The Ministry of Education (MOE) is recruiting more people interested in teaching Mandarin overseas.

The recruits will participate in a training program that begins on August 13. They will then be sent to fill positions at schools in other countries, largely in France, Germany and Russia. The education ministry expects that nearly half of the recruits will be sent to Southeast Asian countries.

The teacher training program will impart new skills that the participants can use both in and out of the classroom. It’s not just about teaching methodology, but also cultural acclimation. 

This is the second training program scheduled for this summer. The first round of training this summer was for people who were sent to the United States. The education ministry says it’s hoping to train a total of at least 374 teachers this year, an increase of 10% over last year’s total.