Job Discussion Forums

[Non Sequitur]

In the unis I've taught at each CLASS consists of 2x50 min periods.
You for example do 8.00 to 8.50 and 9.00 to 9.50 with the same students.
At 9.50 you go to another CLASS and ditto repeato.
Occasionally the break in the 10.00 class is deleted for some classrooms. This is done to stagger the pressure on the dining halls and is done in the teaching blocks nearest the dining halls.
The 50 min (or 45 in some schools) is called a 'teaching hour' or I prefer 'contact hour'.

[happyinshangqiu]

[murray1978]

Hi,

May I ask what city each of you are teaching in? I am interested in teaching at a university in China and have six years university ESL experience.

Does your university block your hours? At my last uni job in Korea, my Head Teacher gave out a form where teachers would give him their preferences and he would try to match classes.

For example, one semester he had me teach only morning with my classes back to back to back. Does China do the same thing?

I am currently teaching at a college in Saudi Arabia. The money is great and I will have a nice nest egg for when I head to China and not worry about bills.

Is the salary enough to live and enjoy yourself off of? It looks like the average salary falls between 5000-6000 rmb a month.

Cheers,

Murray

[rioux]

Changzhou, Jiangsu

Most all of my classes start at about 4pm and yes my classes are all blocked together.

[Non Sequitur]

[happyinshangqiu]

[roadwalker]

All of my university contracts had some similar phrasing regarding hours. I agree make sure that the contract specifies what happens when the teacher is asked to work more than the larger number of hours in the contract. What is the overtime rate? etc. But in my experience, NS is right that the school probably has no idea until late exactly how many hours they need from a foreign teacher.

Personally, I'm more concerned with the grouping of hours (mornings or afternoons, mornings and afternoons, evening classes, Mondays or Fridays without classes?) and the type of classes. Writing classes or subject classes take more preparation time, usually, than conversation classes, and that time needs to be factored in to the equation.

[tlkdmc]

Just because your schedule is inconvenient doesn't give you a right to rant about it and knock your employer. Just because you've been blocked in hours - early morning and then late afternoon. Well, that's tough, that is the schedule. Perhaps you would rather work 6 days a week, 12 hours a day like the Chinese folks. Why should the foreigner get the cushy schedule?

[Dan123]

[Non Sequitur]

[wangdaning]

[asiannationmc]

[Son of Bud Powell]

Wait. A rant about someone else not having the right to rant?

[tlkdmc]

Yes, the double standard is rampant beyond comprehenson on this site. One person rants, the other say shut up or use the cowardly "report" option to have a member removed. Dictatorship by proxy, really.

But, let's be clear, ranting here is not a god given right as claimed. This is a private, membership-by-approval-site, thus it's not a public site that follows free-speech.

Lazy folks who want 14 hours a week and double the expected pay, and, oh, yeah, they want those 14 class hours jumbled up in a 2 days work week - oh yea, wait, 2 consecutive days, so they can do "whatever" for the other 5 consecutive days.

Fact is, China would have no issues getting people to work 6 days a week as claimed in opposition. China already has it. Take a look around. Not only that, look at the class-status of foreigners around here - you'll find more than enough - because they have nothing else, nowhere else to go. China is hardly a career destination - it's an unable-to-work-elsewhere place. Single digit percentage of folks here are here for 'worthy" reasons.

[asiannationmc]