Job Discussion Forums

erose · Joined: 22 Mar 2005 Posts: 7

Just wondering if anyone can share their experience teaching with English First in China. Are they a reputable organisation to work for? Confused

nolefan · Joined: 14 Jan 2004 Posts: 1458 Location: on the run

Hello there and welcome to the boards. EF has been discussed to great lengths on these boards. A simple search for EF will turn up more information than you can read in a week.

http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/job/search.php

here is one of the more recent threads:
http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/job/viewtopic.php?t=19781&highlight=ef

good luck

journeyeast · Posted: Tue Mar 29, 2005 5:14 am Post subject:

You can download a wage salary analysis from www.ESLschoolReview.com regarding the EF salary rates comparison. .

If you are new and do not plan to work in China for an extended period, you may just survive your experience.. if you want to stay in China for awhile.. Look elsewhere..

journeyeast · Posted: Tue Mar 29, 2005 5:15 am Post subject:

You can download a wage salary analysis from www.ESLschoolReview.com regarding the EF salary rates comparison. .

If you are new and do not plan to work in China for an extended period, you may just survive your experience.. if you want to stay in China for awhile.. Look elsewhere..

Probably best to avoid EF..

tom selleck · Posted: Tue Mar 29, 2005 6:48 am Post subject:

At the very best you will wind up working harder than you've ever worked in your life.

At the worst...............

By now, thanks to Nolefan, you've done your reading. You can do better. Don't sell yourself short.

tom selleck · Posted: Tue Mar 29, 2005 6:50 am Post subject:

At the very best you will wind up working harder than you've ever worked in your life.

At the worst...............

By now, thanks to Nolefan, you've done your reading. You can do better. Don't sell yourself short.

brsmith15 · Joined: 12 May 2003 Posts: 1142 Location: New Hampshire USA

DO NOT, repeat, DO NOT work for EF unless you like being in a POW camp...and not the Hogan's Heroes type either.

englishgibson · Joined: 09 Mar 2005 Posts: 4345

There are a few fine EF centers in China, however any newcomer to China or to EF in China might not be able to find that more decent EF center arround. Generally speaking more EF English First centers in China are "not EF English First, but EF Chinese First" unfortunately and that usually translates in lesser respect for the foreign ESL teachers. You have got to know how to be an "edutainer" not educator and if you can do that as well as deal with the Chinese culture well, you might as well be the right one for the EF positions in China. Having said that, do not hope to stay in one center for too long (you are a foreigner as well as a traveller to them). EF English First is a fairly good francise for travellers, not for the ones who hope to stay in on place and establish themselves there. The weekly teaching hours have reduced on Contracts to bareable 20, so you shall not overwork yourself too much as Tom Selleck suggested. Hangzhou might be one of the better EF centers as far as I know, and you might consider the EF centers in Shanghai, since they are under closer supervision from their Shanghai's Head Office than any other centers in China that take advantages of not being supervised. Anyway, good luck to anyone searching for that EF career out there.

deezy · Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2005 12:47 am Post subject:

Oh lord here we go again with the old old EF question. There are 62 EFs in China, they can't all be horrendous... can they?

Read the contract, thoroughly. Get in touch with teachers already at the centre you are thinking of going to. Talk at length with the DoS and if possible the CM. Research research research. And if in doubt, don't.

Marketing is part of the job. Singing is part of the job. If you can't sing, it doesn't seem to matter. But teaching, properly, is also part of the job, and you get observed regularly by the DoS and your peers to make sure that you are progressing well.

I met heaps of EF DoSes recently at a conference in Shanghai, and I was very impressed by their qualities, dedication and desire to make things work well for their individual centres and teachers.

But remember, ALL private schools are businesses, and there to make money. (for the CHINESE investors).

Noelle · Joined: 26 Mar 2005 Posts: 361 Location: USA

Well said, the response above. I also like the comment about singing!