Qualifying as a Golden Apple Teacher

China has become much stricter on what qualifies a person as a teaching professional and the bad news for all those doing short-term TEFL and TESOL courses is, China no longer recognizes these certificates as being a qualified teacher. (To be honest I can understand why because most of these short courses do not prepare you sufficiently to be a decent teacher in a short timeframe)

To be a teacher in most cities you MUST:
Hold a Bachelor's Degree or higher

Have at least 3 years working experience in any field but preferably in education (some cities will take 2 years, but not Chengdu)
Be able to pass the Chinese vocational medical

These are now the absolute minimum qualifications to work in China and, at Golden Apple, we cannot even start the process if you do not meet these criteria. Some smaller towns and cities may be more relaxed and accept lower qualifications but in general nowhere will. As we mention in other sections, if someone tells you different, they are either doing something shady or don’t know the new regulations.

Golden Apple

In addition to the state requirements for foreign teachers, Golden Apple also have their own requirements. These are not hard and fast rules, just things we prefer our teachers to have. If you really think you would be a great children's teacher and you don't exactly meet the requirements below, we would still love to hear from you.

Basic Qualifications

To qualify as a teacher at Golden Apple we require the following:

Native of a country who’s main Official language is English: i.e. Native of the United States, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa etc.
You are a native speaker of English in your home country and English is your prime language of communication among family and peers.

We should point out that we DO NOT ACCEPT applications from people for who English is a second language or where the English spoken has a strong local accent, such as African countries, India, Phillipines, Malaysia etc.

We gladly accept applications from people who have spent their formative years in one of the above Native English speaking countries and live in an English speaking household but are now resident in another country, providing you can prove fluency and neutral accent. (That basically means we would have a telephone interview)

What we Prefer

Working with young children requires a particular kind of person and for those of you have never worked with young kids before. “It is much more tiring than you would ever think possible”

Teaching very young children a second language is also much more complicated than you would ever dream and no TESOL or TEFL course can possibly prepare you to face a class full of 3 year olds. So, we look for a particular type of teacher and if you think you at least resemble the kind of person who would make a good kindergarten teacher (or primary English teacher) please get in touch with us. What we look for is:
Some experience with kids

Lively and cheerful personality
Willing to learn
Energetic and full of life
Responsible and safety conscious
Hard working and reliable
Enjoy acting and performing (or in other words being silly with the kids)
Dedicated to their work
Well developed moral and common sense
Loves children and kindergarten work
In good health

We don’t mind what age our teachers are but prefer them to be under normal retirement age. People who are too old find it extremely hard to keep up with a bunch of lively kids.

Our Exceptions

Being the safety and ethically conscious people we are, Golden Apple also sets the following limitations.

No criminal record or outstanding warrants for arrest, especially for child related offences (happens more than you think and we do check most teachers with the local embassy!)
No history of mental illness (also happens more than you’d think and we also check with the local embassy)
Not registered as unable to work or limited to certain types of low-stress work in your home country

It may seems silly or even offensive to say the above, but we have had applications in the past from registered sex offenders and registered mild schizophrenics and we are not prepared to take chances with the welfare of the children