Our Centre for Language Education and Cooperation (CLEC) teachers are a team of highly skilled teachers on secondment from their regular teaching positions in schools across China. They join staff at schools across England and work as language teachers for one academic year. During their stay in the UK, the CLEC teachers are managed by the Chinese Confucius Institute Director. 
Recruitment
Each year a new cohort undertakes a rigorous selection and training process in China giving the very best teachers the opportunity to live and teach overseas.
Our CLEC teachers must also pass through further UCL Institute of Education Confucius Institute training and selection processes before being accepted for a position in the UK. The successful candidates are those who are the most capable and enthusiastic teachers, specially chosen to represent their country as Chinese language and culture ambassadors.
What do they do?
Once here in the UK, the CLEC teachers support their host schools in a variety of ways. Foremost, they are fully qualified Chinese language teachers, with responsibility for timetabled Mandarin classes. In many cases, they also travel to teach lessons in other local secondary and primary schools.
The visiting teachers are often impressively accomplished, and typically very conscientious and generous with their time. They support their hosts with all manner of extracurricular programmes and outreach activities in their local communities, sharing skills such as Chinese crafts, painting, cooking, singing, musical instruments and martial arts.
The role of host schools
The host schools in turn play a vital role in welcoming their CLEC teachers as members of their staff community, and ensuring that the teachers’ stay is comfortable and fruitful.
This is a unique opportunity for the visiting teachers to experience teaching in the UK’s education system and for Confucius Classrooms to learn from the best practice of China’s teaching elite and build long-lasting friendships.
Please find their host schools here.
