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IH Full Time Teachers Guide PDF
IH Full Time Teachers Guide PDF
International House
Full Time
Language Teacher Guide
(2016-2018)
WELCOME TO
INTERNATIONAL HOUSE
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IH Full Time Language Teachers Guide
CONTENTS
International House
International House……………………………………………………………….…….…11
International House Xi’an………………………..………………………..….……..11
IH Schools in Xi´an…………………..……………………..……………..….………..11
Rong Xin Road Campus……………………………………………………….………11
The NanMen (South gate) Campus……………………………………….……11
The TangYan Road Campus………………………………………….…….………11
Taxi ⻄西安出租⻋车…………………………………………………………………….….….11
Accomodation
Apartment………………………………………………………………………………….……11
“Payments” …………………………………………………………………….…….……….11
3 Supermarkets…………………………………………………………………..……….……11
IH Full Time Language Teachers Guide
Sightseeing
Bell Tower………………………………………………………………………………..……11
Hui Min Jie………………………………………………………….……..………..………11
Drum Tower ……………………………………………………………………….…..……11
Big Goose Pagoda……………………………………………………………….…..……11
Small Pagoda………………………………………………………..…………….…..……11
4 Terracotta Warriors………………………………………….………………..…………11
IH Full Time Language Teachers Guide
HuaShan ………………………………………………………………………….……..……11
City Walls……………………………………………………………..………….……..……11
Shaanxi History Museum………………………………………………………..……11
Tang Paradise…………………………………………………….…………….……..……11
3- Practice language………………..…………………..……………..………...…11
4- Install WeChat………………..……………………….…….….……………………11
5 – Eating customs…………………………..…………………..……..………………11
6 –Stay safely hydrated………………..……………….…………..……….......11
7 – Hospitals ………………..………………..……………………………….….......11
8 – Getting locations………………..………………..……………..……….......11
9 – Road Safety………………..…………………..…..…………..……………..……11
10 – Taking the taxi………………..……………..….…………..…………..…….11
11 – You might miss……………………………..…………………..……….….……11
12 – Useful Apps……………………………..…………………..…………….…….…11
13 – Banks…………………………..………..………………………….……….…….…11
14 – Survival phrases………..……..……………..…………………………..……11
15–Open your eyes………………..……………..………….………..…………...11
Maps
Map 1……..………..……………..…………..……………………………………..……11
Map 2………………..…………………………...…….………….………..…………...11
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IH Full Time Language Teachers Guide
International House
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IH Schools in Xi´an
雁塔区,融鑫路路3号,⾃自⼒力力⼤大厦,⼆二楼
The campus location is strategic and near to all teachers daily needs.
It has Chinese restaurants and coffee shops around. From the school
it takes 5 minutes on foot to Xi’an Public Security Bureau (PSB), 5
min to Bus No 35 that reaches the Bell Tower, 5 min to bus line 400
that takes you to XiaoZhai/ the Provincial History Museum/ the Big
Wild Goose Pagoda.
Xi´an
Xi’an is the capital of Shaanxi province, located in the northwest of
the People's Republic of China, one of the oldest cities in China, the
city was known as Chang'an before the Ming dynasty. Xi'an is the
oldest of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China.
Climate
Xi'an has a temperate climate that is influenced by the East Asian
monsoon.
Transportation
Xi'an has many areas that are easily accessible on foot. In many
commercial, residential, and education zones in the city, especially in
the shopping and entertainment districts around the Bell Tower,
underpasses and overpasses have been built for the safety and
convenience of pedestrians.
Electric bikes as well as rooters are very popular among students and
offer easy transportation in and around the city for many residents.
Taxi services are numerous but many citizens of Xi'an still prefer
commuting by bus. There are more than 2 million of automobiles
registered in Xi'an. So, cars play a very important role in people's
daily life, which also means frequent traffic jams.
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Bus
There are around 280 bus routes in the city. You can find many stop
buses and they show you some
advertisements with the
information about the numbers of
the buses that stop there. A we
mentioned before, you can pay by
check or the public transportation
card that is used for buses or
metro.
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Taxi ⻄西安出租⻋车
Taxis in Xi'an are predominantly BYD Auto made in Xi'an. Most (there
are some new taxis that run on electricity) taxis in Xi'an run on
compressed natural gas. For the taxis' fare, during the 06:00-23:00,
¥9/2 km for the fare fall and ¥2.3/Km later, at night ¥10 for the fare
fall and ¥2.7/Km later.
Xi'an currently has three ring road systems, the Second Ring road and
the Third Ring road which encircle the city. These ring roads are
similar to freeways, except where there are traffic signals on the
Second Ring road. As a tourist city, Xi'an has built expressways to
Lintong, Tongchuan and Baoji, with well-maintained roads to famous
scenic spots in suburban counties and to the north slope of the Qin
Mountains. Since its construction in September 2007, the Xi'an–
Hanzhong Expressway connects Hanzhong and Xi'an through the
Qinling.
