Reviews Pioneer & Beyond
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After the interview: "Thank you for making me so comfortable. I was so nervous."
M.
Teacher
"Thank you for your fast reply and understanding! Also, thank you for you continued help."
W.
Teacher
"I'm excited thank you for answering all my questions".
E.
Teacher
"Thank you very much Pioneer and Beyond with assisting me in finding a teaching job overseas. Geoff was very professional and helpful. I highly recommend this agency."
Talitha
Teacher
"Thank you for all you are doing."
E.
Teacher
“To: Elisabeth. You are so kind , thus far your service has been great. Thank you so much for being patient with me. And you’ve been very helpful I appreciate it."
T.
Teacher
"Thanks for getting that to me, I've looked through the contract and it looks really good."
B.
Teacher
"Thank you for getting back to me. Sounds fantastic and can't wait to get started with this."
P.
Teacher
"I want to be in a public school and have enjoyed the conversations we’ve had thus far."
K.
Teacher
"Thank you very much for an amazing interview. It was great speaking to you as well!"
M.
Teacher
“When Pioneer & Beyond reached out to me I simply had to take the opportunity. And let me tell you, it has been such an amazing experience in the little time that I have been here. I have met some extraordinary people from all around the world and have started to learn more and more about this beautiful country…”
Cindy
Teacher
“When having the initial idea to move to China, I enjoyed the prospect of living in a country that was so vastly different from the lifestyle I had in the UK. A year later, I can’t deny this but yet there is something about China, and Beijing in particular, that really seems familiar. You still have access to your home comforts and while things can be challenging, living in Beijing is not as different and challenging as I initially thought. There are lots of things that stop and make you go ‘I can’t believe they have that in China’! I was particularly surprised at the amount of foreign foods, foreign supermarkets, foreign goods that they actually sell in Beijing and how there has been a real effort to make things easier for foreigners travelling or living in Beijing. While the amount of locals that speak English is limited in China, there are lots of things that make living here much easier, particularly if you can’t speak the language. Didi (China’s version of Uber) is all available in English and so you will not have any problem tracking down a taxi, you can even rent a bicycle using the English version of their bicycle renting apps. Even ordering or groceries to your apartment is very easy (they deliver everything you can imagine here including McDonalds, Subway, Costa etc..)! Also, the network of foreigners here is not difficult to find. There are areas in the centre of Beijing where you find lots of expats who are working and living in Beijing. There are Irish bars and English tea houses which you can go to which make you feel as if you never even left the UK! There are lots of groups which you can join on Wechat (which usually have a central theme, just to name a couple: ‘UK expats living in Beijing’, ‘British Young Professionals’) so that you can get your hair cut by English speakers or go to social networking nights if you want to expand your professional circle with like-minded people who also are living as expats. Moving in China still has been a step, jump and leap from living in the UK but there are things and people available that don’t completely make the things you love about the UK disappear. Some days you might feel like you don’t want to eat Chinese food or you want to go and watch the football with a pint or have an English cup of tea, all of which you can still do while living in China. It makes you feel proud of where you come from and also proud to have made the decision to move to a new country which is very different from your own.”
Yasmin
Teacher
“The first time I landed in China was in early August of 2016. A short two months prior I had graduated from Canterbury Christ Church University and as with all fresh graduates, finding a job that I would enjoy working was the main challenge that was ahead of me. I knew I didn’t want to be stuck in an office somewhere, working a 9 to 5. No, I wanted something more exciting. I wanted to travel, to meet people, to submerge myself in different cultures, to taste the exotic food, to experience the world. Thanks to the Pioneer&Beyond team I was able to do exactly that and more. I signed a one year contract to teach English in China, got the visa, the one-way plane ticket and my suitcase ready and embarked on a journey to East Asia, not fully knowing what to expect. A year and a half later I can confidently say that my decision to become an English Teacher in China led me to have one of the most wonderful experiences of my entire life. Here are the three main reasons (drawn from my personal experiences) why you should seize this incredible opportunity and become an English Teacher in China. 1.Travel and enrich your horizon One of the requirements for this job is for the successful candidate to have an adventurous and open mind. To the wanderlust-craving traveller, China has so much to offer. Enormous, technologically advanced and almost futuristic metropolises have a vibrant, neon-lit nightlife that can easily rival if not surpass that of Western cosmopolitan hubs. If you are a traveller who is more excited by history and culture then fear not for in China historical and cultural landmarks can be found all over the country. Not only will you have the opportunity to visit the most famous sites such as the Forbidden City and the Great Wall but you will also discover many more locations steeped in China’s rich and ancient history. Those same metropolises have neighbourhoods that to this day preserve the Chinese traditions in such a way that upon visiting them you will feel as though you have been transported back in time. In addition, China is one of the most culturally diverse countries I have ever visited. 