International Cooperative Education

Yantai Schools, Yantai, Shangdou, China

Teach English in the beautiful seaside resort city of Yantai, in Shangdou province.  It is helpful to already know some Mandarin Chinese, but the program will also accept participants without any knowledge of Chinese. The immersion into the teaching environment provides an excellent way to learn or improve your Mandarin skills. 

Yantai is located at the eastern tip of the Shandong Peninsula, between Beijing and Shanghai.  20 years ago it was an agricultural village. Today the population exceeds 6 million people. The city has a fabulous infrastructure.

See the governmental website: http://www.yantaifdi.gov.cn/en/index.jsp . The tourism bureau has produced an excellent 16-minute video which you can watch below. Click on the arrow in the window below to watch the video. If you don't already have the QuickTime plugin, the program will prompt you to download and install it so you can see the video. The first minute is narrated in Chinese, but the rest is in English.  If the video does not start automatically, you can download it here - be patient since it is a large file and takes a while. 

Major products of Yantai include: gold, wine, Buick automobiles, apples, computer hardware, textiles, embroideries, and ships. There are many recreation opportunities including beautiful sand beaches on the Yellow Sea.

Teaching internships are available for students, non-students, retired people or couples who might enjoy teaching English in China.

Sign up for one or two semesters. The teaching schedule is:
  Spring Semester: Late February/early March to the end of June or early July.
  Fall Semester: Late August until the end of December/early January.

Student teachers can also be accepted for 2, 3 or four-month assignments

The student teacher will receive from the school or from our local coordinator:

1. Accommodation in a furnished apartment on campus
2. Three meals per day (Monday - Friday)during the semester
3. Airport pick-up and return
4. Visa sponsorship and the program supervision
5. Logistics services and support
6. Local city orientation tours upon arrival
7. Program orientation
8. Occasional visits to some Chinese families
9. Banking service as well as translation/interpretation service
10. 24/7 emergency service and assistance
11. Free internet access in the school office or in the apartment (computer is being provided)
12. Uniform provided for all teachers 13. A Mandarin Chinese textbook and flash cards are being provided for self-study purposes.
14. Personal assistance from Chinese speaking teachers with speaking, writing and reading exercises can be provided upon the request of the student teacher. A great opportunity to acquire Mandarin in the school.
15. Invitations to visit local families to expand social and communicative skills.

The student provides:
1. Warm clothing for the winter (20ºF)
2. Teaching materials such as maps, books, songs, games
4. Enthusiasm for the kids and the ability to quickly integrate into Chinese society.
5. $1150 placement fee to set up employment and housing
6.  Round trip plane flight to Yantai via Beijing.  Airfare can be as low as $650.
7.  Medical insurance.  We can provide insurance for $32 per month if you need it. 8.  US $ 1,500 in reserve funds on deposit in a US bank that can be accessed via Chinese ATM machines.  This is for miscellaneous expenses like sightseeing, eating out, attendance at cultural events, etc. 
8.  Towels, rolls of toilet paper

Teaching Conditions:
15 - 18 hours of teaching per week. Each teaching session is 40 minutes. All students live and eat at the school Mondays through Fridays while their parents work.

Postcards from Yantai