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Teachers’ Benefits
Accomodation
International House Xi’an is offering free accommodation apartments
shared with other full-time teachers
or interns.
Services Payment
It is paid by a card that you will find in your apartment, paid in the
property management company in the complex. Some of the service
payments such as “water, gas and electricity, have to be paid in the
apartments management office. In the following, we will explain with
more details about the payment of each service:
water gas
水 气
shuǐ qì
3. Once you have paid, the water or gas will be ready to use again.
For electricity:
1. You have to go to the property management office.
2. You only have to show your apartment services payment card and
pay the quantity you think is better for the electricity of the next
month and the building fees every month if you have not paid them.
3. Once you have paid, you have to insert your card in a box that is in
the building of your apartment. The box is frequently near the
elevator of your floor and it has the number of your apartment. When
you insert the car, the electricity payment will be registered and you
can use it.
electricity
diàn
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For internet:
1. You have to go to any market named “Line Community Charges
Supermarket”: 利安社区电超市
3. Then you tell them your local phone number and you have to pay
the quantity that they told you.
For heating:
In China, each year people have to pay heating fees for winter. The
fee is calculated by the size of your apartment. You have to pay
around 6 yens per square of your apartment, for every month of the
winter season (around 4 months). The fee is only in one payment. For
example, most of the flats of the school are around 74,55 square
meter big. The average would be the following: 74,55 (apartment
size) x 5,8 (square meter prize) x 4 (length of central heating in
month) = 1729,56. However, it depends on the size of your
apartment. Also, there might be people from the property
management coming to your place, knocking on the door who want to
check the water pressure in the pipes to be sure everything is ok
before starting the heating.
2.You only have to show your apartment services payment card and
pay the quantity that they tell you.
暖⽓气费
20 nǔan qì feì
Salary
You will get your salary every 10th of each month unless there is any
change. You have to go to the economist office to get the money. The
quantity you get depends on what is signed in your contract and the
number of hours you work.
Chinese classes
Also you will have the great opportunity to have free Chinese classes
2 hours per week in International House Rong Xin Road Campus. The
time of your Chinese classes will depend in your work schedule of the
week.
Activities
Sometimes we will have special activities and meetings for teaching,
marketing, and others that even if they look as work you can enjoy.
They are interesting and will help you to know more about Chinese
culture, education programs, and many places.
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Gyms: You can find gyms all around Xi’an, private ones (in some
malls), or public ones (in Chinese
universities).
However, most of them are high prices. Near the mall, you can find
another stores and next to it is Huaqi International Plaza.
Also you can find another malls such as Kaide Mall, Capital Mall, and
others.
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Supermarkets
Most of the supermarkets in Xian are little with the basic products
and food you need. If you can not find what you need in these ones
you can search on another ones which are a little bigger with more
products. However, most of them do not sell international brand
products. If you want to find any international brand product, you
can find it either in “Walmart”, a
popular American supermarket, or in
“METRO”, the big supermarket that
many foreigners like even if it is quite
far. Also, you can find some groceries
stores and fruit stores in some parts of
the street.
Coffee Shops: You can find many coffee shops in different places
such as malls, near some stores or inside some bookstores. If you
want to go to a place with a variety of coffees, Huaqi International
Plaza can be the indicate. Such as
Starbucks, some of the most popular
international cafes that you can find
in Xi’an are Pacific Coffee, Man
Coffee, Zoo Coffee, and others.
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KTV (Karaoke): In China, KTV is the same as “karaoke”. You can find
many KTVs in Xian. People who loves singing karaoke will love the
KTVs in China because their style is
unique. They have private rooms
with microphones, sofas, tables,
plasma tv, lights, and more. They
have a store inside the KTV where
you can buy what you wish to take
it to your room or you can ask for
beer, tea, fruit, and others. You
book a room paying according the number of hours you want to sing.
So, the price depends in the number of hours you want to sing, the
number of people in a room, and the quality of the KTV. Also
sometimes they have some promotions and they are cheaper or you
can book a room in certain apps such as Meituan 美团, the price will
be cheaper. Later we will explain more about this kind of apps to
search and book for entertainment.
Dancing Places
Most of the foreigners who like to dance go
to “Salsa”,a disco to dance pop music at
night or to “1950”, a restaurant bar who
played some
latin music
such as salsa
music to dance
(Thursday,
Friday.,
1950 Saturday, and
25 Sunday are
Restaurant Bar
the days
IH Full Time Language Teachers Guide
Others
Toastmaster International: If you would like to know more Chinese
people who speak English, you can go to Toastmaster International,
which is an association recognized in all the world which purpose is to
be a place where people can learn and practice how to speak in
public and be a good leader. Furthermore, in Xi´an Toastmaster
Clubs, you can make new Chinese friends, who speak good English,
and practice your English speaking. First, you
can go to the club as a guest for sometimes.
