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Kathleen Kane

Is taking on new challenges in China
Age: 46
From: Glasgow, Scotland

Why did you decide to become a TEFL teacher?

I decided to do the China Internship because I got to the time of my life when I wanted to try something new and do some thing out off my comfort zone. This program seemed to give me the challenge I needed. I had already done a previous i-to-i conservation program in Kenya which I really enjoyed and felt safe knowing i-to-i were looking after me.

How did you make it happen?

After applying for the China program I started on my TEFL course which was a lot harder than I expected, but gave me the challenge I wanted and I really enjoyed the weekend course in Manchester, although I didn't have much of a social life until my course work was all done!

What are you doing/where are you?

At the moment I am in Inner Mongolia with one other British girl, and we're the only westerners here so that makes life very interesting: when we go shopping people keep taking our picture and trying to engage us in conservation. At the school I am teaching Senior Two and the age range of the students range from 13 to 21 years old, so I have classes of mixed ages and abilities, so it's very difficult so have a teaching lesson that engages the students. On Wednesday of next week we have Nation Day and then it's Autumn break and we've got a week off – we're planning to go on a trip to Hohhot for five days with TTC, the company who've looked after us so well here in China.

What's next?

At the moment I not sure: maybe I will stay here for another school term or maybe go to another country and build up my teaching skills.

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