Job Discussion Forums

[CRazy_BAGman]

Hi,

I just got offered a job teaching adults in Shanghai with EF.

I have a friend that is teaching adults in Beijing with EF and she loves it.

What do other people think?

I don't want to teach kids, I did that for 3 years in South Korea and I have no patience for it anymore.

I don't have a teaching certification besides a TESOL.

Any advice or reflections people want to share?

Thanks!

[mike w]

Personal choice for me after teaching at language mills and Chinese universities was to enter the corporate world. 7 years with the same company now, no hassles, no problems with FEC, RP's etc. Only drawback could be depending on how many hours you want to work. The good corporate jobs are full time (8- 5, 5 days a week) - but the salaries can reflect this.
You would probably get drawn in to many other things as well, like proofreading, editing, getting involved with anything the company does with overseas companies. On average, I only 'teach' for 5 hours a week, but I work 37.5 hours a week.
Having some other qualifiaction/experience outside English teaching would certainly help. I'm an engineer, and former training manager with a UK company. Part of my job now is to manage some of the technical training programmes for overseas employees. ESL is now only a small part of my job.
Some corporate training is only part-time - like 4 or 6 hours of ESL a week, and often that is in the evening. But there are permanent full-time positions if that's what you want, and look around for them.

[Denim-Maniac]

In China, I only teach adult classes. My adults are typically people who have graduated from university and worked in the big bad world for a few years and so bring real life experiences to my classroom. I mention this because I feel this real life experience means a Chinese adult student is nothing like many a Chinese university student, even though they may be similar in age.

Adults arent for everyone though. They can be quite demanding, have much clearer goals (realistic or not) and expect a teacher to know their stuff and take steps to deliver. Yes they still want to be engaged and entertained, but they also want to be taught. Many people can do one, but not the other.

One of my main reasons for preferring the adult classes is the immediate social scene it offers. Im not a huge fan of ex-pat crowds and dislike the poker nights / quiz nights that people organise, and so typically feel I would struggle socially. With adult students, I tend to have an immediate circle of people to dine with / drink with / do activities with, and this social side of things is actively encouraged with my employer too.

When teaching EFL in England I generally work with teenagers. In a previous China job I had an age range of 16 - 22. Adults are easily the best group based on my experience.

[DirtGuy]

How do you find these corporate gigs? I am assuming that you have to be in a fairly good-sized city for this type of work, right? What about attending AmCOC mixers and the like as a way to connect with business people?

Thanks.

DirtGuy

[kungfuman]

I have always preferred working with business people than any other group. they are usually very motivated, have some world experience, and enjoy good conversation.

Lately I have been doing work inn a kiddie center. Ages go from 4 to 10. it's money and easy but not very rewarding often.