So, you want to go to China to teach and the first job that popped up in your search bar was EF English First. The salary looks decent, the company is legit, and the acceptance process is short and sweet. EF isn't perfect, but hopefully this English First review can help give you the perspective that you need to make the best decision for yourself.
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My Overall English First Review
EF English First is one of the leading companies out there plucking fresh-faced graduates to teach for a year or two in China (although they do also have teaching programs in Indonesia and Russia). It's arguably one of the best starter jobs in China for teaching English, so the company has pretty terrible retention, but their steady stream of new graduates makes up for that. Generally, I'd recommend English First to beginning teachers that want to get their feet wet and then venture out from there. It's not, in my opinion, the best option for someone who already has teaching experience.
To clarify, my English First review is in regards to corporate EF, which operates in pretty much all of the large cities in China. There are franchises in many smaller cities, so they go by different rules - this review does not apply to them, as I don't have experience working for an English First franchise.
Pros and Cons of Working for English First
An overview
Pros
Cons
In other words
As long as you're willing to put up with potentially subpar low-level management and a rigid teaching curriculum, then this job will give you a legal work visa, generally has easy hours, pays you fine, and gives you some opportunities to travel.
Pre-Arrival Visa Process
My Temporary Visa to Enter China
My English First review is very good when it comes to the visa process. Unlike many companies, they will pay some of the costs up front (HELLO free plane ticket!), rather than reimburse you later. Most importantly, you can rest easy knowing that EF does everything by the book (many companies don't!), so you will absolutely receive a legal work permit and will not be told to work illegally.
After you interview and are accepted, your recruiter will be your main point of contact for your visa timeline and application. They will give you a timeline with different deadlines of when you need to submit each document. My recruiter communicated with me through a mix of phone calls and emails. For a more detailed explanation about the process, I'll refer you to my blog post about the Chinese Z visa process. If you don't meet the timeline deadlines, then they will just continue to push back your start date until everything is completed.
The downside to English First paying for some of your visa costs, like getting your documents authenticated, is that they will keep these documents upon your arrival to China. This is written in your contract, but most recruiters don't explicitly tell you this. EF will of course provide you with your original documents (like your diploma), but for the authenticated version they will only give you a scan of the documents. Thankfully, if you're looking for another job in China a scan will do just fine, but I personally think it's dirty that EF keeps the paperwork just because they paid for it. If I had known this in advance I would have rather paid for it myself and kept my documents.
Additionally, everything that you do have to pay for upfront for should be reimbursed, however not once you arrive; it will only be reimbursed once you pass the 2 month probation (which is also something they conveniently leave out).
Breakdown of Funds
EF's 2-Week Orientation Review
EF's initial orientation is stellar, although like all companies it contains dull introductions to the company's "core values" and such. The hotel is fully paid for for two weeks, and so during that time you're expected to find an apartment. Although this sounds daunting, in China finding an apartment is incredibly easy and options abound, so I wouldn't worry about this (this may have changed now due to foreigner fears regarding covid-19 in some cities, but EF will help you find housing).
EF's orientation provides you with a basic understanding of what's expected of you, introduces you to important people in the company, gives you time to review and sign your contract, and helps you acclimate to being in a new country. I also received assistance in getting a Chinese SIM card and wifi; opening up a bank account; setting up WeChat and WeChat pay; and apartment hunting.
Additionally, you can opt in for a 12,000 yuan cash advance if you so desire. This is an excellent feature that I think all companies should have, but so far I've only seen EF offer this. You pay back this cash advance in monthly installments of 1,200 yuan, taken directly from your paycheck (pre-tax). Many places in China require 2 or 3 months of rent money at a time, and the security deposit is often a month and a half or two months, so your initial payment for your apartment will set you back a substantial amount, hence why the cash advance is so helpful.
Something to note about the cash advance is that you cannot pay more of it off early; they will only take the 1,200 yuan each month and not a cent more. If you leave EF prior to your contract and owe money, then of course they can charge you what's left of the cash advance.
English First Review: My Working Experience
I found the job itself easy but repetitive and rigid, so here is where my English First review gets more critical. The curriculum is pre-written and all of the lesson materials are pre-prepared for you. In many ways, this was a sigh of relief after having almost nothing given to me during my time working for EODP in Chile (read my review here). However, the lack of flexibility and autonomy can be frustrating. If I had liked the curriculum, perhaps I wouldn't have minded, but I found a lot of it quite dull, especially for the older-aged students. The summer and winter camp material was even worse, where parents often signed their kids up for phonics classes that met four times a week.
