Job Discussion Forums

[lbulkeley]

hi,
so i'm going to teach english in kunming and didn't really think it would be a problem that i speak NO chinese ( i don't know what i was thinking)
then someone who had taught at the same place, said it will be really hard for me.
do most english teachers speak chinese?
any thoughts? suggesstions?
thanks,
leigh

[Louis]

You'll learn. Don't worry about it. Buy a Chinese-English dictionary when you get here (much cheaper) and consider getting lessons. Also, it's entirely possible to live here and never learn a word.

[Chris_Crossley]

I've been in China for about 2 2/3 years and my Chinese is still at "survival" level, despite the fact that I've been married to a wonderful Chinese lady (now the mother of our little baby girl) for more than 2 years. This is partly because we communicate exclusively in English, and partly because many people in the city speak the local dialect, including, of course, all the (male) taxi drivers.

Once I tell a (male) taxi driver where to go, he proceeds to speak to me very fast and very loudly(!) in Wuhanhua (Wuhan dialect). The phrase TING BU DONG usually makes him go quiet, but I just wish he would realise that foreigners don't learn dialects when they study foreign language courses, only the "standard" language - in this case, Beijing dialect (yes, even "standard" languages are themselves dialects, linguistically speaking), otherwise known as Mandarin.

Not being "fluent" in Chinese has never been a problem for me, even if I am in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province, whose municipal government wants it to become something like an "international" city within the next decade or so. However, foreigners in Wuhan are relatively few and far between, though that may change since private language schools are opening up and my current primary school intends to increase the number of expatriate teachers next semester from six to a reported ten.

Of course, everybody's situation is different, but having a few handy Chinese phrases to start off with is always a good idea, especially if you are stuck somewhere and you need some assistance. You can't tell which Chinese people can speak English just by looking at them, and don't assume that anybody who even looks like they're a uni student can speak English, although I do find that even those with a smattering of English may want to help you if you look lost. That's happened to me often enough, since they can't tell by looking at me that I've been here in China for nearly three years and have a Chinese wife!

Good luck to you in your new job.

[mike w]

I have been here for seven years, admittedly mostly in Tianjin and Beijing, and I still only speak a VERY basic level of Chinese. It has never caused me any problems, nor have I ever found myself in a situation where I couldn't make myself understood and needed to speak Chinese.

[randyj]

Although most foreign English teachers do not speak Chinese, they should recognize the interference problems experienced by students.

[Roger]

I suggest you discuss with those teachers WHY THEY THOUGHT IT WOULD REALLY BE GOOD FOR YOU TO KNOW CHINESE.

It cannot be because of teaching needs.
I suppose the outfit you are going to work for is adept at double-dealing and speaking nice things in English in front of you while discussing how to cheat you in your presence in Mandarin.

Is it a private outfit? Well, I have warned you...

Kunming offers very few legal situatios. Have they promised you a work visa?

[senor boogie woogie]

Hola!

I have been here in China for 42 months or so and my Chinese is poor but slightly improving. I want to master the language so I am going to be a student for one year.

I doubt anyone knew the native language before coming to their new country of choice. Spoken Chinese is not that daunting once you have been here for awhile.

By the way, you'll love Kunming and Yunnan!

Senor

[TEAM_PAPUA]

I have been here for 11 months & I can speak survival/functional chinese.

It really isn't very hard to learn, simply learn a handful of necessary phrases, you can them substitute other vocab. People who know you and know your accent will understand you no problem, and they will also tolerate your poor grammar - but there are always those who - once you say Ni Hao - will launch into a huge and super fast monologue!

Don't worry about it, you don't need it for work as you are here to teach English, and the basics for getting around, shopping etc are easy enough.


Good Luck!


T_P

[TEAM_PAPUA]

This may help get you started - use this with the standard phrases in any guide book to China.

http://www.bangstar.com/mandarin/dictionary.htm



T_P

[struelle]

You'll get by no problem without Chinese, especially in the cities, but speaking some is definitely more rewarding.

Despite the compliments others give or my so-called 'boasting', the level of Chinese I have is not that high, I'd say high-elementary / pre-intermediate. However, it pays off a lot for things like bargaining, travel, taking buses and trains, ordering food, meeting new people, etc. A little goes a long way.

What I find surprising though, is that many people will talk to a foreigner in Mandarin without questioning what they're doing at all! Don't they consider that, to us, this is a totally unnatural language to speak? For example, I had a recent problem with my visa at customs while leaving China. The guy HAD to know I was a foreigner, there's no doubt. But without batting an eye he rattles out, "Ni zai zheli gong zuo ma?" (You work here?) Without thinking I answered, 'Dui', which wasn't that bright as I could have played the role of dumb foreigner who can't speak Chinese. This was later confirmed as he grabbed his boss and gruffly said to her, "Ta hui shuo putonghua" (He's a white guy who can speak Chinese, show no mercy)

The other extreme though, are folks who don't let you practice Chinese and insist on using English all the time. This can be frustrating though, whereas the former is quite amusing.

Steve

[Roger]

struelle has an interesting point!
It used to be that Chinese cops, customs officials and the Immigration had an English-speaking FAO; i bumped into some in the most outlandish places of China, including Ji'nan, Jinghong, Nanning and Yangshuo.
But believe me, these guys are vanishing. Those who have eexcellent English communication skills probably abandon ship for more lucrative and prestigious jobs, I suppose.

It's getting quite difficult to deal with authorities unless you can actuallycommunicate with them in their own lingo.

Proof to boot: the PSB that man the Shenzhen border with Hong Kong! I am sure 99% of them can't read, speak nor understand English!

They are from the police and specially recruited for the Visitor counters, though!

Then over in Zhuhai, the Immigration are not PSB people; I don't think I have ever met an English-speaking person manning those Foreign Visitor counters there; most visitors are overseas Chinese anyway.
Once their inability to understand English played well into my hands: my visa had expired several days before... so I was expecting a serious knockback and a heavy fine.
The girl didn't even try to speak to me in whatever language; she kept rifling through my passport in search of a still-valid visa but was stumped... then she pressed a button and I knew I was going to pose an intellectual challenge to their hierarchy.
A supervisor appeared; the two of them discussed my case in my presence; I overheard a good bit of the discussion and could easily have helped solve the problem (I had the requisite amount for the fine).
Finally, with what could have been a shrug of his shoulders the supervisor told her "shaoge tian - xiao wenti" or "few days, small problem", and she put her chop in my passport and waved me out of her sight.
But I wouldn't want to deal with a more scrupulous officier in Mandarin next time!

[burnsie]

Team Papua, thanks for the link that's a good little website. Which it had the chinese character (hanzi) with it also.

I have been here for 12 months now and speak only basic Chinese. I understand more than I can speak but it really frustrates me. I want to learn but my confidence lets me down when I think I am speaking the correctly only to be let down when the person doesn't understand.