Job Discussion Forums

[Scrabble King]

I found this at a popular expat forum in Shanghai and thought I should share it with you...

"After dozens of Chinese mothers complained that the expat teachers of their children could not write a single email without slang, spelling errors, and erratic grammar in their own native tongue of English, the Ministry of Education announced they are considering a new IQ Test for all foreign teachers.

They even drafted a 3 part test and gave it to 2,000 volunteer expat volunteer teachers in Beijing and Shanghai and the results were shocking. Only 32% of the participants passed with a score of 80% or better. Another 41% passed with a score of 70% - 79%.

At present more than 28,000 foreign teachers are employed at 2,317 Chinese, schools, universities, kindergartens, and learning centers. It was recently discovered through a teacher survey that more than half of China's expat teachers never previously taught any subject to any student before arriving in China. Current requirements only call for a bachelor degree in any subject and fluent oral English.

With more than 28% of recent Chinese graduates unable to find work or speak more than basic English, this new IQ test may become a reality sooner than later. Yet one more hoop of many that China expats will have to jump through is not sitting well with most resident foreigners. A sample of the test can be taken at http://scam-detector.com/forums/forum/employment-scams/259-do-china-foreign-teachers-really-now-require-an-iq-test-yes"

[nomad soul]

Not terribly credible. Plus, don't bother clicking on the link the OP provided. It goes to a scam site with more links to scam sites about China.

[spiral78]

It's not about IQ, but literacy. There's lots of data on boards like these related to literacy already.

Anyway, what's wrong with this picture? If you hire a cool, fun, blonde, 22 year old to teach your kid, then you're surprised the kid learns cool, fun, 22-year-old English? Those aren't misspelled words - they're current versions!

Why is it that Scrabble King's posts almost always include a link to a "scam detector?"

[dragonpiwo]

I recently had to do one for one of my applications in the Middle East.