach notification of intent not to renew has been completely revised to coincide with strong anecdotal evidence. PDF edition, revision 3.14, also includes numerous formatting improvements.

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Revision 3.13 | April 15, 2009

Added Living and Teaching English in Nanchang, Jiangxi province, a personal account from MKL team member Raymond Allan Johnson.

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Revision 3.12.1 | April 8, 2009

Added social book marking links to the bottom of each page for the 14 most popular sites, e.g., Google, LiveBookmarks, YahooMyWeb, del.icio.us, etc.

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Revision 3.12 | March 16, 2009

Added the section Transitioning from English Teaching to Other Careers in China to the chapter on Outside Work and Other Employment in China, and added a fourth section to our page on China EFL Teacher Resources called English Language and Teaching Resources.

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Revision 3.11 | March 8, 2009

Added Living and Teaching English in Guiyang, Guizhou province, a personal account from MKL team member Michael.

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Revision 3.10 | March 7, 2009

Added Living and Teaching English in Tangshan, Hebei province, a personal account from MKL team member Joshua Davis.

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Revision 3.09 | February 28, 2009

Added Living and Teaching English on Hainan Island, a personal account from a four-year veteran.

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Revision 3.08 | February 23, 2009

Added How to Create a Successful Website, a guide for foreign teachers interested in having a presence on the Internet.

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Revision 3.07 | February 20, 2009

Added a 96-page resource book of EFL activities, games, and songs for teaching English in China.

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Revision 3.06 | February 15, 2009

Added a unit about the housing market in China and how to buy an apartment.

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Revision 3.05.1 | January 28, 2009

Added a 25-item questionnaire designed to determine if one's partner is a narcissist.

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Revision 3.05 | January 26, 2009

Expanded unit on culture shock to include how to distinguish it from clinical depression, and revised section on religious worship in unit on marriage and family issues.

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Revision 3.04 | January 23, 2009

Added a China TEFL primer, to orient inexperienced prospective foreign English teachers about the field of English language teaching, especially as it pertains to Chinese students.

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Revision 3.03 | January 13, 2009

Added an extensive overview, which immediately follows the preface, of China's education system, the mind-set of Chinese students, and how these impact on the foreign English teacher.

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Revision 3.02 | January 10, 2009

Completely revised and expanded entire chapter on Dating, Sex, and Relationships to include latest empirical research findings.

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Revision 3.01.1 | January 3, 2009

Revised official holiday schedule in China for 2009.

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Revision 3.01 | January 2, 2009

In response to reader feedback, added a section titled Homosexual Relationships in China under the unit on Dating, Sex, and Relationships.

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Revision 3.00 | December 18, 2008

Added a chapter on Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Raising a Child in China.

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Revision 2.99 | December 13, 2008

Added a comprehensive summary checklist as an alternative to our mini-checklist, for those who haven't had the chance to read the guide yet.

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Revision 2.98 | December 10, 2008

Added a 20-item China English Teacher Self-Assessment questionnaire to help prospective foreign teachers determine how competitive they will be in the job market, as well as to provide them with an idea about how easy or difficult their adjustment to life in China will be.

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Revision 2.97.1 | December 9, 2008

Added an advisory paragraph in the unit on technology and electronics regarding a common telemarketing scam in China.

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Revision 2.97 | November 28, 2008

Major revisions include addition of Teacher Satisfaction Questionnaire and Privacy Policy Statement. Cosmetic changes include initial transformation of file names from numbers to descriptive text, e.g., 1.htm --> efl-industry-china.htm. This will allow for easier expansion.

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Revision 2.96 | August 21, 2008

Added unit titled "What Do Foreign Oral English Teachers in China Actually Teach?," a short list of recommended schools to work for, and a Reader Survey.

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Revision 2.95.1 | July 11, 2008

Completely rewrote unit 23b, "What are Chinese Girls Really Looking for in a Husband."

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Revision 2.95 | July 7, 2008

Added a brief summary section called "Common Chinese Weights and Measurements for Shoppers" in unit 15, Shopping; a section titled "Big Boss Syndrome" in unit 23f, Finding English-speaking Chinese women and; a section on "Anti-American Sentiment among Nationals of Other Countries," in unit 24, Office Politics.

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Revision 2.94 | July 3, 2008

Added a section titled "How to Apply for a Job" in unit 5 (Finding/Applying for Jobs) and included links to a sample résumé and cover letter. Also enhanced the section on "Issues of Race" to Issues of Race and Nationality so as to include those who are not native speakers of English, in unit 3b (Qualifications in Practice).

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Revision 2.93 | June 28, 2008

Added a brief explanatory section called "Understanding the Quality of the Housing Provided" under unit 4b. "Compensation: Salary and Housing."

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Revision 2.92 | June 23, 2008

Added a list of provincial and municipal foreign expert offices (Appendix C) and posted the law governing permanent residency for foreigners (Appendix D).

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Revision 2.91 | June 17, 2008

Revised unit 27, Changing Jobs and Provinces, to reflect major changes in regulations effective May 2008 for foreign teachers seeking employment at a new school.

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Revision 2.90 | June 16, 2008

Revised unit 4f, Teaching in Fields other than English, with a much clearer explanation and description of Project 211 universities. Added a hyper linked list of all 106 Project 211 universities as Appendix B, accessible from the drop-down menu (under appendices) and as a link in unit 4f.

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Revision 2.89 | June 10, 2008

Added two sections on pets and religious worship, respectively, in unit 25, Domestic and Family Issues, and a brief section on the phenomenon of siesta in China in unit 11, Social Etiquette and Customs.

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Revision 2.88 | May 27, 2008

Added a section on air pollution in unit 4e, Teaching Location.

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Revision 2.87c | May 20, 2008

Added a directory of Chinese language resources to Appendix C.

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Revision 2.87 | May 18, 2008

Expanded discussion of the institutionalized disregard of foreign English teachers in unit 3c ("No Respect") and added a related sub-section in unit 24, "Office Politics: Well... at least they don't call me 'boy'."

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Revision 2.86 | May 16, 2008

Expanded unit 4e (Teaching Locations: Region and City Size). Now includes a discussion of north and south China and linguistic group differences across the country.

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Revision 2.85 | May 14, 2008

Added unit on China EFL Teacher Resources.

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Revision 2.84 | May 12, 2008

Updated units 11 (Social Etiquette), 13 (Transportation), and 16 (Eating, Drinking, and Smoking).

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Revision 2.83 | May 9, 2008

Extended section on Social Etiquette (unit 11) and separated it from unit on Hygiene (unit 12).

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Revision 2.82 | May 8, 2008

Appended comments regarding issue of race and added section on TEFL training programs in unit 3, Qualifications.

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Revision 2.81 | April 28, 2008

Added unit 20: Working on tourist and business visas and updated salary information.

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Revision 2.80 | April 16, 2008

Added unit 22g: Marital Advantages.

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