Job Discussion Forums

[chinesearmy]

As the subject says. Just wanna get some feedback here.

1) What kind of school do you teach in? (kindergarten, high school, college, english school etc)
2) Do you get a sense of fulfillment teaching at your job??

Thanks!

[nickpellatt]

Private language college, and I teach small classes of adult students. Class sizes are typically around 6 - 8.

I do enjoy it, and its rewarding most of the time. The vast majority of students are great and willing to learn, and its a nice feeling to see them make progress and 'graduate'. It tends to be the norm that they make speeches at our social night prior to them leaving. To see them speak with a greater amount of confidence compared to when they first arrived at class is nice!

[MisterButtkins]

I teach at a college. I don't really get much of a sense of fulfillment. Sometimes I feel good about getting a lazy student to work more, but really, I'm just not convinced that seeing kids 90 minutes a week for one semester is going to improve their language skills that much, and if it does significantly improve their language skills, I'm not sure that most of them are going to need to use it that much in their daily lives in the future.

Realistically I work in China because I enjoy the low number of hours, high vacation time, and being away from mainstream American society.

[johntpartee]

Occasionally you get to see a student's eyes light up when they grasp a concept; one eleven year old boy comes to mind who all of a sudden understood past, present, future tense. I'll never forget the look on his face and the sudden, loud exclamation of "OH!".

[Big Poppa Pump]

If my students are having fun, I'm having fun. Not all classes or moments in class can be fun, but I do try to at least make them interesting.

[Von Dut]

I had a student last year. He was in Junior 1 (grade 7). He came from a small village in Hunan and had very little English experience. When I started teaching him he was unable to say the alphabet. Through the year he was always trying and became one of the hardest working students in my class. At the end of the school year he came to me and in English he said "Thank you for giving me an interest in learning English. I want to give you a Chinese name. 安全 (AnQuan) because that is how you make me feel learning English."

That was my proudest moment (so far) and really gave me a sense of fulfillment being a teacher. So yes I do!!!

安全 = Safe
Seriously, I almost cried.

[LanGuTou]

I have taught in three universities since arriving in China some seven years ago. Does it give me a sense of fulfillment? I guess the honest answer for me personally is partially yes but, to a greater extent, no.

Sometimes little things occur that fill me with a sense of pride. This year, a girl came to my apartment to ask for help. She had made several attempts to pass CET6 but failed. Someone told her that I was able to help her. I gave her a number of hints and ideas. She passed with a very high grade and was as happy as any little bunny I have ever seen.

Another incident that filled me with pride and accomplishment happened several years ago in Heilongjiang. A joint venture aeronautics company was seeking people for its graduate recruitment position in China. The company was offering a high salary by Chinese standards and a chance to spend some time overseas on training courses. It was a kind of dream job for many Chinese graduates.

I was working at a third tier normal university. One of the smarter girls came to my room and we talked about this vacancy. She told me that she would love to do that kind of job but it would be impossible for anyone from that university to be even considered. I encouraged her to try and gave her coaching in business English. I told her how western people conduct interviews, the questions that they are likely to ask and the correct way to answer the questions. We wrote an application letter together and then I wrote a western style CV that she could use.

The girl was offered the job and she is still there to this day. She earns a very high salary and has developed rapidly. We still keep in touch regularly. I think that I am as happy and proud as she is.

I also received an award voted for by the students last year at my current university. I guess the translation is something like "Special Teacher from our Hearts". It is only a piece of paper hanging on my wall but it represents a little appreciation.

On the negative side, many years of dealing with students that have no interest in learning or education but just want to pass examinations so they can get a job has taken its toll on me.

The frustration that I feel watching the wasters that couldn't give a rat's **** about anything that I teach. The underlying attitude that some of these people possess such as the Chinese are the master race and foreigners can't teach us anything. FT's are only here because they can't get a worthwhile job in their own country and should just keep us entertained with dancing and singing. And watching the same students cheat and lie to get through examinations and assignments because they are unable to do so fairly. Also the knowledge that these people, by and large, do get the best jobs because they have "connections" and brown tongue around the party leaders in the university.

Obviously, other factors not directly related to classroom teaching such as the utter de-professionalized nature of ESL teaching in China, dishonesty of school administration, disorganization and lack of general respect all impinge on motivation and fulfillment within the job.

Teaching never was my primary vocation and I must admit to being one of those unqualified teachers often talked about on this forum. I do have many years of experience working in industry and commerce that has involved training. My motivation has been to spend the time teaching whilst I learned the language and business culture within China with the view to opening a business here. That objective has now been put into practice.

I shall quit the teaching scene in six weeks time to concentrate on my business activities. The true extent of my job satisfaction is shown in the fact that I have spent several months counting the days down. Truthfully, I can't wait for the time to end. I look back over the past seven years with mixed emotion.

[Von Dut]

Oh yeah, I forgot...

The first term of this year I was given an award by the teachers and headmasters at my school for teacher excellence. Came with a nice bonus!!$$!!

That made me feel proud. Now this term is coming to an end and it's got me thinking that I may be in store for another award/bonus!!

Another thing that has made me happy/proud/etc is the things that this school is doing to get me to stay another year. Countless students, staff and parents are all trying to get me to stay. Nice raise, new apartment, free music lessons, free food, sponsoring my father to move to China (yes, I am like the Chinese that I want to take care of my father), they are doing so many things for me. Even the random people around town that I don't know but they know me are doing little things to get me to stay.

I've got a sweet gig here. Maybe I'll never leave...

[Trevor Wadlow]

I always have, here in China, though I have had to work for it. If anything has ever spoiled my sense of achievement it has been intereference from Chinese staff - never the students. In one dump in Jinan I was told that the students couldn't get used to my 'modern methods' (Trinity TESOL, by the way). The students themselves were baffled and sent the Dean a petition. I think I had unwittingly made someone 'lose face'. In my current position, teaching EAP at Shanghai Ocean University, I get a real sense of achievement. The Institute is administered by the University of Tasmania and is regarded with admiration by the Chinese staff (admittedly it has a high success rate). The students are highly motivated and utterly delightful. I can never guess what they are going to say next. They have gone from being shy to mouthy very quickly! The only problem is the location. The campus is miles away from downtown. Everything else is fine and dandy. All six teachers get on well and socialise together and the boss is great.

[kev7161]

I am generally fulfilled. I teach primary education and I can measurably see the growth in even one year's time. Students that couldn't understand a word I say on Day One of 1st grade, chatter away by the end of the year (and if not chattering, at least can understand a majority of what I have to say during lessons). My 5th graders (whom I've taught, off and on, for four years) have grown so much, I daresay that half of them could outclass your typical do-nothing college student I read about so often here at Dave's. HOWEVER, they still have hurdles to overcome such as writing and grammar usage.

My school takes care of me well. I've also gotten a few awards/recognition/bonuses over the years and, although they've fine-tuned their contract offerings as more and more foreign teachers come and go, they pretty much let me stand outside those changes. They listen (usually) to my suggestions and make changes based on (some of) my suggestions. Next year we will hopefully see the creation of an English-only library! So, yeah, pretty much fulfilled.

[chinesearmy]