As we all know, in order for foreigners to legally work in China (in any profession, not just language teaching), they will need a Z-visa.  Z-visas are legal permits stuck in your passport which give you permission to work with a language company or state school here in China. Only language schools and state schools licenced by the SAFEA (State Administration of Foreign Expert Affairs) are allowed to hire foreign teachers, and this licence is no easy thing to apply for. Schools less than 12 months old are not permitted to apply.

In February 1990, Nelson Mandela walked free from prison after nearly thirty years. Mandela was imprisoned for protesting against the South African government and their apartheid policies.

Check out this News English lesson about his release. It includes an interesting reading and comprehension questions.

Great Way to Teach IELTS!

IELTS can be a tricky beast to teach. One of the first thing that should be on your list is to make sure that you have some authentic IELTS questions to practice with your students. Guess what? This pack does exactly that!

Try Fresh Warmers in Class!

If you're stuck using the same old warmers every lesson, term after term, we'd love it if you downloaded our free 'Fat Warmers Pack' and let us know what you think! So often as teachers we get stuck in a rut for how to open a class, or inject a little bit of fun into the start of a lesson. See how we do it!

Best Lesson Plan of the Year!

Wherever you've stumbled in from, please download our free lesson plan, '2011 - Year in Review', created especially by Stuart from RAY English. It's a great round up of the year and will be fascinating for your pre-intermediate+ level students (as well as interesting to teach!)

What types of TEFL qualifications are out there for me? What is best for China?

If you've ever typed "TEFL courses" into Google, you'll know that the search results show a baffling choice of options to gain certification as a TEFL teacher. The major differences seem to come down to four factors: level of international recognition, course duration, course format and price. The large divide in courses is between in-house and distance/online courses. In-house courses tend to be very hands-on, involved, and require varying amounts of observed teaching practice.