Help A Family In China Learn English
Live like a local with a screened host family and receive free room and board.
Free Mandarin lessons
Free airfare
$100 a week stipend
More Information
We will begin taking applications for this program in June 2022 for arrival in September 2022 at the earliest.
Homestay Tutor In China
This is a paid immersion opportunity to learn Chinese and enjoy the Chinese culture and food for 1, 2, or 3 months. You'll live like a local with a carefully screened host family and you'll become a part of the community.
When your host family learns English, you're leaving a lifetime skill that they (and you) will never forget.
Overview
Becoming a Homestay Tutor in China is an affordable (and paid) international educational experience that will enhance your resume through practical experience. And when you return home, imagine the kind of job you can get when you list this experience on your resume.
Tutor English abroad in China and live like a local for 3 to 6 months when you help a family in China learn English. Don’t worry if you’ve never done this before! Your new host family is more interested in learning conversational English than they are in grammar. You'll have so much fun living in China by simply speaking English the way you normally do at home. Also, you have a unique opportunity to learn or improve your Chinese! In a matter of hours, you're walking around your new community like a local. It won’t take long before you're recognized and for you to consider your host community your new, temporary home. It’s real and authentic. Wake up each day and feel a connection.
Immersion and Sustainable Culture
This is a paid immersion opportunity to learn Chinese and enjoy Chinese culture and food for 3 to 6 months. You'll live like a local with a carefully screened host family and you'll become a part of the community. This is not an "Airbnb" experience for a few days where you live locally but as a tourist. You're an invited guest for at least 3 months or longer.
What really happens? Genuine engagement, not just commoditized “experiences.” You'll live like a local. You won't live locally as a tourist in an apartment.
For up to 15 hours a week, you'll speak to the family in conversational English. In return, you'll receive a free private room and board. Typically families are looking for you to speak English with them over a meal or for a certain amount of time during the day. You also get free Mandarin lessons and free airfare.
Eligibility, What You Earn, And Fees
The program fee is $999 for 3 months, and $1,339 for 6 months.
- Be between the ages of 20 and 30.
- Hold a Passport from the United States, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia, or New Zealand. If you have a different Passport, you can qualify if you take the iTEP Conversation test (25 minutes). Please ask us.
- Commit to a minimum of 3 months as a homestay tutor. (Many families prefer a commitment of 6 months.)
- Provide a medical statement with a clear COVID-19 test result and a background check.
- Be interviewed by phone or Zoom.
Included in the program fee:
- Your placement with a screened host family.
- A private room and full board.
- TEFL Certification (120-hour online). You pay the fee and your host family will reimburse you in local currency. (optional)
- Free health insurance.
- Receive ½ of your airfare reimbursed at 3 months with the family and receive the final ½ of your airfare at the end of 6 months with the family.
- In-country support.
- Airport transfers.
- Pre-departure assistance.
- Assistance with your student visa.
- 60-hours of Chinese language classes
What you will earn
A weekly stipend of $100 US for 15 hours of English tutoring each week. Usually 1 ½
Before your departure for China, you will receive a timetable with the days and times the family needs you to tutor English. The family must respect your time off.
Not included in the program fee:
- Meals when you travel or go out on your own.
- Spending money for personal expenses, when you travel, or optional activities.
- Visa costs.
How does GeoVisions choose host families?
Host families contact us because they want to provide room and board to an English speaker who will help them with their conversational English. When there are children in the family, mostly they need help with their English homework, but many times the adults want to join in as well.
Families are screened. They have to show a need and a desire to host an English tutor. And they have to pass a background check, an interview by in-country staff and agree to a home inspection, and provide photos of the home (inside and out). Tutors are promised their own private room but there are times a bathroom might be shared. Families provide meals except when the tutor is traveling.
We take our time making a match. However, once you are on the program and if issues arise, we maintain emergency families and can step in and help. This is extremely rare.
Can I choose my location?
For the most authentic experience of living each day in China, you cannot choose your exact location.
What you can do is tell us the area where you’d like to be and whether or not you’d like a large city, a small town, or a rural placement. And we’ll try our best.
Remember … the host families choose us when they need a live-in tutor and so timing is everything. There are many locations that you may not have considered prior to applying that are fantastic places in China. (We can tell you about many tutors that have loved their locations!)
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to get a visa?
Homestay Tutors in China are responsible for the cost of their student visa. The cost is currently $130 for Americans and $30 for citizens of other countries.
