Job Discussion Forums

[Yu]

I have been working in Chinese universities for the past 3 years. I have a good schedule, but crappy pay. Overall I cannot really complain about the working conditions. I like it.
BUT (you knew it was coming) recently, I have just started to feel intense frustration with my students. They seem really unmotivated (they are seniors, I understand them, but I dont want to teach them). I feel the university education here has so many problems. I look at my graduating students and find it hard to believe they can all get a degree as an English major (they are not that bad, but also not that good). I just gave them their final exam, and many of them did really poorly. Very poorly. Like 17/70 poorly.
So I just wonder if I will ever get anything professionally out of the job or if I am better to sell my soul to the language mills. I assume that I work more, make more money, and have motivated students.

[bendan]

I'd really think carefully before giving up a nice job at a decent university. I doubt you'd find much satisfaction at the language mills, and you'd be saddled with an ever-changing, minimal-holidays schedule. Why not do some part-time/summer work at a mill to see what you think?

[nolefan]

it all depends on which language mill

The missus and myself spent 2 years teaching uni then moved on to bigger/better things ( or so we thought ) We still miss it to this day as far as the free time and making-a-difference aspects go.

I haven't been teaching much since then but every so often, I'll pick up a gig here or there and some of the private mills in Beijing are not that bad, especially those dealing with professionals. They're older students who tend to value their time and sign up for those expensive classes because they are interested.. classes get to be pretty fun.

I'd say why don't you use some of the free time you have when teaching uni to get a freelance gig in an adult-education type school... see how you like it.

[Yu]

I am currently freelancing for a company. The students are great. They are highly motivated, and as the company is paying for it, the expensive price tag is not what is motivating them.

I am curious about the language mills. I am reluctant, but also frustrated with the uni. As I as grading senior exams, I had the idea to attempt to renegotiate my contract with my current school. I am going to try to get more money and less hours (as I teach writing, I wish I dont need to prepare for 4 different other classes as well--I have the worst workload of the FTs here.... but It improves now as half of my students graduate).

So I graded senior exams, and 65 out of 116 failed the exam. I told them I was going to grade it hard, so I was also going to include a bonus section. Thus the test had 110 points possible, but I just took 100. Even so 65 of them could not get above 60. Frustrations with senior students are mounting.

But I also still think I can teach them better if I have another go at it, and there is somthing inside of me that really wants to figure out how to teach here. I think there is more I can offer students, I just have not figured out what it is I can offer and how to give it to them. I get more ideas each year, but I know there is more to improve on. I keep figuring out what I do wrong.... but there is still some to do to make it right. UGH, it is just so hard sometimed.

I dont know what I am going to decide. I do have a good uni job. many of the teachers here stay on for additional years. Two of them are trying to let the uni let them stay on for a fourth year. Some guys have been here more than 4 years. That says a lot for a uni in my book.

I am scard of Shanghai summers, so I do not really want to stay here.

[johnchina]

You assume that you would work more. Correct.
You assume that you would be paid more. Correct.
Motivated students? As Manuel from Fawlty Towers said - "Que?"

I see a contradiction in the idea that the students are motivated and the company is paying for the course. In my experience (inside and outside China) students are far better motivated when they are paying for a course themselves, or at least contributing to the cost. The fact that there was a high failure rate in your test also indicates that motivation is not high.

It really depends on your personal priorities. I go with the money. Other people go with the lighter work schedule and campus accommodation. Bendan's suggestion that you give a mill a go for the summer is a good one.

[Yu]

We are talking about two things here.

There is a stark contrast between my senior uni students who failed exam.


The other students are with a company, and they show up an actively participate. More importantly, they are only speaking English in my class. I try to enforce that with my senior students but I am not succesful.


The company students are more motivated than uni students. I expect students who are shelling out months of salary to apy an English class will have even more motivation!

[nolefan]

Yu,

do you teach other levels or seniors only? I'm still in touch with my former students who happen to be seniors now and I can see their attitudes towards classes and tests.. their main concern is what to do after they graduate so they're not even worrying about their current classes. It's basically a "you've worked for 3 years and done well, use the last year to look for a job" type deal.. even my dean acknowledged that.

How are your freshmen and sophomores ?

[Yu]

I have an intersting situation.

I guess I do have one group of junior students. They were great as sophomores, and I get the feeling we are looking forward to eachother when they are seniors. I am not sure what will happen when I have them next year. If I have them next year. They are good. They also know I am strict and chose my class. As I am the only foreign teacher this semester, and only 20 out of 120 students actually wanted to take my class, I think it illustrates that I am generally strict and give a lot of homework (and little scores). Most of them seem to respect me. When they were sophomores. i took the group of students who did the worst in my class and offered an extral oral lesson with them. Several showed up, but they see the kind of teacher I am from that experience as well. I dont know what will happen to them as seniors.

The other students I have are the international students in the English department. They are Japanese, Korean, Turkish. and that program has so many problems I can only say that ther are no placement tests so levels of students are more varied than I have ever taught before.