Job Discussion Forums

[nomad soul]

Just out of curiosity...

- Are you planning to stay in China for the duration of your TEFL career? If so, why? What challenges, if any, do you foresee in continuing your career in China? Or

- Do you expect to teach elsewhere in the world? If so, why? Where do you expect to teach in the future? What challenges, if any, do you foresee in continuing your career elsewhere? Or

- You're on the fence because _______ .

Your comments are welcome.

[doogsville]

I should say at the outset that I don't really see TEFL as a career for me. I've been teaching for a long time, drama and voice before moving into TEFL, but I've never really been a career minded person. The reason I answered the first option is because I'm committed to living in China for the longer term, at least while my in-laws are still alive, which I hope is for a long time to come. If an opportunity came along to make the same or better money doing something else then I would think long and hard about it.

The two biggest challenges I see to a TEFL career here in China, are lack of advancement opportunities and the difference in the Chinese education system and the rest of the worlds education system.

The first one stems from the lack of structure and coherence in the English language education industry here. Part of that problem is that so many of the Chinese who are responsible for it, from business people running private schools to FAO's in universities, see us as transient workers who are a necessary evil, and so a problem to be dealt with rather than a resource to be nurtured and encouraged. The lack of professional standards from them lead to the same lack among the teachers they employ, and so the cycle continues. What would help is the creation, and perhaps more importantly, the enforcement, of a standard pay scale related to qualifications, length of service etc. We already have, in theory, a standard for qualifications, but the lack of enforcement makes it pretty meaningless. Allowing FT's to move into management, and not just as the lap dogs of private school entrepreneurs, but in a meaningful and constructive way, would help too.

The second one would require two things. One would be for the private sector to abandon it's 'keep the parents happy at any cost' approach, and for the business people who run it to accept that a quality product, in this case education, can take time to establish itself and give a return on investment. Of course, it would help if the parents themselves would open their minds to the fact that education is a long term investment, who's returns can't always be measured by the end of semester 'exam'.

The other would be for people in China to face up to the fact that their two thousand year old education might be great for people taking the old government entrance exams, or for winning math competitions, but isn't really the best method for learning a new language. Memorising and regurgitating facts simply doesn't work. It may produce reasonable exam results, but it doesn't help you communicate with your suppliers or customers in a global marketplace.

The 'uniqueness' of the situation here in China means that one has to take something of a sideways step in their career. By this I mean that time spent teaching in China is not always useful or recognised elsewhere. Not a problem for me, since I don't really see that in my future, but it must be frustrating for others.