Job Discussion Forums

[william wallace]

I've been in Beijing,China for many years and find that I'm unable to continue to live here.I was hoping for one last year.As my wife is Chinese and we had purchased an apartment,and xenophobia aside, this kind of felt like my home. I've done a fair range of ESL/EFL work here,but the conclusion has always been the same-Dodgy and menial.

Public school system- embarrassing and humiliating:from the recruiters who take a portion of your wage,to the Chinese teachers who have contempt for your very presence.Not to forget the 70%of students who either don't prepare lessons or forgot to take their school books.

Private schools- Employers that ultimately see you as a performing service worker and the students as customers- And the customer is always right ! Try and be an effective teacher in that context.

Joint venture university programs - These have been among the worst for me. Last year the 4th best university in China partnered with an Aussie uni,but at the very last minute the important uni folks went with a USA university leaving us high and dry for work in mid-September.This year the same thing happened with the number ONE university in China,and an American uni, and in both cases had signed contracts etc...
I had also taught an accredited course for a university that was being certified by a Scottish agency.The certification was supposed to be taught in English,but it turned out I was the only teacher instructing in English...end result, I was replaced with a Chinese teacher.
Is this only happening in Beijing,China,or China at large ?
Surely one experiencing this would have to have rocks in their head when it comes to picking up a CELTA/DELTA. I could see picking up a B.Ed or PGCE and getting the heck out of ESL/EFL and into an international school or job back in Canada, NZ...

Does this happen in other countries ?

Cheers
P.S. sorry but my space bar is broken, making forstrange spacing.

[The_Prodiigy]

One can purchase USB-plug in keyboards at electronics market.
30 rmb.

[killian]

i have taught in china, taiwan and now south korea. looked at china foremost this time around. i wantef china bad but the wages are/were so low i had to look elsewhere. sk has been fine to date but taiwan also was nice. either one'll probably top china pay.

[Deicide]

Rise William Wallace and take to the field to battle the tyranny of thy foes....yield not to them, lest they inflict lung cancer upon thee, for it is written that yonder there be great clouds of billious, noxious fumes. Thou must escape, take flight...

[JDYoung]

I taught in NE China from 2003 to 2006. I enjoyed both living and teaching there. My school was upfront and honest and most, though of course not all, my students were hardworking. There were some cultural differences that bothered me but I adjusted to them because I liked the rest of the place. If I want the rules, regulations, laws, culture and customs to be like home, I should stay home.

I taught in Istanbul from 2006 to 2007. I wouldn't go back, at least not to teach, and would only stay in Istanbul long enough to see a few historical sites I missed. I hated the city - big, noisy, dirty, chaotic. The school was less than open with its teachers at best and flagrantly dishonest at worst. There were enough cultural differences that I couldn't manage to adjust to and I didn't like the place enough to work at it so I left.

Now I'm in the Czech Republic. I think I'm going to enjoy it here. It's only been 10 days so we'll see how it goes.

As I'm a woman of certain years I'm planning on one country - one year so I can see more of the world. Would I spend the rest of my life in a foreign country? I doubt it but this lifestyle suits me fine at the moment.

[malu]

I did it the other way around - elsewhere and then to China. I have to say, elsewhere was probably better all things considered.

My contractual experiences in China have actually been very good. I work for an employer that pays in full on the nail every month and the salary is at the top end of the scale (in my bit of the school at least). The FAO is pretty efficient and housing is trouble-free.

My students are a mixed bag but I've yet to find any that I really dislike and some are really charming and a pleasure to teach.

So... why do I say elsewhere was better? Well, apart from my job, my colleagues, my students, and the ability to save money, I really don't think there is much to enjoy in China. Actually, I'll rephrase that. There are LOTS of things to enjoy but in each case there exists a fairly organised way of preventing those enjoyable things from being enjoyed. Like making sure that everyone (1.3 Billion of them!) takes their vacation at precisely the same time, for example. Like making everything to do with money, banking and paying for things as laborious as possible. Especially if you are foreign.

My favourite countries are Malaysia and Indonesia. The latter has a lot of problems with poor infrastructure and rampant corruption, but as I stand - unable to fall even if I wanted to - in the super-efficient 21st century Guangzhou metro car with countless elbows jabbing at my ribs amid the cacophony of a hundred mobile phone conversations I fondly yearn for the potholed roads and intermittent electricity of deepest Sumatra...