Job Discussion Forums

[tofuman]

Although not an English teacher now, I spent two years "teaching" English.

It is very true that Chinese English teachers will ask questions about obscure grammatical constructs that are important only because they appear on tests. A person who actually knows the language knows it well enough to avoid unusual grammatical constructs. But you will be criticized behind your back and to your face if you can't answer these questions. One twit actually told me I did not understand English because her question puzzled me. I pointed out that I understood how to use the language and, therefore, the ability to articulate grammatical rules was not important to me.

I wrote professionally in the States and never had to deal with the kinds of things with which these people's minds are occupied. Anticipating this problem, I brought some excellent grammatical references. After a while, however, I stopped trying to answer these questions because even with a good reference it still takes time. And I consider it terribly boring. My most frequent questioner I finally presented with an excellent reference grammar as a wedding present.

I wouldn't spend time answering these questions. Get a good website address with grammar help and give it to them.

The drift in English, even in legal writing, is to use short sentences and simple words. People here pride themselves on arcane syntax and unusual vocabulary. If you can't understand what they have written, they don't consider that the problem is with their English usage, the problem is that they know English better than you do.

Blah blah blah. What morons.

It is also true that while you may be hired without much in the way of education, you will be viewed with contempt, probably by the very person who hired you.

[jammish]

I agree with orangiey's post. I have a Degree, plus a CELTA, but quite frankly my Degree (French and Politics) has naff-all relation to what I teach here. Whereas the CELTA, whilst the teaching practice sessions were different to my teaching here in some respects (small groups of adults {with a European perspective to boot} versus children, decent facilities versus a blackboard and lines of desks, etc) it was still more useful than my Degree - e.g. learning about games and activities to use in class.

It does baffle me how much a Degree in just about anything is valued here. One teacher at my school, who has a full B.Ed and is a properly qualified teacher in her home country, was started on 4500, the same as everyone else. Another teacher was started on 5000 just because he had a post graduate diploma in something unrelated to teaching. Crazy.

[OldBlueEyes]

That is quite true Jammish. What is even worse is that I have seen FTs who have been offered more money simply based on nationality. In a university where I worked, American teachers with a BA or MA were paid more than people from other countries who held a PhD. Prejudice based on passport is a common phenomenon in China.

[Super Mario]

Jammish wrote[quoOne teacher at my school, who has a full B.Ed and is a properly qualified teacher in her home country, was started on 4500, the same as everyone else. Another teacher was started on 5000 just because he had a post graduate diploma in something unrelated to teaching. Crazy.[/quote]

Absolutely. With a B.Ed, post grad TESOL, and many years in teaching, I was paid the same as non-teachers with a bit of paper from the US. While the students noted the difference [I knew, and cared about, what I was doing], it certainly wasn't reflected in salaries.
White, vertical, can speak English, are the criteria.

[vikdk]