Choosing your career path is not easy: the workforce is constantly changing, and having a tool box of different skillsets is essential. Speakers of Chinese languages have linguistic skillsets that are particularly valuable in today's world. China is one of the world's largest economies, with over a billion speakers of Mandarin and Cantonese. Being able to communicate and read and write in Chinese means being able to access different communities, markets, and cultures not only in China but all over the world. Should you happen to have proficiency in Chinese, you can easily apply your knowledge as an educator or a translator.
Becoming a Chinese translator and a teacher may seem like wildly different career paths - and they can be - but ultimately you will be using your skills as a multilingual communicator to do the unique work inherent to both fields.
As a translator or interpreter, your job will largely involve working with different parties to translate information from one language to another. As simple as this sounds, there are actually a lot of nuances to the job. First of all, you must have a signficant professional vocabulary of words that are related to the field you are doing translation work in in both Chinese and the target language. For example, if you are working as a translator in the healthcare field in Canada, it is important you know the technical vocabulary that doctors or other health care professionals use in both Chinese and English, or Chinese and French. You will also want to have strategies to ensure your translations and interpretations are authentic, and to set expectations for clients (ex. speak in clear shorter sentences).
As an educator of Cantonese or Mandarin, your multilingual vocabulary is also important, since you will utilize it to teach emergent speakers of Chinese. If you are working with English speakers, you can use your students English as a base to build their Chinese skills. For example, you may find it useful to create vocabulary lists using both Chinese and English (though visual representations will also work well). Ultimately, your goal is to help your learners to build a base of oral communication skills in Chinese they can use to navigate different contexts and eventually read, write and communicate with others.
If you are a multilingual Chinese speaker, you may be wondering how to leverage your linguistic proficiency as an educator or a translator. Discover which role is best for you.
Is it Possible to work as Both a Chinese Teacher and Translator?
It is absolutely possible to work as both a teacher and translator of Chinese. You may find, however, that one will be a full time career for you, while the other may be a part time job; alternatively, you could do both on a part time basis if you are choosing to prioritize family responsibilities or your own personal reasons. You will seldom find careers with so much flexibility!
You might work as a translator part of the time, taking freelance jobs to translate documents or working as an interepreter for evening or afternoon meetings. Some organizations or companies that focus on providing translation and interpretation services can hire you on a part time or on call basis. If you have translator certification, you could easily start your own business and work as much or as little as you want.
As a teacher, you might teach an extracurricular language program, tutor, or work full time in a private or public school that offers Chinese classes. Let's take a closer look at teaching Chinese lessons and classes.
Chinese speakers have access to one of the largest economies and linguistic communities in the world. Those that speak Chinese are highly valued in the workforce, especially in translation and education. Learn everything you need to know about starting a career as a translator or tutor!
Where Can I Teach Chinese Lessons and Chinese Classes?
There are a number of different contexts you can teach Chinese lessons and classes. Here is a list of some places you could work as an educator:
- Private language schools
- Colleges and Universities
- Chinese Cultural Centres
- International Language School Programs
- Online tutoring
- Private classes
- Camps language learners
The type of context you choose to work in will depend on your interests and qualifications. Some schools may hire certified teachers only with TCSOL (Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages) or provincial teacher training. If you want to work with adults only, you might want to consider working at a continuing education school in a school board or a cultural center, depending on what qualifications you have. If you are new to education and trying to get some experience, working as a private tutor may be your best option - which we will discuss later in the article.
One calling multilingual speakers often have is to work in the field of translation and interpretation. Like teaching, translating is a rewarding and empowering role that enables others to communicate. Find out more about the learning and training it takes to start this career.
Do Chinese Language Teachers earn more than Translators?
It is possible to earn more money as an educator than a translator, or vice versa, but that will depend on how many hours you work. Language teachers can certainly generate a higher income if they work full time as teachers, though that will probably involve teaching more than Chinese. Many private and public Canadian schools hire teachers that are qualified to teach multiple subjects, so if you can offer a teachable subject beyond languages you will be in a much better position to be hired full time at a school. Teachers in schools working full time can make upwardsof 90k CAD a year, especially if they have teaching qualifications for their province. To increase your income, you might also work part time tutoring or translating.
As a translator, you can make a good income working full time, and increase your earning potential as high as you want by taking freelance jobs or additional work. Your base pay as a translator will depend on the organization you work for, your years of experience, and your areas of specialization. Just as with a teacher, you can increase your income by taking on additional freelance work or tutoring or teaching.
It's important to keep in mind that preparing to work as a translator or educator will take much more than being proficient or fluent in both Chinese and English, though being multilingual is an excellent starting point. So what experiences do you need to work in the field?
How do I Find Chinese Classes Near Me?
Curious to see what organizations offer Chinese classes near you? Look up Chinese cultural centres in your area, international language schools, or private schools with a focus on teaching Chinese or other languages. You will see exactly what kind of hours you might work as a Chinese teacher, and inquire directly to see if they are hiring teachers.
Is it Worthwhile to Become a Childrens Tutor for Learning Chinese?
Are you interested in working with younger kids? Enjoy the challenges and fun that come with teaching younger learning, such as games, singing, arts, and crafts? You may want to consider becoming a childrens tutor or teacher.
Being a childrens teacher or tutor is incredibly worthwhile for educators, as you will learn so much about pedagogical practice by teaching young learners. As an educator of young children, you will use music, art, and games to build Chinese language foundations in young learners. While this may sound exhausting, it can be a lot of fun and incredibly rewarding to see children start speaking Chinese and gain an appreciation for the culture.
Will Teaching Mandarin Lessons Give me an Advantage?
Because Mandarin is more widely spoken in China and is used for more professional purposes, you will likely have an advantage as an educator or translator. Mandarin is the official language of China, so it is seen as a much more practical and useful language to learn. However, there are many people who will want to learn Cantonese for personal reasons or travel, so if your focus is Cantonese you will certainly be in a good position to work!
Being multilingual is a great starting point for a career as a translator or teacher, though you will need certification to work in the field. It may help to learn industry specific vocabulary for working in areas such as medicine or business. Find out more about career preparation for the education and translation fields.
How do I promote my Services as a Mandarin Tutor?
You can easily promote your services as a Mandarin tutor, or as a tutor in Cantonese, though Superprof Canada. Superprof is a site that connects educators and students, making it easy for people to find teachers in literally any area. In addition to Chinese langauges, you can find help in mathematics, English, art, science, or even cooking. Whatever you want to learn, you will find a tutor for on Superprof!
Get started by writing your tutor profile and posting it with a picture of yourself. Your profile should contain information about you: languages spoken, your academic background, pedagogical strategies, and what areas you can provide tutoring in. The more subjects you can tutor in, the better: you may find families that want help for their child in both Mandarin and mathematics, or maybe want to recieve tutoring in a certain subject through Mandarin or Cantonese.
Find out all the possibilities for becoming a tutor on Superprof! Post your profile today.
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