Job Discussion Forums

[englishgibson]

I have been asked a way too many times to do this, and many times I have got some "materials" for it. To my surprise, my students also had some knowledge of those "materials".

Interview questions for British, Canadian, American etc Consulates or interview questions by western uni representatives that've been given previously to applicant students are apparently published on Chinese sites.

A couple of weeks ago, I refused to continue with a class of two students who were planning to attend their interviews (in English) with a Hong Kong uni. Both students got a page full of Chinglish questions and some more in their mind to study for. The private language training center's Chinese DoS also provided me with such questions and cared little when I laughed.

This kind of "language training" when students are taught to recite/memorize answers seems to be a common practice by Chinese managed language centers in the country and I want you guys know that I am proud to have declined the last offer.

Now, do you do such language trainings and take the money or do you decline such offers?

Cheers and beers to all proud foreign experts in the country

[mike w]

[Kootvela]

I do it from time to time. We drill standard question-answer things and have some individually-needed phrases translated as well. It's a market of its own.

[Anda]

The University of Hong Kong is very hard to get into and a high standard of English listening skills are needed. The Uni of HK has many foreign professors going lectures so students need to be able to follow plus take notes.

I prepped a young lady for a scholarship for a Singapore University a month back and she got in. The deal was two years of prep plus the Uni course and upon finishing the student has to work in Singapore for five years. Forty Mainland students are chosen each year for this by a group of Singaporean Universities.

I taught her the type of question that she could expect and the type of answers that they would be after. Set answers are out; I told her that her answers must come naturally. High level universities are not desperate for students so they can pick and choose who they accept.

I also taught her about Western ways of studying and things like Brainstorming and group study.

[Anda]

It would seem that I have to explain everything I write! A PM I got.

"Do you ever actually read people's posts? Englishgibson said a HK uni, not the uni of HK."


After reading Englishgibson�s post I took it that the standard of teaching provided for students trying to get into Universities was the main issue and if one was prepared to use poor quality material to teach.

I prepped a top student from a high school in Funing to get into the University of Hong Kong but I could see straight away that her listening skills were not up to what she would need to listen to foreign professors. She however had better than average skills with English. She didn't get accepted.


So seeing that Englishgibson�s question was:

"Now, do you do such language trainings and take the money or do you decline such offers?"

I posted what I wrote as if to say no unless one is allowed to add practical teaching material. But there is little that one can do to improve the actual English ability of a student in a couple of weeks. Making a student aware of what the interviewers are likely to be looking for can however be done but then it is up to the student to use the information to improve their presentation.

[william wallace]

Direct translation by way of memorized vocab, where most understanding is done in Chinese,and 7-15 years of language lessons, and they still can't pass intermediate English. And they think knowing the grammatical form of a word is useful(other than Chinese meaning of word), yet a single English word may have more than just "it's a noun", as it may have 3-10 different word meanings as a noun...
I like to ask them if they'd understand me, if I spoke Chinese- They always say yes,so I speak some words in about 10-15 of Chinese minority languages.. They of course know squat!

[englishgibson]

direct translation by the way of memorized vocab it is ... and the interferance of their first language is horendeous

i also am an interviewer and after i give a simple question i often need to wait and wait for an answer (that i sometimes do not expect)

now, in the same place (i mentioned in my original post) i refused the gig to coach a couple of youngsters for A HONK KONG uni interview, a week later i received another offer to prepare a 19 year old girl for a US consulate interview..i was allowed to use my own material, although i couldn't help laughing at the language center's set of "possible questions" that i should look at too...half in chinese half in english and i could only see the simple present tense and a few errors ... i took the gig and the money 'cause i got the flexibility i asked for

as chinese often memorize the interview questions they hilariously memorize the grammar mistakes with it ...courtesy of their chinglish teachers ... HAVE YOU ANY MONEY OR IS SOMEONE ELSE SUPPORT YOU? when I ask "DO YOU HAVE ANY MONEY OR WILL SOMEONE ELSE SUPPORT YOU" i can't get a response, although when i read the same as in the chinese directions (above the first question with mistakes) i get a nice reply with a smile

i approached the chinese DoS responsible for the chinglish questions and her reply was "THESE ARE JUST MINOR ERRORS"...many questions from her have got such shite english...i am glad i only take a few gigs at that place since i have a full time commitment elsewhere...the worst thing on this is that even a british teacher supported this chinese DoS's view on "MINOR ERRORS"...how many centers in china are there such as this one where even native speakers of english follow up their lovely ch-academic leaders i mean, are we desperate to keep our fine jobs or has the chinese working environment destroyed us so much

cheers and beers to all foreign teachers using their own materials rather than the chinese ones as well as cheers and beers to the ones that refuse the unreasonable jobs with poor academic goals

