My time in China. Hangzhou New Century Foreign Language School via Haida agency

Teaching English in China, TEFL Schools and Reviews

I had the most amazing experience in China. I taught at a private boarding school in central Hangzhou (a 10 minute walk from West Lake- the most famous area of Hangzhou) with excellent facilities. The kids were amazing, and it was obvious the teachers cared a lot about their education. Classes were tough to begin with as I had zero previous teaching experience but once you’re thrown in a classroom of fourteen 7-year-old kids and mostly left to your own devices, you quickly learn! I only had to teach 12 40-minute lessons per week which only involved three lesson plans…

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The confucius institute at the University of Nottingham next door to our office at Noon Elite Recruitment. Many test centres are based on university campuses and they are prestigious buildings.

HSK – Everything there is to know

Inspiration, Learning Chinese, Teaching English in China, Things to do

HSK. You hear it when looking at Chinese courses, on job adverts and see it required on University courses. But what is it and why is it worth looking into? This post is is all things HSK.  What it shows, why to take it and what it stands for? Here’s everything you need to know… What it is HSK stands for hanyu shuiping kaoshi. This literally means Chinese language water level examination. More accurately translated to Chinese language level exam, or, examination of your Chinese language level.  The examination is run and accredited by Hanban, a department ran by the…

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Qufu – Hometown of the legendary Confucius

Chinese Places

One of the forefathers of the modern Chinese civilisation and ancient history known as Confucius who’s name surely rings a bell to many, was born in this very town. Situated in the province of Shandong and conveniently one of the stops on the major Beijing to Shanghai train line it is a city where you can experience the birthplace of Chinese philosophy and modern thought. With most of the tourists coming from all around China and not a lot of foreigners (be ready for calls of ‘laowai’), it is a truly authentic experience. Try to get there as well early…

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A British brown man in China – From Beijing to Jining

Beijing, Daily Life, Inspiration, Teaching English in China

In a follow up from my first blog, I had woken up the next day in Beijing, and had to think where I was for a short moment. The realisation then dawned upon me that I was not in fact at home, blanketed by central heating, but in the colder hostel room in China. For breakfast, I thought to stick to comfort in familiarity with an egg omelette as part of me acclimatising my stomach of sorts, to avoid having any repeat of an incident similar to previous travels in Tanzania or India…always learn from experience it seems. The local…

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