MEF World (MEF English)

I spent a year working overseas with MEF teaching English in a Chinese kindergarten. When I look back on my time with them I have nothing but awesome memories and i'm so glad that I went! At first, when I started to look for teaching jobs overseas, it was quite a daunting prospect - travelling so far and to such an exotic place seemed a bit scary, but I was fretting over nothing. Derek and his team have years of experience helping teachers relocate, and the whole experience was safe and professional. Once I was set up at my school I was kept well stocked with teaching resources which were intuitive, fun to use, and really engaging for the kids. Truthfully, I could have spent much longer in China as it's such an interesting and beautiful country, but I chose to move back to England and enrol in full time teacher training. I would gladly signpost anybody looking to teach in Asia to MEF as I am sure they will enjoy their time abroad as much as I did.

I decided to come to China after I graduated from Uni.

I worked in an office for 2-to-3 years and I just found each day was the same and I just needed something more interesting in my life.

I Googled interesting jobs for graduates and teaching in China came up.

A friend of mine said that she had heard of M.E.F., so I googled M.E.F. and online it was just good review after good review, after good review.

I found not a single negative review. Which is kind of being me, as I have never come across any company out there that does not have at least one person moaning online or some negativity online. But no, M.E.F. is just positive reviews all around. So, I contacted M.E.F. and almost immediately got an email back to say they wanted to interview me and the interview process was petty easy.

It was just an online interview, it all went really fast. The paperwork at first seemed really daunting. Like, you have to go to various offices and get anything you have ever done officially. kind of signed by someone and notarized by someone else.

But eventually it kind of all works out and it’s actually a lot easier than it seems.

Then it kind of just flew by, M.E.F. really helped.

Within a week, it feels like home. Like the street we live on, we now call home.

That’s one of the best things about being in China. The sheer amount of funny stories that you would just not get back home. We call it being China’d here. That is the phrase that we use, because you are China’d here all the time in the funniest of ways.

I went exploring in the forest the other day. I’m happily going along on my ebike and then my ebike dies. I was out there in China with a dead ebike and then the company came and saved me. So, it all worked out, they came to my rescue. Then I was home with a cup of hot chocolate within an hour.

You are met by an official as soon as you get to the airport and they just make you feel really at ease. In the first 2-to-3 hours of being here I had already met 3 or 4 teachers and one of them is now like my best friend here.

Yeah, it’s perfect really.

I’ve worked for MEF for over 2 months now and it is a life changing experience. You are in a new environment, with new people and, at first it can be daunting, but once you settle in it’s amazing. I enjoy working at my kindergarten as it’s great to see the children develop their English speaking skills. MEF help provide curriculums and materials to help you teach the students. It can be difficult being in a different country with a different language and culture, but if you keep an open mind and commit to your job as a teacher, you will soon start to enjoy your time here. MEF also provides good support for adapting to life abroad as well as providing a warm, welcoming environment. For anyone who wants a change of lifestyle and an adventure, then this is a job for you.

I’ve worked at the company for just over a year now and it’s been a great experience. I had originally planned on staying in China for one year but it’s been such an amazing year I’ve decided to stay for at least 1-2 more years. As a first time teacher it was a great starting point as the company has their own curriculum which requires a lot less preparation than it would working for other companies. The support has been great and I’ve never had any issues/ questions that haven’t been resolved. My apartment is clean and very safe and I have the luxury of living in the same building as my colleagues.Now I’m into my second year I am helping out with additional projects with the company and also training the new teachers. There is opportunity for growth as a teacher and I am looking forward to see what the next year has in store!

Living in China has been such an adventure thus far and I’m super grateful to MEF for providing me with this opportunity! They provide plenty of support with educational materials as well as with the transition to China so you are free to really immerse yourself and enjoy the experience! The work life balance is good, leaving you plenty of time to explore China/Asia when not working. Working with the young students in kindergartens is a lot of fun and even if you’re not an experienced teacher you can pick up the MEF curriculum relatively quickly and easily. MEF stands for Make English Fun and they do a good job of helping you to do just that with plenty of songs, games, etc to try with your students! Living in China has been a fantastic adventure and I’m grateful to MEF for providing this opportunity.