56 different nations call China their home, each with a different and unique culture. As you are travelling from province to province, you will feel the cultures shifting and changing around you as you discover to your amazement just how big China is. And for the food lovers out there, each of these different nations has their own cuisine with their own flavours and tastes. You will never get bored of trying out different Chinese food. If nature is more your thing, then you are in luck. China offers breathtakingly stunning natural scenery. Ever-flowing rivers, deep forests, mesmerising lakes, golden deserts and colossal mountains; China’s geography has something for every lover of nature. And the best part? You don’t have to choose, and you can see all of it. The monthly salary of an English Teacher in China will allow you to live a comfortable life and travel at the same time. For example during my one year in China working as an English Teacher I was able to explore the historical landmarks of Beijing, experience vibrant Shanghai, climb the mountains near Yingtan, get lost in the beauty of Hangzhou’s West Lake, walk the sandy beaches of Xiamen and these are just some of the highlights of my travels, all of which were funded with the salary I received as an English Teacher. 2.A rewarding and valuable work experience Enough about travelling, what about the actual job you will be there to do? Before arriving in China, this was my biggest worry. I was a recent graduate with virtually no prior work experience let alone experience as an English Teacher. ‘How the hell am I supposed to do this thing?’, was the most prevalent question in my head on my flight from London to Ningbo, China. Little did I know that being a teacher would turn out to be the most personally rewarding part of the whole experience. I know it must sound cliché, but it is true. Before I explain a bit more what makes teaching such a great job, allow me first to dispel some of the fears that may be lurking in your mind (as they were in mine) about becoming a teacher with no prior experience teaching. Upon arrival, all schools will provide you with training. The school where I worked required all of their new teachers to undertake a 5-day Teacher Training Course aimed at equipping you with the necessary tools and skills to become an effective teacher. Furthermore, most schools will also have their new teachers teach some of their easier classes first before giving you the more challenging ones. So what is it about being an English Teacher that makes it so great? Well, the answer is as simple as seeing the fruits of your labours blossom in front of your very eyes. There is nothing quite like receiving a 3-year-old kid as your student who can barely speak Mandarin let alone English and seeing that child begin to recognise words in English, learn how to speak those words and even attempt to form sentences with said words. 3.Friendships, Lots of friendships Lastly, but perhaps most importantly you will have the chance to form lifelong friendships with people from every corner of the planet. Before coming to China, I had never met anyone from China or the USA or Serbia or Colombia or Australia. Now I can say I have friends in almost every continent on this planet. Becoming an English Teacher in China will give you the opportunity to literary meet people from all over the world. The other English teachers you will meet will be mostly young people who have journeyed over to China from different parts of the globe for similar reasons as you: looking to experience a different way of life. Plus you will also have lovely Chinese coworkers eager to meet you and make you feel welcomed in their country. Needless to say, prepare yourselves to make friendships and lots of them.”
Antoniy T. G.
Teacher
“My first teaching job was at a primary school. I taught mathematics to standard four children in rural Nyeri. Teaching in English, was especially difficult in this case since the kids spoke mostly in their native tongue. That was when I decided to teach kindergarten children. To provide the basis they so strongly needed. And as fate would have it, a spot popped up for a kindergarten teacher in China. The change was huge for me. I moved from classrooms with desks and chalkboards, to rooms strewn with toys and crayons. The children, mostly between the ages of three and five, had extremely short attention spans, and so my classes lastly only about twenty minutes. The children had two tea breaks and an hour’s nap after lunch before they went home. That meant trying to squeeze all my activities into about four hours in a day. Anyone would jump at only having to teach for four hours, but no one tells you just how much work that is. The emotions were through the roof. A child could easily move from singing one second to crying if he didn’t get the toy he wanted. Some children were also not potty trained, which meant you had to take a few trips to the loo. I found my patience tried one too many times. One look from those huge brown eyes was enough to dissipate the frustration though, and slowly I was able to make the sessions more interactive. We moved from singing and dancing games to flashcards and show and tell. You find that you have to move around a lot which I must say was helpful in my fitness struggle. And you gesticulate a lot too; a habit you will find goes home with you every day. Flashcards came in handy, though I found in some instances, having the real items was a major help. When it came to the games, I found that the simpler it was the better for them. I cannot reiterate how many children songs and games you need to know. “Head, shoulder, knees and toes” was particularly useful when teaching body parts. My favourite parts of the day were rewarded time. When a child got a word right or did the right thing, we gave them bright and colourful stickers. The smiles on their faces could easily melt your heart. The knee hugs were also absolutely amazing; maybe even something to look forward to. All in all, teaching kindergarten children is a lot of work, but it is richly rewarding. I mean, who wouldn’t want to spend a whole day singing, dancing and colouring?"
L.
Teacher
