I used to work at a school in Jilin Province called Sino-American Denver English School in Changchun City of Jilin Province. I'm just posting a little review of the school to answer any questions that those of you who may consider working there may have.

The boss is a guy named Andy and his wife's name is Sarah. They are Chinese and have very limited English ability. However, if you need to communicate with them (and if you can't speak much Chinese) it's possible through the use of a TA (who at the time was Nadia) who will typically act as your translator.

The facilities at the school are decent; nothing too fancy. The workweek is 6 days and 22 full hours. So, if they schedule you 4 kindergarten lessons in the morning, chances are that will only equal 2 hours. 22 hours isn't so much, but with the job you may be working in a number of different schools around the city. I was working at at least 5 or 6 different schools at any given time. I would typically spend between 10 and 15 hours a week in travel time (on the public bus).

I taught all ages of students, from 2 all the way to to teaching other English teachers.

The apartment provided to me was ok. They provided an apartment with a TV, washing machine, water heater, and a little electric stove.

They always paid me on time, and they'd also pay for a fraction of my travel expenses. The pay typically starts out at 6000 a month.

The school provided me a Residence Permit, as they were supposed to, but I did see them give an Australian girl (who was new to China) an F-Visa (which is not the correct visa). She requested they change it for her, but they declined, assuring her that is was ok. As a result she left the school. Let them know in the beginning that you are aware that you should get a 1-year Residence Permit and then they'll be less likely to do otherwise.

The first six months the school treated me quite well. However, I would suggest trying to keep a little distance between you and the bosses. Just do your job, do it well, be friendly, but don't get in too close with them. Andy was always really nice, but his wife Sarah, is sort of sneaky. She tried to shorthand me on my pay once, she made promises that she didn't come through on, etc. Nadia is sort of Sarah's mouthpiece--almost like an extension of Sarah. That's her job though and you'll be in contact with her a lot, so try to keep a positive relationship and bite your tongue if you feel like saying something that could create negative feelings between the two of you.

Despite the sometimes chaotic nature of the job, if you are interested in working there, go ahead. There were a few other foreigners working there when I was there and other than trivial problems, everything was typically ok.

The advantage to the school is that they have the certification to hire you legally, and that alone is extremely important.

Hope this helps.

Nathan