Hello

I found this site through one of my friends who has begun teaching Mandarin online.

I have retired from my civil service job and one of the things I started to do was learn Mandarin through the use of books and the assistance of Chinese people online in exchange for help to improve their English.

For the past 8 months I have spent some time each day teaching English to a number of friends, but I have to admit not making as much effort as I should to learn Mandarin. Now I am putting more effort into Mandarin and I finally feel I am making progress.

I have always been interested in languages and have learned a little of several. I have found this knowledge helpful when explaining the workings of English to people for whom English was a second or third language.

I often find that my major task is to explain how to use English, to explain the concepts underlying an English conversation or discussion. Many people who have studied English in school need assistance to transfer that knowledge into everyday use.

Recently several of the people I have been helping suggested that I should explore teaching English as a vocation. So here I am trying it. I also have the option to formally study Teaching English as Second Language as a graduate diploma. I am not sure that I am prepared for that step yet. I would appreciate any comments on the usefulness of that formal training.

Hi Philip, welcome to eduFire!

Hi :) I know we have met but hi again :) I enjoyed reading your introduction. Best wishes for your teaching here and I am sure you will get some thoughts on the formal training in English studies.

Hi Philip,

Welcome to eduFire! Nice to meet you

Hi Philip, great to see you here in the forums – have fun!

Hi,Philip.I am so happy to see you on the forum. I am his friend who suggested to teach English on edufire. As far as I know, many native English teachers who are teaching in China now don’t have the certificate of teaching English as a second language. So if you can get a training course in Australia and after graduation, I am sure that you can find teaching jobs easily in China. Welcome to teach in my place.O(∩_∩)O哈哈~

welcome to eduFire!