Most kids were well-behaved and enthusiastic, a nice switch-up from working in a few middle schools in the United States. However, each class also had open lessons and achievement ceremonies that I found obnoxious and performative. For the open lessons, parents could sit in and watch the whole class; of course, they weren't actually real classes, more of an opportunity for parents to take photos and hopefully sign a new contract. Then, for achievement ceremonies, again parents watched a portion of the class and then certificates were passed out.
Sell, sell, sell
Lastly, although this may sound obvious since English First is a private company, everything is about sales here. I'd be remiss to not include this in my English First review, because it frustrated me immensely. Teachers are supposed to be separated from this, but they're not. They have to do demos for prospective students (although I lucked out and because of coronavirus was never trained to do this, thank the lord), and the progress advisors often tell you what parents want to see from the class, regardless of if it's actually good for the students.
Unless you opt in to work at a public school or a kindergarten, this is going to be the case for any language center in China, but I found EF's sales particularly performative. Demos are going to be common-place at any language center, but awkward open lessons and achievement ceremonies less so.
Additionally, many jobs offer a small commission to teachers when a sale is made after a demo (like at Meten I receive 200 yuan per sale), but this is not the case at EF. So not only do teachers still have to deal with sales, they don't even receive anything extra from it.
English First Work Hours Review
One of the best perks about working for English First in China is that the work hours are short and easy. Generally, from Monday through Friday teachers are expected to work from 2:00 p.m. until 8:30 p.m., or until their last class. Classes usually only run from 5 till 8:30, so you have ample planning time each day.
On Saturday and Sunday, the work hours are from 10:00 a.m. until 6:15 p.m., although occasionally some centers operate from 9:00 a.m. until 5:15 p.m. You don't have to clock in or out.
However, the catch is that every employee is required to work extra hours during winter and summer camps. During this time, each employee will work six days a week, and will have additional morning classes. The company then says that the workers don't have to do admin time, so if you don't have a class you can head home or do whatever you like. These times of the year are "blackout" times, so no one can request time off unless specially approved by the Director of Studies (DOS). This means that for the anticipated Chinese New Year in winter no one can add on extra days before or after the holiday, because there's winter camp. Camp is the only reason I didn't give EF 5/5 stars here for work hours.
EF's Pay, Wage Increases and Promotions
EF's starting pay breakdown for me was: 13,000 yuan salary + 667 flight allowance every month, totaling 13,667. It was paid on the first of each month, always on time and usually early. This total equals out to a little over $2,000 a month, which is perfectly livable in China. My biggest expense, rent, was only 2,200 yuan in Chongqing for a 2-bedroom by myself; in Shenzhen, a higher-priced city, I now pay 3,100 for a studio.
However, I will say that English First's starting pay is certainly below the market average for foreign English teachers. My starting salary at Meten was 18,000 yuan; my friend who works at a kindergarten gets 20,000 yuan and free housing; my other two friends receive 23,000 a month to work at a small language center. Because of the coronavirus and lack of available foreign teachers, I do believe EF has recently decided to increase their salary packages.
Except for winter and summer courses, EF really doesn't offer overtime options (although this may have changed due to a shortage of teachers during the coronavirus). The winter and summer compensation is chump change, really: an extra 300 yuan per week, as long as you meet the baseline requirement of the number of classes. This also means someone with only two extra classes will receive the same amount as someone with three or four extra classes, so it doesn't exactly promote being an over-achiever.
Working your way up
EF's performance appraisal system is decent, though, so as long as you perform well and tick the right boxes you can get a decent pay raise that goes into effect in month 7. Your salary should be at least boosted up to 15,000 per month. If you sign for a second year, you can get a second pay raise that starts in month 13. This is largely why my English First review score in this category isn't lower. However, be careful: you can also get a pay decrease if you work your way up and then they deem that you're not performing up to the current pay amount that you're receiving. This seems to be pretty standard for many companies here in China.
Another perk of working for EF as a foreigner is that they have a good, stream-lined system to work your way up if you want to. In many companies, it can be difficult to get promoted when you're a foreigner, but not at English First; they boast that within three years you can become a Director of Studies (DOS). However, to take this path you have to jump through the hoops that EF wants you to jump through, including taking silly TKT tests that, after the first one, you're required to pay for (450 yuan per test).
