Position:

Program Manager and Head Teacher of the English Training Program (ETP)

School and Location:

The ETP is a 13 year-old program in Malho (Ch. Huangnan) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Qinghai Province, about 2 hours south of Xining city.  

The school is a Nationalities Senior Middle School (Gao-zhong) serving Tibetan, Mongolian, and Dordo students from the prefecture. The ETP is an accelerated English program designated for one class in each grade (i.e. three total) that uses a different curriculum and allows for a wide range of teacher-created activities and lessons. Extracurricular activities run by ETP teachers have included: Photo projects, sports teams, writing and music clubs, etc. Advanced students from lower middle school are recruited during the previous spring and must apply to the program. With an acceptance rate at approximately 15%, the students who are admitted to the class are generally ambitious, dedicated, and proactive.

Responsibilities:

– About 20 hours of classroom teaching per week (class size ~35 students)

– Significant extra-curricular engagement 

– Gaokao preparation for third year students

– Continual development of a culturally responsive pedagogy

– Working alongside Tibetan and Chinese administrators and teachers

– Traveling to nearby towns and villages during the late spring to recruit future students

Ideal Candidates will:

– Understand the political sensitivity of this area and do nothing to jeopardize the safety of the

students, program, or local populations

– Have a BA 

– Have native fluency in English

– Know or be willing to learn Tibetan and Chinese languages

– Have English-language teaching experience

– Demonstrate patience, flexibility, and cooperativeness when coping with the uncertainties of working in Qinghai

– Assist and collaborate with local English teachers

– Have lots of energy, creativity, and a tolerance for somewhat more rugged conditions than are

usually found in urban Centers

Compensation:

– School-assisted Visa acquisition

– 6,000Y per month salary

– Option to use school-provided accommodations for teachers

– R/T Airfare (depending on employment term)

Other info:

– While the ETP bears the responsibility of preparing students for the Gaokao and teaching content that is acceptable in the PRC, the ETP manager has significant autonomy in developing the curriculum and teaching methods. The curriculum used in previous years includes numerous movies, songs, poems, and level-appropriate literature from Tibetan and non-Tibetan sources.   

– The school is on the outskirts of a midsize county town on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau. Many conveniences are available in town, but rural villages, hiking trails, and herding areas are within close reach.

– This is a great opportunity to gain academic experience; many teachers have gone on to Masters and Doctoral programs. 

– 6,000Y goes much further here than it does in a major city (e.g. Average rent for large 1-bedroom apartments with bathroom are around 700-800Y).