Then, if you like it and want to be a member,
you have to pay around 36 dollars per
semester to be registered and receive your
materials. It is highly recognized around the
world, and if you get a Toastmaster
Certificate, you are recognized internationally as a CC (Competent
Communicator). When you go to a Toastmaster session, they can
explain you more detaily everything about it. But, we highly
recommend to assit to one to have an idea about it and make new
Chinese friends who speak good English.
You can find more information of other churches and temples and
their information in the “Taxi book” app, which we will explain later.
If you can not find there, search on internet or ask your colleagues.
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Sightseeing
Bell Tower: A marvelous and big tower located in the city centre,
almost all transportations arrive there
or near there (Bus, Subway). Entry to
the Bell Towers is not free , entrance
require tickets .
Hui Min Jie: Known as the Muslim street for foreigners, 5 min on foot
from the Bell tower. Xi’an local food is famous especially in this
street especially Biang Biang Noodles and bread with meat “rou jia
mo”.
Small Pagoda: Located near the Shaanxi province stadium, almost the
same characteristics as the big goose pagoda.
City Walls: Like almost all the ancient cities in China, the city walls
are a historical place, you can go from different gates and go upstairs
and enjoy to ride a bike or to have a
walk around. Entrance fees are around
60 kuai, renting a bike prices are 45 kuai
for two hours and 300 kuai as a deposit.
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1 – Install a VPN
What is a VPN? You may ask. VPN stands for Virtual Private
Network aka magic that will make blocked websites such as
Facebook, Youtube, the NYT available to you in mainland
China. On MAC and PCs, most of the reliable VPNs are not Astrill
free. We recommend Astrill, it is one of the best VPNs and has prices
ranging from $5.83 to $9.98 per month with plans ranging
from 3 months to 1 year. It’s a fast reliable VPN which even
displays the upload and download speed. Also Express VPN
Express VPN
is good and recognized. However, some people who has lived
more than one year in China suggested more Astrill.
Also, do not forget your phones! As we are consuming most of our
media on the go, it is important to install those VPNs on your cell
phone and computer before you arrive to China. Both VPNs, Astrill
and Express VPN are good and can be used in computers and cell
phones. As other options, you can try Onavo Protect (free) for IOS and
VPN unlimited (Android).
2- Install WeChat
Start your China immersion with social media! Download WeChat aka
Weixin 微信. It is a cross over between Whatsapp and Facebook. A
popular and useful communication tool that everyone uses
in China! When you know someone new, he/she is going to
ask your WeChat instead of cell phone number. It will help
you a lot not only having contact with others but also
meeting new friends. You can add a new contact only by scanning
her/his code or searching her/his WeChat id. Using we chat, you can
31 send messages and share photos, and short videos named
“sights” (this short videos can only be seen and used by WeChat). If
IH Full Time Language Teachers Guide
you need more privacy for you and your contacts, you can configurate
your privacy in the app selecting who can see your
“moments” (photos, sights, songs, or others that you share).
Also, if you can, business cards are always a handy thing to have. It is
very common to exchange them when you first meet someone. Please
remember to receive and give your business card with two hands,
thumbs facing the sky.
5- Mobile phone
These are some of the phones companies:
China Unicom, Telecom, and China Mobile. According to the
experiences of some foreigners, we suggest you more
China Unicom. You only need to go to the company and
buy a new Sim Card for your phone and pay
some money for phone calls and 4G. When you
finish your money, you can pay again either in
the same company or in special locals that
are for pay the phone fees. You can find these
locals in many parts of the street and they
have also the logotype of the company you
use. Also, you can pay online by wechat,
alipay and others (we will
explain later about this kind of
payments). If you have
Unicom, another easy way to
pay is using the Unicom Phone
Service app ⼿手机营业厅. This
one is not only useful for paying your phone
but also for checking how many megabytes or gigabytes do you have
in your phone and be prevented before your money finishes. Note: It
is important to know that when you finish the money of your phone,
you do not have access neither to 4G internet nor calls or messages.
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6 – Eating customs
As non-obvious as it may sound, make sure you
know how to use chopsticks. Little canteens and
street food will certainly not cater for forks and
knifes lovers. Also, it is not impolite to sip your
soup loudly! So don’t be too surprised! Also, they
usually do not have napkins. So, you have to buy
your own tissues/kleenex.