[garbotara]

Once in Shen zhen someone wanted me to do that. I was busy later and they wanted me to sit there for an hour before I did. As I had enough work already I told them where to go and went on my way. Later I heard from a friend that they tried to to stiff him or make him feel guilty for wanting to get paid. Boy was I right about them.

[Song&Dance]

IELTS examiners see this all the time, students who have memorized the standardised answers to probable IELTS examiners' questions.

But when we deviate from the anticipated questions, the examinees are completely lost.

[englishgibson]

that surely uncovers examinees poor knowledge...but should we take the money and facilitate (provide such training as i mentioned) in the process..i mean at those lovely private language centers where increasingly chinese manage just about everything..a while ago, we were a bit (just a bit) in control, but with those new regulations in some regions of china where chinese directors of studies are a mandatory

cheers and beers to the tight control of the great wall government as well as fantastic work of the local academic directors that know what it takes to pass any exam in chenglish

[bearcanada]

I think this is a useful topic.

I've tutored a number of higher-level students, normally those applying for entrance to an MBA program at one of the better North American universities.

The real problem I've seen, apart from genuine listening difficulties, is that too many people in China tend to look on the interview as an examination with right and wrong answers. They seem to have a determined conviction that if only they can be taught the 'right' answers then they will pass the interview and gain acceptance to the program.

The result is that the prepared answers are just a string of meaningless BS buzz-words that may sound good but say nothing. I asked one student (a high-level senior person at an MNC telecom) why he wanted an MBA. His answer was something like "I want this school to elevate my fluency in guiding a multi-national enterprise to overcoming competitive challenges in the marketplace." I almost choked on the words.

I told him to stop the BS and tell me why he wanted an MBA. Then his response was to say, "I've reached a plateau in my career. I know the tech stuff really well but without management training I will never go any farther." So I told him that this was the 'correct' answer; to just tell the truth as it was for him and stop trying to beat the system by being clever.

In this case, I didn't succeed and neither did he. A few times I almost beat him to death with a stick, but he just couldn't let go of his conviction that he needed to memorize the 'correct' answers. In the event, he failed his interview and the interviewer told me that it was mostly due to the memorized answers that he appeared to be reading from a paper.

It often occurs that someone will want help with his or her English in the final weeks before an interview of this kind. There is little that can be done with the English in such a short time, but I do try to make these people understand that an interviewer is looking for information rather than for cute responses that might have come from a textbook. Often, this appreciation can make the difference between success and failure.

.

[englishgibson]

yes, there usually is a short time to prepare for their interviews and it surely helps if the students learn more of an approach to the interview rather than the textbook answers.

from my experience too, many students do not seem to be able to cope with their reasoning behind their plans. that however might be due to their real reasons behind their applications. they often choose their majors, universities, or even cities/countries out of the convenience. in any case, they often are clueless what to do after their graduations, and those questions usually crack them open. (ohh, my father chose it for me)

also, i think that you've made a good "CHARACTER" point above. building up their personna for their interview is a big one. however, and 'cause of their parents, it is a bit tough for the students at times. their parents want them to lie and even chinese teachers lead them onto that.

cheers and beers to our prep classes

[Super Frank]

I hate these types of classes. The students come in with their parents, they have an interview in four days and it is an "emergency". How can learning English be an emergency (unless you're Tom Hanks stuck in an airport lounge and he did alright with just a TV guide for reference) and why wait until now?

[englishgibson]

i hear ya...don't you feel like a car mechanic fixing someone's car

the other thing is those "MOCK EXAMS" that i've been asked to do sometimes...like i am the official or something

cheers and beers to our roles in the chinese classrooms