Job Discussion Forums

[Steve_McQueen]

Hi everyone,

I will be making the move to China in September 2011 and wanted to post this question to those of you who have taught at Chinese universities.

My plan is to get a full-time uni gig and study Chinese at least part-time/maybe full-time at the same university. Is this possible? Or is it better to take Chinese language classes at a different university in the same area?

Do you think the FAO would have any problems with FTs learning Chinese and taking classes at the university?

Any comments would be much appreciated

[keeperofpythons]

I know for a fact that the majority of the English teachers at Shanxi (山西) University do just this.

[Non Sequitur]

Ditto for some Dalian Maritime teachers - not cheap though I recall.

[MisterButtkins]

I met some foreigners who work at a private school and they can get language classes as part of their contract. Now I know a lot of schools say this, but apparently they were getting private tutoring (as in one on one with a professional teacher) for 5-10 hours a week. I was impressed with their Chinese skills.

[Priesty]

I currently have a job lined up at a public university and it is written in the contract that I get a free 4 hours of Chinese classes a week. Actually most of the universities I applied to work at offered the same thing. I also always made a point of asking, because learning to write and speak Chinese is one of the main reasons I've decided to teach in China.

So I'm pretty sure you shouldn't have a problem lining up free Chinese classes, if your working at a public or private university.

[ooragnakkangaroo]

Please read the rules and regulations online regarding student visas and employment. You are not entitled to work, receive pay, etc. while attending a training program on a student visa.

[The Ever-changing Cleric]

[clownshow]

[Steve_McQueen]

Thanks for all of the posts guys

Yeah I'm either looking to study full-time or part-time.

Has anyone or does anyone know someone that has studied full-time (20 hours of Chinese classes / week) and worked full-time (let's say teaching 16-18 hours / week)? I believe this is doable, but at the same time it will take a serious commitment to do both.

Also, if anyone knows, how do teachers currently teaching/studying schedule their course load?

Here's a site that I found that has a pretty comprehensive list of affordable Chinese language programs:

http://www.cucas.edu.cn/HomePage/2010-05-26/page_764.shtml

[Steve_McQueen]

UPDATE:

I'll be teaching at a uni in China this September. During my interview I specifically requested to be enrolled in the uni's Chinese language program for foreign students. I also asked if there would be a charge for the classes. The FAO rep checked with her boss who confirmed that I could sit-in the classes for free. They're also willing to set me up with some private tutors at a reasonable cost.

When I get to the uni, I'll let you all know how things are set up. I'll also write about the difficulties/challenges of teaching a full course load while studying Chinese full time.

[sainthood]

I was going to mention that before your update.

I've found (at my 3rd tier uni I pretend to work in), that it's pretty normal for people to want to just come and sit in class from time to time to learn.

Now, whether the teacher is willing to give you some form of assessment - or if you can get a piece of paper at the end of it - that's a completely different matter!!! I'd suggest, the teacher maybe willing to do an 'assessment' to give you an idea of where you're at, but I'd you'd have to do some nice diddling of finances (and red envelopes, or nice dining-sprees, etc) to get anything beyond that.

[Steve_McQueen]

Sainthood, thanks for the info.

I was thinking about that as well. Ultimately I need to achieve a certain score (I think 6) on the HSK, so as long as I can take the classes and pass the HSK levels, I should be good. But I still want the college credits, let's see if I can build up some guanxi with the Chinese language dept. staff

[therock]

The problem with this kind of set up is that you're employed as a teacher and the school will expect your teaching duties to be number one priority. You're going to miss a lot of Chinese classes due to teaching at the same time. When they said "you can sit in the classes" they mean you can attend when you're not teaching. But they're not going to bend over backwards to allow you to attend. I'd say your chances of getting the perfect no clashes schedule are slim.

If your uni is located in a 2nd or 3rd tier city, then they might be more accomodating in regards to scheduling. As for studying part-time, you can forget about that, the classes at unis are designed for full time students, attending occassionally means you'll be missing quite a lot and fall behind quickly. Your best bet is to ask the uni for a tutor who can teach you in your spare time.

[TexasHighway]

My advice is to skip the Chinese classes and find a Chinese girfriend (or boyfriend) to teach you for nothing. I first came to China as a full-time student long before my teaching career began. I made far more progress outside of the classroom than inside (in my language skills, that is). My classroom exprience consisted of reading the Liberation Daily newspaper, addressing everyone is comrade (tong zhi) while reciting boring dialogues, and suffering through my Japanese classmates horrible mispronuncations of Chinese words. That was back in 1989 so I am not sure if language instruction has improved any since then.

[xjgirl]

working a teaching job while studying chinese from beginner to hsk 6 level

considering the work will drain your mental energy, 90 minutes of intense study a day is about your limit

so i'd reckon u will need 3 years to achieve your goal unless u have a natural ability for language

hsk 6 is pretty much fluent in all facets of the language