| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
hdeth
Joined: 20 Jan 2015
Posts: 583
|
 Posted: Fri Feb 27, 2015 3:30 am Post subject: |
 |
|
| Voyeur wrote: |
The Chinese ESL market is still far from an efficient labor market. Conditions and contracts vary considerably. Even for veteran teachers, it can be quite hard to know if your job is above average or not.
Teaching at Uni. is generally something I try to avoid because I do not want to teach English to a large class. But I know some uni. teachers who teach only English majors with classes capped at around 20-25 students. OTOH, most of them had to work up to that and did have to teach freshman English 'conversation' classes to 70+ students at a time.
If you can get them, the international classes at top ranked high schools tend to be good jobs, with higher pay than universities and similar schedules. However, the work can be more demanding as in many cases you will have to teach IELTS, SAT, or TOEFL and either know how to teach them or be capable enough to figure it out quickly. |
This is good advice.
Also bear in mind the same job may pay very differently. Some teachers at my work earn as little as 9k rmb with shared housing (these are certified teachers usually btw) while others earn double or more than that.
Teaching University is boring as hell imho. The students have checked out after taking the gaokao and don't care anymore. |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
water rat
Joined: 30 Aug 2014
Posts: 1098
Location: North Antarctica
|
| Posted: Fri Feb 27, 2015 4:12 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Hdeth makes a good point. As anyone can tell you, Chinese high school students are for the most part dead serious and diligent because they are trying to get into 'the right university', while their compatriots just a year older have made it. They can now afford to sit back and coast. So it isn't a question of college students being more mature. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
LUWahoo
Joined: 25 Feb 2015
Posts: 13
Location: United States
|
| Posted: Fri Feb 27, 2015 4:18 am Post subject: |
|
|
| water rat wrote: |
| Hdeth makes a good point. As anyone can tell you, Chinese high school students are for the most part dead serious and diligent because they are trying to get into 'the right university', while their compatriots just a year older have made it. They can now afford to sit back and coast. So it isn't a question of college students being more mature. |
So International High Schools with uni work hours=  |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
hdeth
Joined: 20 Jan 2015
Posts: 583
|
| Posted: Fri Feb 27, 2015 5:25 am Post subject: |
|
|
| LUWahoo wrote: |
| water rat wrote: |
| Hdeth makes a good point. As anyone can tell you, Chinese high school students are for the most part dead serious and diligent because they are trying to get into 'the right university', while their compatriots just a year older have made it. They can now afford to sit back and coast. So it isn't a question of college students being more mature. |
So International High Schools with uni work hours= |
Lol....I went from teaching uni students to teaching 12th graders at an international school. Guess what happens after they take their final SAT? Not to mention a significant portion of students plan to just buy their way into a Uni. Pay someone in HK to take the SAT for them or get the answers to the upcoming SAT...or just pay off the testing center. All the students get near-perfect grades. They cheat like crazy on their exams.
That being said I enjoy my job, especially because half my classes are with a really bright class who are a lot of fun to teach. They speak near-fluent English, some of them have studied in America, and now that they're done with their testing they really want to learn more about college life, read what American students have read, and otherwise prepare themselves to study overseas (the vast majority are going to the US so I say America, though a few are going to other countries...switzerland was surprising). |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
roadwalker
Joined: 24 Aug 2005
Posts: 1750
Location: Ch
|
| Posted: Fri Feb 27, 2015 2:13 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| hdeth wrote: |
Teaching University is boring as hell imho. The students have checked out after taking the gaokao and don't care anymore. |
I taught in 4 different unis, and my experience was the opposite, as far as motivated students are concerned. And that held true for my colleagues as well, as far as I could see (and hear). |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
D-M
Joined: 30 Nov 2013
Posts: 114
|
| Posted: Sat Feb 28, 2015 9:46 am Post subject: |
|
|
Based on my own limited experience, and from reading tons of threads .. the best teaching experience lies in training centres working only with adults, in small classes that are streamed by ability. This is the area I choose to work in, and would find it very hard to justify moving into the oft discussed university classes with far too many students and far to much of a mix in ability.
Everything is of course a trade off. Salary Vs Hours Vs Location Vs Social Scene Vs Employer Vs Holidays Vs Students. Its all a question of what matters to you, or to you and your family if you have one.
University work, with disinterested faculty, often disinterested students, and no guidance or remit other than 'make them speak English', would be for me ... the worst possible job in China. Of course, not all university job are create equal ... |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Non Sequitur
Joined: 23 May 2010
Posts: 4724
Location: China
|
| Posted: Sat Feb 28, 2015 6:42 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| roadwalker wrote: |
| hdeth wrote: |
Teaching University is boring as hell imho. The students have checked out after taking the gaokao and don't care anymore. |
I taught in 4 different unis, and my experience was the opposite, as far as motivated students are concerned. And that held true for my colleagues as well, as far as I could see (and hear). |
Remember Gao Kao has no speaking test so your freshers haven't had Oral English for a year.
If they've attempted Gao Kao twice (to get a better uni) then the no Oral English stand down is even longer. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
LUWahoo
Joined: 25 Feb 2015
Posts: 13
Location: United States
|
| Posted: Sat Feb 28, 2015 8:04 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| hdeth wrote: |
| LUWahoo wrote: |
| water rat wrote: |
| Hdeth makes a good point. As anyone can tell you, Chinese high school students are for the most part dead serious and diligent because they are trying to get into 'the right university', while their compatriots just a year older have made it. They can now afford to sit back and coast. So it isn't a question of college students being more mature. |
So International High Schools with uni work hours= |
Lol....I went from teaching uni students to teaching 12th graders at an international school. Guess what happens after they take their final SAT? Not to mention a significant portion of students plan to just buy their way into a Uni. Pay someone in HK to take the SAT for them or get the answers to the upcoming SAT...or just pay off the testing center. All the students get near-perfect grades. They cheat like crazy on their exams.
That being said I enjoy my job, especially because half my classes are with a really bright class who are a lot of fun to teach. They speak near-fluent English, some of them have studied in America, and now that they're done with their testing they really want to learn more about college life, read what American students have read, and otherwise prepare themselves to study overseas (the vast majority are going to the US so I say America, though a few are going to other countries...switzerland was surprising). |
A good non-profit IS would seem ideal, given you have administrative support/aren't being controlled by parents... US, China, who doesn't start clocking out towards the end of a semester/year? haha |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
hdeth
Joined: 20 Jan 2015
Posts: 583
|
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
