The Skinny On Teaching English In China

by Tom Carter

Having little luck finding a horny job offer in the U.S. in 2004, I determined to take my abilities where they were wanted — abroad.

Enticed by the “Teach English in China — No Experience Necessary” advertisements saturating the web classifieds, I emailed my resume with one hand and packed my baggage with the other. I had no concept what to expect, however then, the great unknown will be what makes a job like teaching English within the People’s Republic so appealing.

As the world’s largest financial system opens to foreign investment, education has become one of China’s thriving sectors. Confucius probably wouldn’t stand for it, however he wasn’t wearing pinstripe fits and driving a shiny black sedan. The country may be Communist in theory, but the renminbi — Chinese currency — is emperor.

A Chinese adage says that the most effective advice is commonly born from the most challenging experiences. After three years serving to the sons and daughters of Han be taught English, I’ve had my share. Westerners seeking to teach in China may need to consider the following before packing their bags.

Some international English teachers may be shanghaied at the least once throughout their time in China. Baiting unsuspecting Westerners to China with false promises of a excessive salary, deluxe apartment, airfare reimbursement, visa or other incentives is a typical online scam. Blame it on temptation. Often Chinese legal guidelines are too fluid and relationships (“guanxi” in Mandarin) with authorities too intimate, leaving some foreigners with little safety against scams.

The second I arrived in the Middle Kingdom I had what some seasoned expatriates call “the full Chinese experience.” The “school” that had accepted my application turned out to be a nickel-and-dime operation run out of an condominium by a man in his bathrobe. I’d come half way world wide for a job and found myself out of work.

I was actually lost in translation. Despair and a want to return residence to Mom set in. But I quickly discovered that, commensurate with its sizeable population, China has a profusion of kindergarten, primary, center and high faculties and universities in even essentially the most remote cities. In brief order, I wound up with a place and wage more attractive than the one I had initially accepted.

Chinese parents may go night and day to pay for dear English lessons so that their youngster can get a head start on this competitive society of 1.3 billion. Unfortunately, academics should not an situation to lots of China’s new educational entrepreneurs who put profit before curriculum and quality. Classroom experience and Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) certification is nice, however in many circumstances a Western face is all a local English speaker must land a teaching job in China.

In more respected schools, most prospective English teachers haven’t got it so easy. I endured a weeklong interview process, together with a series of teaching demonstrations earlier than 300 stern-looking parents, all while I was still jetlagged and affected by culture shock. I will need to have done one thing right, as a result of I was chosen to teach at a high school within the province.

Being rice-wined and dined by my potential employer over 30-course banquet dinners did not distract me from negotiating a fair salary. Many foreigners (“laowai”) prefer to live in a cosmopolitan metropolis like Beijing or Shanghai than a small town such because the one I had chosen, and I was able to use this desire as leverage throughout contract discussions. All offers in China, like the worth of fruit on the marketplace, might be negotiated.

Most English teachers in China needn’t speak Mandarin in the classroom. Instead, we instruct students by a strategy of language immersion and simulation, which in time invariably results in proficiency. Diligence and a little creativity are all which are really needed, however like acting on stage five times a day, it takes its toll.

Over the next few years, I would meet plenty of disappointed young Westerners who came overseas as English teachers expecting to get together all evening and spend their free time pursuing adventures in the countryside. That, I would tell them, is a life-style for tourists, exchange students and embassy brats, not the hardworking teacher.

As a foreign professional English instructor, I’m scheduled for as much as 30 classes a week and spend most of my free time planning lessons. I’m up at dawn with the older people practicing their Tai Chi and not back home until after 10 p.m., about when the migrant development workers also are getting off work.

I never thought I’d be an educator. I didn’t like most of my teachers once I was a kid. Teachers the world over are usually low paid, overworked and underappreciated. But the fatigue and the hit on my revenue — compared to what I might earn in the United States — are what I pay for being a part of a rapidly-changing China. As it turned out, I’m not so dangerous in front of the chalkboard — I truly like it.

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