Job Discussion Forums

[diana83709]

I managed to secure a teaching position in Nanchong, Sichuan, without a degree. I have 2 semesters left to complete B.A. English and Criminal Justice. However, I am TEFL qualified after taking the course with Via Lingua.

My husband has B.S in Criminal Justice and J.D. in Law, but is not TEFL certified and he is also teaching here.

We did use an agent to get our potitions and if you do not hold a degree, that is the way to go.

Your heart really has to be into this job. When you see your students progress with the English language, it is well worth everything you put into it!

Good luck!

[hairuo]

I do not have a degree in English. My degree is in business, accounting to be exact. I have taught many "fun" classes in community centers, ywcas, church, and etc. My first college did not ask for my degree certificate, my second did. I gave them a scanned copy. I left the real thing at home. I agree with the last poster, if you put heart into teaching these kids they respond in like. Some of the greatest moments is when they tell you that you, the teacher, gave them the confidence to use their English or taught them something about themselves. All the English or teaching degrees cannot make you a good teacher. Your own attitude is what makes you a good teacher. And attitude does not come from having a degree.

[Super Mario]

To teach anything, you need some degree of mastery of your field - in this case, teaching English to non-native speakers - and of pedagogy.
These are bald facts; not gushy, feel good outpourings.

Whilst it is true it seems quite easy to find a job in China without a degree, in many cases employees are at the lower end of the EFL food chain, working with predators like recruiters and chain schools, and running risks such as being sub-contracted or working without legal status. You'll find more people being exploited, doing midnight runners etc from these situations than any other in China, as evidenced by these pages.

[HunanForeignGuy]

Mario,

Your position is grossly overstated. I am still in China, after four -- soon five -- years and you have returned to Australia after a short stint here.

What Diana writes is true. First, bear in mind that it depends upon the province. But I have many, many friends and colleagues without degrees who are working in China and while some have fallen flat, others have matured into great teachers and are still here. A friend of mine in Beijing without a degree but who is a wonderful and talented teacher is making over RMB 12,000 at a reputable chain.

In some provinces, no degree is problematic. Guangdong is one of them. Zheijiang is NOT one of them. Heilongjiang is NOT one of them. Shanghai is hit-or-miss depending upon the Foreign Affairs Officer who will examine your case. Beijing is open for business.

Indeed, when it comes to the finer points of morphologoy or etymology, sure, then a degree, and a senior one definitely helps. But how many teachers teach those kind of courses?

And then of course there is the "correctness" of the language. I had one group of students that had been taught by an Australian for two years. When they arrived in my classroom, the first thing that I had to do was to correct their pronunciation and to restore all of their vowels to the proper tone and setting. The next thing that I had to do was actually teach them workable international English as the Aussie had turned them into King's Cross clones...so please, Mario, spare us all of this, OK? I mean frankly, just to raise an ire, many Australian movies have to be subtitled in the United States.....into English...

So no, good teachers are not born out of the womb. Like other posters have written, they are made and formed and to quote the Bible, forgive me, there are many rooms in the mansion.

[Super Mario]

My post, when simplified, said that to teach you have to know your subject matter and how to convey it. This was a problem for Hunan Foreign Guy. Why?
Then:
Flame bait, or what?

[Calories]

Wait, let's draw a line okay? If you're coming to China because you actually want to make a career out of EFL teaching, then get a degree. If you are like me and many others who are here for other less career orientated reasons and have plans to either return to school at home or do something unrelated to teaching, come on in the waters warm and kind of yellow

I'm not planning on teaching for a very long time another 6 months to a year. I'm not planning on teaching EFL in my home and native land. I came here because I wanted to go somewhere else. I was in my third year at uni without much interest in my declared major English, I was taking random classes left and right and hadn't a clue what I wanted to do after school. I wasn't doing very well grade wise (c's and b's) 'cause I skipped a lot of classes and didn't do readings heh got drunk a lot among other things. It was a waste of my time and my instructors time. I needed to leave school and take some time to figure things out and teaching English overseas was perfect for me.

Considering the types of classes I'm told to teach, oral English do whatever you want you're just here to get them used to the way them native speakers talk give them time to speak and have fun, I don't think it matters that I'm not a professionally qualified teacher and I think that any professionally qualified teacher who would take my job would feel over qualified, underpaid and a little bit like a singing and dancing monkey not that I dare sing in class but, I'll dance if the mood strikes. Maybe I just don't get it but, I do see improvement in the students understanding of that crazy imperfect way I talk and their willingness to speak so whatever.

So, no degree? Don't be saying "Me teach English? That's unpossible!"

[Super Mario]

Does any of this change my original point:

[HunanForeignGuy]

Mario,

To be succint, yes, I am a professional in the field and yes I have taught in the field at home and yes I have done this for more than twenty yearas and yes I attended a rather well-known elitist university that was training the elite of the nation while Australia was still receiving convicts and yes I have only taught in at least six other foreign countries, so forgive me if I do not share your rather Ivory Tower disdain for the common man.

And yes, Mario, "strine" does represent a problem for foreign students. It is a subtonal dialect of British English that shows its origins all too clearly. And yes, Australian programs and movies are subtitled in the United States and other English-speaking countries. So please spare me that, too. And this is not flaming nor bait, but simply a factual representation of the actual way things work.

So I say "hats off" to those who come here and become good teachers over time. Knowledge is gained, Mario, it is not birthright.

All the best,



HFG

[Super Mario]

[Calories]

[petergunn]

[Shan-Shan]

My impressions are that "universities" will soon be requesting that applicants do not have a degree. Much money will be saved by dropping this requirement.

As written in a previous long ago post of mine, two teachers were recently asked to not bother negotiating a new contract at the mill. Both have years of experience, one with a Masters and the other a PhD. I ran into one of these fellows today, and was told that his and his co-worker's jobs are now being advertised for RMB2800 a month! This is for 14 Writing classes per week.

Were I a Masters or PhD holder, in any discipline other than phrenology, I would curl up dead from excessive chuckling at such an offer.

And I still snort heavily at the advertisement with only a pathetic BA in English and university issued TESL propping up my name.

Soon we'll be paid in 馒头, I fear.

[HunanForeignGuy]

Mario,

Truly pedantic...

These are blogs, not academic research papers, and forgive me if I erred with tense agreement.

I have not taken umbrage.

But all of this is off-point because to answer the OP, yes, there are still myriad opportunities left in China for a person with your background.

HFG

And to Peter Gunn:

The Australian "accent" is not admitted by the United Nations in its official functions. When United Nations interpreters interpret from "x" language into English, it must be done in either British English (received pronunciation or received refined pronunciation) or American English (preferably what is called "Voice of America" radio English). And this is a world-wide UN rule.

[Super Mario]

What is "ombrage", ?
Going back to my original reply to you, how many points have you replied to?
Yours humbly
A convict

Very 'eavy
Very 'umble

[HunanForeignGuy]