Job Discussion Forums

[2 over lee]

Ok Sheeba I just gotta ask, what's up with your gaps before all sentence ending punctuation ?

[cj750]

[sheeba]

OK Lee. I dunno m8!! I'll try and sort it out.Ok?Just for you though cos you gave me nanjing star.Now don't go telling me nanjing needs capitals or spaces now please.

[sheeba]

CJ750 - Yeah I think certification is a must if you want a future in China as a teacher . I don't want that future(at least now) so it makes little difference to me but I may decide in years to return . Perhaps not as a teacher !!!

Oh and Lee.I'm trying to get rid of my nasty habit.You know it's screwed.I picked this habit up at Uni when I was with Business students.One of my mates suggested that I should have spaces in this way when I wrote and I can't seem to shake the habit.Bloody clueless Uni students.And I try and make my students in China learn from one another!

[sheeba]

[vikdk]

The uncertanties of this business - you have no insurance about what tomorrow brings - and reading some of the posts of those who have been here 10 years plus - led me to realise that if I wanted to be a long-term resident in China leading a life, which would would give decent long-term economic and mental reward - then it was good idea to make myself a little more independant of those speculators who rule to roost in the education market. About a year ago I felt confident enough to invest in and control a non-education related business - which has been operating now for almost 6 months. Of course this is no real insurance to long-term stability - since most of everything you do (from crossing the road to taking a job) in China is a gamble - but at least its hedging my bets - and ensures at the present time that I'm not economicaly dependant on my Chinese kindy bosses - which, regardless of any good relationships I have at the moment with those kindies, makes for a much better nights sleep:!:
By the way - we looked into starting an ESL business - but we soon found out that everyman and his dog with a bit of money to spare was trying to get into this game (naturally after speculating on propety) since they thought it potentially promissed high return - using a cheap workforce who's only skill needed to be the abilty to speak english. 0f course many of these companies will fold - but it still leads in most big cities to an over-saturated market (which depresses our wages) - where your most important tool often turns out to be marketing and not quality of product

[Steppenwolf]

I thought this was a thread about the criminally exploitative Chinese TEFL market that has resorted to using indentured slaves from the Philippines; instead we are now discussing our own usefulness or lack of it in a future CHina whose economy has gone to the dogs...

But the state of the economy has seldom decided the Chinese whether they want to learn English or not. It is a compulsory subject, and that alone defines the market. What individuals are willing to invest in the furthering of their English skills is relatively negligible; few pay for themselves; most get evening classes paid for by their employers.

And these employers often are blinded by their country's propaganda, not informed by an understanding of how the market works. Who goes to meetings with foreign partners or travels abroad "on business"? It's non-English-speaking laobans. Staffers who actually sat through boring after-office hours of in-house English instruction won't need their "English" (which seldom is improving in those classes) while on the job.
Why are people so simple-minded as to believe in the English craze? IT's a patriotic exercise. The Olympics is coming to China and we all believe 1 billion CHinese will in the year 2008 be perfectly bilingual... And after that, it's the World Exposition in Shanghai in 2010... After that? No need to "know" English any more.

I honestly believe many of you are actively engaging in window-dressing! For your own good, and for the delusion of the millions of Chinese that pay you to "teach them English..."

[Shan-Shan]

Another possible future for the market could be that roughly the same number of jobs remain but with lower salaries and benefits. Will swarms of licensed teachers be willing to come over for $500 CDN a month? The future could an English teaching industry only interested in "English speakers" while anyone with an education/experience in teaching English will opt for a land that offers better financial compensation. It surprises me why the market is supposedly flooded when the money to be made is paltry compared to other countries. Is a lazy lifestyle and "chance to experience an ancient culture" the allure?

[vikdk]

[Shan-Shan]

Yet one need only search China English Teaching Jobs on the Internet to realize just how little money is made at this game in China. Rumour is easily blasted to tiny yammering particles.

Then again, many people about to take the plunge for 5000RMB a month delude themselves into believing that a royal life can be led in China on 300 RMB per thirty days. "China is so cheap" the advertisements claim. And it is, if you want to save up a treasure trove of 9,000CDN a year by living on boiled cabbage, and never seeing the country except through an ESL lens darkly.

It's been a goldmine for years (compared to China) yet Korea still seems to be in need of FTs. China-hype abroad is doing good for the industry (i.e. keeping wages low).

[xinpu]

Steppenwolf wrote:
"Why are people so simple-minded as to believe in the English craze? IT's a patriotic exercise. The Olympics is coming to China and we all believe 1 billion CHinese will in the year 2008 be perfectly bilingual... And after that, it's the World Exposition in Shanghai in 2010... After that? No need to "know" English any more. "

I have to agree. The motivation for learning english is very superficial and can be extinguished very quickly.

Almost without exception our students learn english for the sole reason of passing exams - they have no interest in communicating with foreigners. They study because they think a few english qualifications will give them a leg up in life. This will remain true for those who study abroad but increasingly not so for those who do not.

Soon something else will replace english as the key that unlocks the door to middle class safety - then all the speech competitions, reading aload at 6.30 in the morning and daft 'english' names will dissapear like a puff of smoke.

Similarily the whole 'laowai' teacher craze will pass, it's a fad based on a craving for foreing brands / lifestyle. Once the chinese realize they too can produce equally good products (i.e teachers) then game over.

[xinpu]

err.. that'll be 'ALOUD' and 'DISAPPEAR' (before everyone wades in with 'you're supposed to be a teacher and you can't even spell...blah de blah)

[2 over lee]

[sheeba]

Excellent .I'm glad I've done something of good today!

[2 over lee]

Glad I could spread a little happiness !!