Job Discussion Forums

[Plan B]

I am used to being considered favourably in all respects of teaching. Up until I took up a new job in Shenzhen, I had always received good - usually excellent evaluations - both on paper, and directly from the students.

I am now at a business consultancy which charges a higher than market price for lessons - around 700 / hour. All of a sudden, I am struggling. Human Resource managers and students are comparing me with previous teachers - usually more experienced in company teaching, but not necessarily more adept generally. The feedback is generally negative. I am doing pretty much the same as I always have - in fact, I have put out all the stops to ensure my lesson preparation is faultless. I usually even have a powerpoint presentation. My one successful class is with a company which has not had a consistant training course in the past.

Typical comments are such as "He would be okay in a school, but he doesn't have as much knowledge about Chinese learning habits as XXX, and he is younger and less-experienced than XXX." - I am over 30, I have been in China 3 years, teaching for over 4 years, and throughout, even in my less experienced days, I never received such dismissive remarks.

I am aware that I must evaluate where I am going wrong, but I also know from past experience that it is difficult to follow a previous, well-respected teacher.

Has anyone been in a similar situation? How did you deal with the challenge of winning over these people?

[ilaria]

Plan B, poor you, negative feedback feels horrible.

You sound well-qualified and experienced. I'm wondering what kind of rapport you have with your students. Are you trying too hard to impress them and creating lessons that are perfect on paper, but don't go quite so well in class because you're not relaxed and you're not letting your personality shine through?

Also, what exactly do your students want from you? (Unfortunately, what the students want may be quite different from what the people who are actually paying for the course want. This is a common problem with on-site business classes.)

[Plan B]

[kev7161]

[Plan B]

[quote="kev7161"]

[vikdk]

[Plan B]

[vikdk]

In the Chinese work environment it can sometimes be difficult to dress up in our expert clothes - after all in this money making education market its so often the fee-paying student who is allowed to be right - and indeed portrayed as the experts regarding their own educations. But sometimes it can pay to stick to your guns - and if you work in a place where education is taken seriously - tell, and indeed convince your students and employers, over what they should want and in what manner they should get it. Being able to bring this little number off is one of the marks of a teaching expert.

[mondrian]

[Yu]

I have just started doing some English training in a company. It is a factory and they want to improve their daily English. The main problem is I have 3 different levels of students but 2 classes. We are trying to arrange 3 classes, but the boss is in the US for a week.
I do find that they expectations are higher. The company even has expectations that the English levels of the employees improves. And they want to know the goals and outcomes of the class and how progress will be measured (coming from a university where this is just not even communicated to me, it is a big change, but one that I embrace) the students are actually motivated!

I do think the company will have a different expectation. I would try to get some specefic feedback. I asked for it after my first class. and I got it the next day.

We will see what happens as this continues. Maybe it will get more stressful.

[vikdk]

[sheeba]

I've had the same problem in the past . Not many Chinese know why they make the mistakes they do . Feedback from Students I find pretty much worthless . I get 'We want to watch films' 'We want a teacher who can make us laugh' and so on . Never do they worry about actually learning the problems at hand .

Stick to your guns if you are doing something you believe in . You know more than your learners . You are in charge . Be confident in what you are doing . You sound like a good teacher to me . Just carry on trying to improve . We all have the same problem .

My students are extremely fickle . They're bored today with laowai and tomorrow he's the best teacher in China .

[Steppenwolf]

If you can charge such exorbitant rates then you are also answerable to a class of learners with very special expectations; that doesn't necessarily call for better teaching quals but for familiarity with the environment in which these learners operate.
I find complaints such as :not aware of Chinese learning habits" ludicrous. Still, if they judge you on that score you have to question the wisdom of accepting their job in the first place.
Maybe they need someone who knows China intimately and is capable of bridging the gap between their own and your cultures?

[vikdk]

[China.Pete]

"Still, if they judge you on that score you have to question the wisdom of accepting their job in the first place." Steppen Wolf

Interesting point. I think there are two important issues raised here - neither of which is necessarily unique to the corporate training market. First, like most Chinese English language learners, they have some preconceived notions about how language is supposed to be taught. Thus, their adoration of lecture-style instructors, etc. Second, they or their company are paying a lot of money for your services. So, naturally, they feel that little effort should be required on their part. You should just be able to stand up and "teach" them.

What IS unique to the corporate training environment is the need to demonstrate measurable results. This can prove to be quite a challenge given the issues above. Pre- and post-course testing can be helpful in this. It would be surprsing if the students didn't make at least some improvement in their speaking tests.