8 – Hospitals
In case you need to go to a hospital, we suggest you the next ones
which have English speaking staff: I
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In the taxi book app, that we suggest you later, you can find more
hospitals and the information about them such as location, phone and
if they have English speaking staff.
9 – Getting locations
To get locations and addresses, know where you are, what
buses you can get and what way you should take, we
really suggest the app “Autonavi”. It can show you many
different kind of places to go or you can search any
Autonavi
place you want. Then, it will show you the way to
follow by car, bus, or walking. You can see the
number of buses you can take and where are the bus stops. Also,
you can save any way you want as favourite and it will become part
of your favourite list with all the addresses and ways you have
saved to see in any time you need and follow them easily.
Another app we suggest for locations and looking for places is the
“Taxi Book” app. “Taxi Book” is a useful app for
foreigners to search a place, then it shows you the
address in Chinese, and you
can show it to the taxi
driver. Also it can show you many
places that can be useful for
foreigners such as hospitals, churches,
restaurants, hotels, and others with some information of them such
as location, phone,English speaking staff, and other details. There
is a “Taxi Book” app for every city of China, included Xian. So, you
have to download “Taxi Book” for Xian.
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10 – Road Safety
Although this is pretty obvious, there are some uncommon features of
Chinese road customs. For instance, when
you are on a pedestrian crossing and the
little man turns green be aware that
vehicles at any intersection will always
have the possibility to turn right despite
being faced by a red light. Always, look
both sides before crossing an intersection.
Also, for crossing streets, it is suggested to only follow other Chinese
people. You will find many surprises crossing street. To illustrate,
even if the light could be green for pedestrians, many vehicles
usually continue moving forward surprisingly. So, the most suggested
way to cross streets is following other Chinese people.
2. Bring the written address of the place you want to go and show it
to the taxi driver. You can find it
in the map or you can use the
“Taxi Book” app that we
mentioned above.
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Also you can book a car by using popular apps such as “Uber” and
“Didi”. Boths apps are for booking a car which will
pick you up in the adress you write. Booking a car with
any of these apps is cheaper and the cars are better
Didi
than taxis. However, you must speak a little of Chinese
because they will call you to confirm where you are and to ask
you any questions related with the location in case they need it.
12– Banks
If you need a bank most of the popular banks are “Bank of China”,
“CITIC Bank”, “ICBC”,“China Merchants Bank”, “Bank of
Communication”, and “Agriculture Bank of China”. If you want to get
a debit or credit card, you must show your passport/visa and most of
the banks ask you for a letter to confirm that you are working or
studying in Xian. It should include the name of your job/school, the
time you will be in Xi’an, your salary per month and the sign of your
job/school (In China instead of signature they use a sign).
Some foreigners have noticed that when the debit card has magnetic
stripe on the back, it can be used in some ATM of other countries.
However, it depends on the bank. To illustrate, some foreigners have
used China Merchants Bank card in Spain and Philippines.
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IH Full Time Language Teachers Guide
It can
Require to be Easy to
English show a used in find it
Name of English
Language paper of ATM of in
the Bank Service
Formats your job/ other many
school countri streets
es
Maybe,
Bank of
Sometimes No Yes but not Yes
China
sure.
Maybe,
CITIC Bank Sometimes Yes Yes but not Regular
sure.
ICBC Sometimes Yes No No No
China In some
Merchants Sometimes Yes Yes countri Regular
Bank es yes.
Agricultural Maybe,
Bank of Sometimes No No but not Regular
China sure.
Bank of Maybe,
Communi- Sometimes No Preferently but not Regular
cation sure.
Besides shopping in lowest prices in this stores, you can find a variety
of things in lowest prices by internet in Chinese stores and others.
illustrate,
besides your Chinese classes,
you can make Chinese friends
41 and practice with them. Also you
can use the dictionaries we have
IH Full Time Language Teachers Guide
mentioned above as a tool, and some apps to practice and review the
language such as “Hello Chinese” and “Chinese Skill”. These apps are
highly recommended to practice Chinese language. You can download
them for free. Try them and prove the useful they are.
-VPN -Wechat
-Pleco -Written Chinese
-Autonavi -Taxi book (from Xian, this is to look for addresses)
-Didi or Uber -Alipay
-Hello Chinese -Chinese Skill
-Taobao -Meituan
- Unicom Phone Service app (⼿手机营业厅)
Some apps you can find them by the English name but others you can
only find them looking them by the Chinese name with characters.
19 – Be prepared
Don’t forget that you are coming to China to
experience another culture. You will be truly
amazed by where curiosity can take you.
Despite the language barrier, it is possible to
meet native Chinese and become good friends
with them. Remain open-minded.
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Maps
Map 1 (Horizontal)
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Map 1 (Vertical)
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Map 2 (Horizontal)
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Map 2 (Vertical)
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