1. What does a typical academic school year look like?
Fall
September: Teaching begins for sophomores, juniors and seniors.
Opening ceremony for freshmen

October 1st: China National Day., vacation for one week and teachers may travel during this time.

October: Teaching begins for freshmen.

o International Culture Week (Oct or Nov). A campus-wide celebration of international cultures.

o Thanksgiving Day (No classes for foreign teachers): A Thanksgiving feast is served for all of the foreign students and faculty after a good game of American Flag Football.

o Winter Holiday:: Teachers can travel and/or leave the country, but they will need to pay for their own airfare.

Spring
o Track and Field Days: A sports day for freshmen to show off their athletic abilities. It is a great bonding time for teaching and students.
o Homecoming: Similar to the American pastime, there are performances and ceremonies.
o Graduation: Class end in early June, and teachers may travel or return home.

2. How many hours do I teach per week?
Most teachers teach Oral English and generally have a class load of 18 hours per week plus 2 hours community service and office hours. Teachers with academic classes (e.g., history, film, accounting) generally have a class load of 12 hours per week plus 2 hours community service and office hours. Of course, the needs of the university and the current contract govern the actual hours and conditions.

3. How much time will I have to spend out of class to prepare for teaching?
This depends a great deal on your experience as a teacher and the level of your students.
Most first-time teachers find lesson planning becomes easier and easier with time. The
university will provide support to you in this area as well: in short weekly meetings, you will be given helpful classroom activities and lesson planning ideas to help you prepare. There are also monthly faculty meetings that will address teaching techniques and staff issues.

4. When will I be teaching?
You will be teaching 12-18 hours per week. 12 hours per week for academic classes and 18 hours per week for Oral English classes. Classes are two hours long with a ten minute break in the middle. Your schedule may vary from teaching two classes every day to having all your classes on three days of the week with two days off. Most schedules fall somewhere in the middle. Remember, flexibility is the most important thing to have a good experience abroad.

5. What subject will I teach?
You will teach conversational English unless there is a specific university need for another
subject. The university reviews transcripts and resumes to identify teachers with the education and experience to teach academic subjects. If there is a need and you possess the education and experience, you may be offered an academic course instead of oral English classes.