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Suzhou West Garden, China. Copyright James Bishop.
What is a Foreign Language Assistant?
How much will it cost?
Chinese Language Assistants FAQs
How to apply
Contacting your assistant and other essential admin
Making the best use of your assistant
How to help your assistant with money matters
Chinese Language Assistants FAQs
Frequently asked questions about CLAs
The education departments in the UK and the British Council have agreed a strategy for the support of the study of Mandarin Chinese through direct access to native speakers, school linking and collaborative activities. Qualified and experienced teachers from China are recruited to act as Chinese language assistants.  Since 2001 the programme has been supported by the HSBC Global Education Programme.

‘Fantastic scheme! CLAs are most welcome in our school. It enriches our curriculum and staff room.’
(Mentor teacher hosting a CLA in 2011-12)


See the FAQs below for more information on Chinese Language Assistants:
What is a Chinese Language Assistant?

All CLAs are qualified teachers in China and return to their Chinese schools at the end of the year. This is an academic year exchange and the programme takes people directly out of the country and culture for a year so that they arrive not only with their country's culture embedded in their thinking and way of life but they return to China with new perspectives, ideas and understanding.

Chinese Language Assistants (CLAs) can work in a wide range of ways to bring the language alive in a classroom. Depending on the current provision of Mandarin in your school, they are able to:

  • work with Chinese teachers in the classroom if Chinese is already formally taught at your school;
  • work on their own with groups of pupils if they are introducing Mandarin Chinese to your school;
  • work across the curriculum, contributing a Chinese perspective to enrich other subjects like art and design, technology, geography and history etc, or
  • run lunchtime Chinese clubs where the focus is mainly on Chinese culture.

A CLA can be used to help set up/support existing international links with schools in China and develop joint curriculum projects.

What are the benefits to my students and to my school?
Chinese Language Assistants are mainly responsible for teaching Mandarin Chinese but also contribute to a range of subjects such as citizenship, history, geography, food technology and sport.  School partnerships have been greatly strengthened by the presence of the Chinese assistants, and enriched by the contribution which they make, with many assistants taking responsibility for joint curriculum project work during their year here.
Local authorities with a commitment to developing the teaching of Chinese will often use a CLA to run Chinese clubs or taster lessons in both primary and secondary schools that are thinking of introducing Chinese onto the curriculum in the following school year.
When will my assistant start?
The standard period of appointment for Chinese language assistants is from mid September – 30th June in all of the UK.
What are the conditions of employment for a CLA?

The host school must pay the assistant’s allowance for a minimum of 9.5 months at rates set by the relevant government body each year. In 2011-2012 the salary for 12 teaching hours per week is £879 per month. Assistants working in the London area will receive London weighting allowance. Teachers from China should not have to pay UK income tax due to the Double Taxation Agreement.

The Chinese assistants’ travel and visa costs are paid for through the British Council.

What support and/or training is available?
The British Council provides pastoral and professional support for the CLAs throughout their year in the UK. The CLAs receive a 2 week course prior to their departure from China followed by a 3 day induction course upon arrival in the UK. The British Council also run 2 additional training days in November and February in partnership with CILT (England's National Centre for Languages). and HSBC. Throughout the year the CLAs have access to resources on our website FLAsonline and have a dedicated online mentor who offers support on a weekly basis.

For schools hosting Chinese language assistants, the British Council runs a compulsory mentor teachers briefing day in June in Edinburgh and London. The dossier for your allocated assistant will be given to you as part of an information pack on the day.
Do I need to worry about visas or work permits for my assistant?
No, all you need to do is send a copy of your offer letter (see our 'Contacting your Assistant’ page for more information) to the British Council, before the summer holidays.  We will prepare a ‘Certificate of Sponsorship’ which they can use to apply for their visa.
The British Council acts as sponsor for the Chinese Language Assistant.
What administrative procedures need to be carried out?

Once you have been allocated an assistant, one school needs to be the ‘Host School’ for the CLA and co-ordinate the timetable and arrival arrangements with any partner schools. You will need to write an offer of appointment and a contract, a pro-forma for both is available on our 'Contacting your Assistant’ page.

The British Council provides a booklet on the administrative procedures for both schools and assistants which covers important issues such as registering with a doctor, completing income tax forms and opening a bank account. The link to the booklet will be sent along with your assistant’s dossier. See this year’s booklet here.

Each school must also appoint a mentor teacher who is the assistant’s main contact both prior to arrival and during their assistantship.

What is the situation regarding accommodation?
Assistants are ultimately responsible for arranging their own accommodation. However you should provide guidance where possible and ensure that temporary accommodation is available when they first arrive. This is the main worry of all assistants before they depart for the UK and they are less likely to settle in well initially if they are worried about finding somewhere to live.
Can I request a Chinese Language Assistant from our partner school in China?
Yes. Many schools request an assistant from their partner school in China as this helps to strengthen school links. If you wish to request a CLA from your partner school you must get in touch with your partner school in China to ask them to put a candidate forward. They should do this via the British Council China website (details to follow). When requesting an assistant from the British Council in the UK, you should then confirm that you would like an assistant from your partner school.
Please note that if you have not already done so, it is no longer possible to request an assistant from your partner school for the current year as candidates have already been recruited in China.

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