A day in the life of an English Teacher – Hong Kong

Hello. Welcome to a day in the life of a Native English Teacher in Hong Kong.

Yup, that’s me, Teacher Claire!

Lord. How did I ever become a teacher?

Bless my little Year 8 self when my English Teacher asked me what I wanted to be when I was older. I completely made up the fact that I wanted to be an English Teacher in hope that he would like me and y’know, maybe give me an extra A here and there. Lolz.

WELL LOOK AT ME NOW. Fake it ‘til you make it sistah.

My fake dream came a reality and honestly? I’m kinda liking it.

A lot of people have asked me what I do on a daily basis so I thought I’d write a blog post telling you exactly that!

It’s Friday the day I’m writing this so I’m going to write about my Friday schedule to give you a general idea about what teaching in Hong Kong is like.

8:30 AM

snooze my alarm, and then snooze it again.

8:40 AM

Wake up to my third alarm of the morning and groan because GOD DAMMIT WHY DO I ALWAYS WAKE UP SO LATE?!

I grab my outfit that I usually lay out the night before, brush my teeth and throw my hair into the messiest pony tail you ever did see. Drink some water, run around like a headless chicken grabbing my purse and belongings and then dash out the door. PRETTTYYYY standard, huh.

9:00 AM

Leave my tiny studio apartment and walk to work. It takes me around 20 minutes of a normal paced walk to get to work and I actually like being able to walk! Commuting is something I hate so getting a bit of fresh air on my journey is a huge plus. Especially when it’s sunny! Yay.

9:20 AM

Arrive at work and welcome the kids in.

9:30 AM

I have my first lesson of the day. Lessons are an hour long and they cover a range of things such as phonics, spelling, reading, oral English speaking and creative writing.

10:30 AM

I have another lesson straight after. Honestly, the kids make me laugh so much man.

11:30 AM

My morning lessons are over. I have an hour free to do admin work (and also catch up with Emily (the other teacher) about life and Netflix.) COMPLETE WORK GOALS, I know.

12:30 PM

LUNCH TIME. Yes bebeh. I usually go to 7/11 to grab some noodles and a Red Bull but recently I’ve been bringing in my own salads or cous cous because I’m a trier. Also Luke works next door to me so sometimes we go and grab lunch together at a restaurant overlooking the harbour. Cute work perks.

1.30 PM

Another hour of admin time! All our lesson plans and worksheets are already created for us. We just have to print and organize them so they’re ready for class.

2.30 PM

My third lesson of the day!

3.30 PM

I have a couple of hours to get more things done such as update parents or write reports etc! All the stuff I won’t bore you with.

5:30 PM

My last lesson of the day!

6:30 PM

HOME TIME. I quickly pack away and walk home. I’m usually in a good mood on Fridays because it’s one of my favourite days.

I get home at around 7 ish and usually Luke has already started cooking dinner. Cutie. Sometimes I stop off at the gym on the way home, sometimes not. Usually the latter. Judge me.

I work 5 days a week (including Saturday) so my days off are Thursday’s and Sundays. It’s really good to have a day in the middle of the week to break it up a little. Teaching in Hong Kong can be really fun but it’s also super tiring.

The lifestyle in Hong Kong is just amazing and being able to find a job in a fun environment just makes it all that more worthwhile.

Let me know if you have any questions about teaching abroad and I’d be happy to answer them!

Claire ♡

You can follow Teacher Claire and her journey on her Instagram here @grabyourcam.

Also check out her regular blogs on her website here www.grabyourcamera.co.uk She gives lots of insight into life in Hong Kong!

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