The Difference Between Training Centers and State Schools in China

Already decided to teach English in China? You may have studied the specific information about working and living in China in advance, and even considered which city to live and even which type of students to teach. However, have you ever thought about what type of school to teach in?

Different from the traditional Western public school system, there is a huge difference between Chinese public schools and private schools. In China, public schools often refer to kindergartens, elementary schools, high schools, or university established with government funding, while private schools refer to English training centers or language schools.

Before choosing a school that suits you best, you need to know the specific information about the Chinese school system. Checked detailed information here to find out about teaching in China

SCHEDULE

Training center. Training centers are additional courses that students take after normal school or adults take after working days. You will learn summer and winter courses on the training center schedule, and most training schools will compensate you for the extra time and working days.

Ø Working hours: 2:00 pm-8:00 pm/8:30 pm (classes start at 5 pm)

Ø Rest time: Tuesday and Wednesday (generally speaking)

Ø Holidays: 10 annual holidays (for new teachers) and National Day (about 11 days)

State school. State schools are similar in schedule to the western schools.

Ø Working hours: 7:30/8:00 in the morning-4:00/5:00 in the afternoon

Ø Rest time: Saturday and Sunday

Ø Holidays: 4-8 weeks of summer vacation, 2 weeks of winter vacation, 3 weeks of New Year vacation

Similarities between training centers and state schools

Ø Teaching time: about 20-25 hours a week

Ø Working time: 15-20 hours during the work week for office hours, course planning or center training (some schools do not have office hours)

CLASS SIZES

Training center. In order to ensure the quality of students' teaching, private language schools will control the size of the class.

Ø Class size: up to about 15 students (a class of students aged 3-6 generally does not exceed 10 students)

Ø Source of students: There will be different students every quarter (some students only take one semester)

State school. Public schools have different class sizes according to the grade you teach. As the level of the class increases, the number of students in the class will increase.

Ø Class size: approximately 20-25 students in kindergarten, 50-60 students in middle school or high school classrooms, and up to 70 students in university (in general)

Ø Student source: the same students (in the entire teaching year)

Tip: You may become the only foreign teacher in the school if you teach in a rural school.

TEACHING STYLES

Training center. Privately invested training centers usually have sufficient teaching funds (including high tuition fees for students) and good educational resources.

Ø Teaching equipment: high-tech teaching tools and modern classrooms;

Ø Teaching materials: specific teaching materials and courses plans (language schools may also require teachers to hold demonstration courses to attract more students)

Ø School activities: games, dancing, music and a lot of interaction

State school.  State schools have large class sizes and its teaching funds are provided by government finance departments so that educational resources are relatively limited.

Ø Teaching equipment: blackboard with chalk and eraser (for some poor rural areas); whiteboards and/or smart boards and computer projection materials (for rich urban areas); general classrooms do not have central heating and cooling equipment

Ø Teaching materials: unified syllabus and textbooks (the way of course implementation is usually determined by the teachers.)

Ø School activities: more outdoor sports on the playground

After reading the article, I believe that you have clearly understood the difference between training centers and public schools. So what is your choice? Please decide carefully since your school determines your way of work and lifestyle in China.

If your choice is training center, please click the button and start talk with us!