Job Discussion Forums

[aspiringesl]

I assume this question has been asked before but here is my background.

I am about to attend graduate school for an MA in TESOL in the states, have a bachelors in English Lit.

I want to teach in China temporarily, mostly because I want to learn Mandarin. I was contemplating spending a year in China teaching English while spending nights learning Mandarin, and of course the immersion would help. I speak Cantonese fluently so I have been told that picking up spoken mandarin would be easier for me. Does anyone know reputable programs in which one can be a ESL teacher whilst also learning Mandarin, I guess it would be some type of cross cultural exchange program? Thank you so much!

[daCabbie]

What? Why not just get a regular job and learn Chinese on the side. Hire a teacher (20-50rmb an hour) and get learning. Or have one of your students teach you Chinese in the evenings.

Or get a Chinese roommate/girlfriend or boyfriend/friend to teach you.

These 'programs' tend to use and abuse young people who are not disciplined enough to teach themselves.

My first twelve years in school I learned how to learn. After that, I just taught myself with the teachers supervision.

Good luck.

[Non Sequitur]

The bigger unis often have language schools on campus. Not sure that it means lower fees though but it sure as heck is more convenient.
The language school at one place I taught in Dalian was closer to the teachers apartments than the regular classrooms. There were enough classes going on to find something that fitted your schedule.
Once you're up and running get a language exchange deal going with a student you get on with and that'll get you the slang and vernacular.

[Laurence]

If you have any kind of background in teaching or education,
you will be pretty disappointed by the standards of practice in most mandarin classes.

All Chinese teachers that I have met are an exact embodiment of the notion that subject knowledge and ability to impart knowledge are very different things.


Ok, there was one exception - she had taken the CELTA in the UK.


Get a good book,
teach yourself
and go practice outside.

It's much more fun, rewarding, practical and effective than sitting in a classroom, cringing at a poorly trained teacher's best efforts to make rote learning engaging.

[sistercream]

I asked around in places where I could already communicate (a local Cantonese restaurant, and a vegetable stall where the lady came from Guangxi), and got put in contact with a primary school teacher who then came to my place 3 x 2 hours a week. Her methods were quite old fashioned, but she really knew her stuff, had an excellent "standard" Putonghua accent and drilled me well in pronunciation and the grammar points that Cantonese speakers are normally slipshod about.

[sistercream]

Sorry, must have hit "submit" twice.

[El Macho]

Why not apply for one of the government-sponsored language programs and teach part-time? You will learn more and won't need to worry much about money.