Each Homestay Tutor receives an invitation letter, which is needed for a student visa. This allows you to stay in China for up to six months.
When can I book my flights?
DO NOT book any flights until you are matched with your host family. They will go over several arrival dates with you. We'll tell you when it's safe to book your airfare.
How long can I stay on the program?
For China, you can stay up to 6 months when you have your student visa. You will qualify for the student visa since you'll be taking Mandarin courses.
Do I need to speak the local language?
Nope! Although if you arrive with a little knowledge of the local language, it is going to be a little easier for you.
Do I have to have the classes prepared in advance?
Remember, your host family wants to learn conversational English. Most of what you have to do is just speak as you normally would.
Our own tutoring book, A Tutor's Guide, with lesson plans and games, is provided to you before you depart.
I've heard bringing a gift for the host family is a good thing?
Who doesn't like a present? We recommend bringing something that represents where you are from. Maple syrup, pancake mix, a coffee mug are a few ideas.
Do I have free time?
We are asking you to tutor the family 15 hours a week. Outside of that commitment, you're free to explore. In fact, we hope you will!
Will my host family speak English?
Count on them knowing basic English. That's why you're there!
Can I be placed with a travel companion?
Host families for the most part have room for one tutor. If you want to travel with someone, we can try to find another family who would like a tutor and who lives nearby your host family. Or at least where you could see each other a few times during the week.
This is something you want to mention right from the start. Think of it as a puzzle. We can put it together, but it might take a little time.
How long does it take to be placed with a family?
If you can give us 90-days, we will succeed in an awesome placement. Some tutors want a last-minute placement. We charge extra for that. The longer we have to make the match, the better program you're going to have.
What can I do in my free time?
Outside of the 15 hours a week, the time is really yours to do what you like.
As you read the Blog posts from former tutors, here are a few things they've done:
- Take language courses
- Visit museums
- Take cooking classes (and bring home all those recipes to try)
- A long weekend traveling around
- Meeting new friends
What is the application process like?
Application Process
After you make sure that you meet the Homestay Tutor qualifications, the next step is to apply.
Click this button:
1. Submit the online application along with the $350, non-refundable deposit. This amount comes off your program fee.
2. You'll receive a link for a supplemental form and additional materials to submit.
3. We begin to match you with a well-screened host family.
4. We'll email you the host family information. Set up a Zoom call with the host family for your interview.
5. Once you and the host family agree that it's a good match, you and the family arrange the exact arrival and departure date.
6. Now you'll pay your 2nd $350 payment. You will have now paid a total of $700.
7. Find and purchase your flights.
8. Arrange your international health insurance.
9. If you need a visa, please arrange for your visa.
10. Make your final payment on your program fee 60-days before your departure. Remember, you will have already paid $700 by now.
11. Fly overseas and begin your Homestay Tutor program and cultural experience!
"Amazing Experience
My Experience with GeoVisions in China last year was great.
I had a culture course online before I went over. It really helped me know what to expect when I got to China. My placement was not exactly where I wanted at first, but everything worked out in the end. Every time I had any issues GeoVisions were always there to support me. Overall it was a great experience and I wouldn't trade it for anything.
"
Kara
May 24, 2019
"The experience I'll never forget
The experience has definitely improved my life- it has forced me to grow and develop, learn an appreciation for the Chinese way of life and its people/culture, and I wouldn't change a thing about what I did. I have no regrets and am grateful for what I have been through.
Thank you, Geovisions, for opening up the world to me and giving me this opportunity. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants a change, a challenge and a bit of adventure. I have made some new friends for life as a result of my time there, and a lifetime of memories and photos to bring along wherever my journey takes me now. Knowing what I know now, would I go back and do it all again rather than remain in my comfort zone in Melbourne? Probably. Would I go back to the same place tomorrow and do it for another year? I definitely don't plan on it... But let's see where life takes me.
"
Katie
February 12, 2019
Request More Information - Opportunities For You
This experience will look great on your CV or Resume. Learn Mandarin in an immersion setting. Contribute a skill that will last a lifetime.
There are no official "start dates." You can set your dates up with your host family in advance. The age range is 20 to 30 and if you have a clear accent, you don't have to be a native-English speaker. Take the iTEP Conversation test and find out about your English level and accent.
Become A Homestay Tutor In China
Learn Mandarin While Teaching English
We would love to talk to you when you're ready!
years we have been teaching English to Chinese families
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