New Year New Faces!

source：Teach Abroad time：2018-02-27 16:02:02 read:3387

Tick-tock  tick-tock….. time is counting down to the start of school again! “Boohoo" we hear you cry!!! Come on, we know you love it really…. and the start of the new term means we’re welcoming nearly 50 new teachers into the Echo Family.

A big warm WELCOME to all our new teachers. This week we’re going to talk about orientation and offer an insight into things you should first do on arrival in China. We know you’re going to make friends quickly and hopefully you’ll take to China like a duck to water! We have teachers arriving from UK, USA, South Africa, and  Jamaica.

All our new arrivals will be met at Hangzhou airport (that’s if you’re flying). Don’t forget to issue you’re flight number to the office before your departure. Also ask the office the name and address of your hotel as this will need writing on your landing card for immigration. Keep a beady eye open for your name placard in arrivals hall as one of the Echo team will be there to meet and greet. We appreciate you’re going to be tired so you’ll be escorted by taxi to a local hotel. After you check-in, our member of staff will issue you with the time when you’ll commence your orientation at head office.

Our trusted team of Welfare Service Officers will not only offer you life orientation but also assist you in registering and acquiring a mobile phone sim and number, bank account and issue instructions about your forthcoming medical examination. We’ll also get you set up with the most useful APPs for life in China. Hopefully you’re already using WeChat, but you’ll also need Alipay, Google translate, Pleco, Taobao and Didi. Spring is in the air now and the weather is thawing so it’s a great time to take a leisurely walk and soak in the natural beauty of Westlake and the surrounding areas. Also don’t be afraid to make friends with locals and expats alike. You can share your WeChat contact card and become a social butterfly. 

Let’s not forget your all-important training. Our academic team are eager to meet you. You will gain access to our Teacher’s Resource Platform and you’ll review methodologies and grammar tasks. As part of our training, we constantly monitor and evaluate teaching performance with onsite inspections from our Academic Team. These assessments are nothing to worry about and they exist to help evolve your teaching ability. They are not excessively critical but instead offer a supportive and suggestive role. There may be instances whereby teachers will be called back to headquarters for additional training days. Remember all this training is free and will aid you. Furthermore, every teacher is free to reach out to our academic advisors if they feel they require additional training in certain areas, whether it be classroom management or grammar methodology. Workshops which are compulsory attendance will be notified in advance. 

For our existing teachers, we really hope you make our new arrivals welcome. Our Echo family is growing rapidly now. We’re proud of all our teachers and want to thank you for all your hard work during the yer of the rooster. Here’s hoping for a prosperous and successful year of the dog!