Job Discussion Forums

pabo · Joined: 02 Dec 2004 Posts: 29

sorry for another redundant post, but i've done the searches on this forum, and haven't heard much about this school, besides its got a good reputation. I'm making a final decision in the next few days between this school, ECNU, and BUAA, and trying to get some foreign teacher's perspectives on things before making a decision. some people on this forum have been very helpful with questions about ECNU, and I was hoping for the same response about SISU in Shanghai, or BUAA in Beijing. thanks in advance.

Yu · Joined: 06 Mar 2003 Posts: 1219 Location: Shanghai

A number of my younger Chinese coworkers are graduates of SISU. Of course their English is very good, but they also have very friendly personalities.

It really depends on what you are looking for. Considering all offers are equal. What are you trying to get out of the experience.

I am sure you have heard that ECNU has the most beautiful students. That can always be a plus.

Dont know anything about the school in Beijing.

I would expect your students at SISU to have very high levels of English. By high, I mean about to get more than 500 on TOEFL without trying. (Actually I am not exactly sure, but maybe this is a reasonable benchmark.... it might even be higher but I am thinking of Freshmen or sophomores.)

What kind of students do you want?

I am not sure about ECNU students.

Good Luck in your decision.

kensensei · Joined: 22 Apr 2003 Posts: 78 Location: Shanghai

Yes, SISU has quite a good reputation for foreign language education.
I have never worked there, only visited their impressive campuses. I have some Chinese friends who are students there, but don't know anyone who has taught there. I was offered a job last year but I had already accepted another position.

They have two campuses in SH, the first one is in HongKou and the newer one in is SongJiang. HonKou is closer to central SH. The SongJiang campus is a long bus ride from civilzation. Even the students complain about the dull social environment out there. On the other hand, its one of the cleanest and most modern campuses ever.

The salary is low, which is normal for prestigious universities. But I imagine your students will be easier to teach (<I have no experiece to back this up)

KYGirl · Posted: Mon May 30, 2005 11:17 pm Post subject:

I taught at SISU for 3 years until last year. I loved it and had a great experience. Of course, not everything was perfect, but on the whole it was a very positive experience.

There are basically 2 kinds of teaching at SISU. One is teaching traditional university students of various majors. The foreign teachers seemed to have various attitudes towards this. Some of them enjoyed it; some of them complained about unmotivated students. They seem to have a lot of writing classes -- 5 classes x 50 students = a whole lot of grading. Intradepartamental communication seems to be a problem, which is par for the course in China. It is true that there is a new campus in Songjiang, and teachers are bused out there (at around 6 am) about 3 times a week. I'd say it probably won't be long before they require those FTs to live on the Songjiang campus.

I taught in the Overseas Training Department, which is basically adult education. Classes were from 8 to 11:30 Mon-Fri. Occasionally there are afternoon classes, but I never had one. Students come from all over eastern China. I really enjoyed the variety of life experience -- doctors, professors, engineers, mothers and fathers. Much different from, "There are three people in my family, my mother, my father, and me." This department is in Hongkou near the main campus, and will most likely stay put.

Salary is 3200 RMB with a BA. Housing is included, and it's OK.