English First Professional Development Review
This was one of my least favorite aspects of EF, and not in the way that you may be thinking. My problem here was that there was too much basic-level training, not enough trust in teacher's abilities, and a lot of bogus professional development that was incredibly unhelpful.
To start off, I had to co-teach, or team teach as they call it, for almost two months after I arrived. This means I had no classes of my own, and that after each team teach the co-teacher was supposed to give me feedback. I felt micromanaged and not trusted. This situation of course varies depending on the need for the foreign teachers to start teaching their own classes quickly or not, but my center was particularly slow with giving teachers their own classes.
Then, throughout the year there was this push for additional professional development, which is a fine idea. However, the trainings were trash. They were led by other teachers that, no offense to them, usually weren't any more experienced than anyone else. And they frequently turned into just doing 'demos' of what games we'd play with the children, which always involved adults acting like kids and was supremely annoying. I will say my next job at Meten in China did not have these same frustrations.
Travel and Time Off at EF
Hiking in Guilin, China
Yes, many people sign up to do English teaching jobs abroad for travel purposes. In this regard, English First is average, and offers the standard that you'll find at most companies in China. The beginning contract gives you 10 paid days of annual leave the first year; if one was to sign on for a second year, the paid annual leave would start to increase and he or she would also receive two optional weeks of unpaid leave.
Unfortunately, days off don't rollover into the next year. So, if an employee's contract starts halfway through the year, then she's required to take the accumulated number of days for that year before January and the start of the new year. For example, my contract began in July, so I was told I had to take 3 days off before January, as they would not rollover.
Except for summer and winter camp, each person receives two consecutive days off per week, so it's easy to attach annual leave either before or after these days off. Employees cannot change their days off unless a holiday falls on one's regular day off, then they can add an extra day.
Leaving EF: the Transfer Process Review
You may not know yet if you want to stay in China for longer or not, but it's good to know this information all the same if there's a possibility that you'd want to switch jobs later.
EF is very by the book, which is respectable. They will not give you a 'transfer visa' to go to another job. The information on transfer visas is shady, but from what I understand it's probably not 100% legal but is common practice. Instead, EF will put you on a 30-day stay visa and give you your termination of contract letter and work permit cancellation letter on your last working day, which you'll have to give to your new company, among other documents. As long as you finish your contract EF will pay for the stay visa and support you with this process.
Your new company will then have to 1) apply for a new work permit for you, and then 2) apply for your residency visa, basically repeating the process you had to do when you first came to China. However, the second time around is much easier and you won't have to leave China. Keep in mind that if you want to change locations, all provinces/cities in China have their own visa rules, so you may need additional documents. When moving to Shenzhen, I had to get an up-to-date background check, and also get my TEFL notarized (Chongqing didn't require the TEFL notarized/authenticated).
Legally, companies are not supposed to have their employees start working until they have a valid work permit, but in many cases companies will ignore this and will start you while you're still on the stay visa and then apply for your work permit as you are working. It's up to you what you feel comfortable doing.
The annoyances of the transfer process
There were a few things that bugged me about EF's transfer process: as I mentioned previously, they will not give you back your authenticated documents. They gave me a scan, which was acceptable for me to get a new work permit, but still frustrating. Lastly, they require a full 2-months notice if you wish to leave. If you don't provide them with 2-months notice, they will hold your release letters until the 2 months is up. Without these release letters, it's literally impossible for a foreigner to get a legal job. The standard is 1 month notice, so I find 2 months ridiculous. Keep this in mind, especially if you start thinking about wanting to leave your contract early. Companies have a lot of power in China when it comes to handling work visa documents for foreigners.
The person that made up for all of this was the Chongqing visa officer that helped me along the way, as she was incredibly knowledgeable and helpful. She followed EF's rules to a T, but still was there to answer any and all of my questions as they arose.
Chongqing, China
In Conclusion
My English First review is that it's a decent program for a beginner teacher looking to get his or her feet wet in the world of English teaching abroad. The job isn't very demanding, the work hours are less than many other jobs, and you can rest assured that this company will follow the rules. However, it's likely you'll encounter less than stellar managing and there're often additional things expected of you that may seem silly. The structure is rigid and bureaucratic, so don't expect to come here making changes to the company.
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