Job Discussion Forums

hujiaoman

I live on the East Coast in US. I've quit my job and am looking for a change (though I'm a former teacher with some ESL experience). I have a job offer (no contract...many e-mails...2 phone conversations) in Guangzhou that I take to be legitimate, and that I am excited about. But, I am on the fence about it, mostly because of the horror stories I have read here. Please, could any of you paint an optimistic picture for me? Or, do I just bite the bullet and throw caution to the wind (can't wait to teach cliches in China!), as I assume most of you did. Help me, people!

randyj · Posted: Thu Jan 20, 2005 10:46 pm Post subject:

If you communicate with foreign teachers there, past and/or present, then go with your gut feelings. Keep in mind that the horror stories do not represent a majority of cases. I daresay some horror stories amount to self-inflicted wounds.

Norman Bethune · Joined: 19 Apr 2004 Posts: 731

lumberjackej · Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2005 2:45 am Post subject:

What's up, Hujiaoman, here's my advice:

I've been in China now for a little over a month now, I think I was in a similiar situation as yours (just graduated college, living at home sucked, I wanted to try something cool). Sometimes it's been tough adapting, but overall I'm really happy I came.

I recommend that you get the email of another foreign teacher at your prospective University, maybe another American or someone your age that you can relate to....ask them a lot of questions about the school, whether they like it, the teaching conditions, etc....this will set you straight and make you feel more comfortable about coming.

The University I'm at, I emailed a teacher there and asked her lots of questions...she's my age, from Kenosha, Wisconsin (I'm from Chicago), and she really made me feel confident about taking the plunge.

If the University has no other foreign teachers or is reluctant to put you in touch with one....then I'd look somewhere else.

Hope that helps,

--EJ

Norman Bethune · Joined: 19 Apr 2004 Posts: 731

Roger · Joined: 19 Jan 2003 Posts: 9138

If they advertise "conversation classes", then what they mean is totally unclear to themselves. They probably don't know that a genuine conversation is a discussion among people who understand each other in the language used. This ain't ever going to happen in a Chinese classroom or English Salon.
I know very few exceptions...

Madmaxola · Joined: 04 Jul 2004 Posts: 238

1. JUST DO IT

2. WATCH YOUR ASS

Aren't those the two best rules for everything in life?

Songbird · Posted: Fri Jan 28, 2005 9:22 am Post subject: Fellow Foreign Teachers

Norman-

I have been here in Gansu province for only 2 months, though it feels like 2 years (!), but I did not get in touch with the other FT's here. It's a shame about the fellow FT's you had- my fellow teachers are wonderful, so supportive and really went out of their way to make me feel welcomed when I arrived a scared little girl! We try and get together at least a couple of times a week for meals and end up sitting there for hours, driving the poor restaurant managers crazy chatting away and also have get togethers with the other FT and her boyfriend (who especially came out from England to be with here for a year, talk about committment!) occassionally. Two of the teachers will be finishing here in July and I miss them already!!

I've been to Xian on an 8 hour bus journey with one and we survived and I've planned to meet up with another who has already left for a holiday in Bejing in about a week's time. Yet another one has been really happy to give me advice on how to get to Tibet and Mt Everest. The conversations are great, as least I have people to speak at normal pace with! And I've had my fair share of hiccups with the FAO since I arrived, they've all been supportive and helped if they could. Not that I asked them to!

Anyone else have happy positive stories about their fellow teachers they want to share?

Talkdoc · Joined: 03 Mar 2004 Posts: 696

I do share Norman's sentiment about this topic completely.

Hujiaoman, you didn't mention what type of school you are considering; the horror stories you refer to are over-represented at private English language schools. As a rule, public universities are your safest bet. That is not to say you won't find a private school that treats their teachers well - it's just a lot more difficult to do so.

As you are a degreed, experienced teacher, you will automatically find yourself at odds with most of your "colleagues" upon arrival. The degree of back-biting and pettiness among foreign teachers is tremendous and, as you are also an American, expect it to be far worse.

If you can find one other foreign teacher with whom you can establish rapport, you will be lucky indeed. At least that has been my personal experience at both schools I have taught at.

Doc

Roger · Joined: 19 Jan 2003 Posts: 9138

The huge amount of bad feelings about this type of classes stems from a misconception on the Chinese side of what is best for them to become fluent.
FIrst of all, Chinese, brought up in their communitarian schooling lack personal initiative and come across as extwemely passive;
offering them oral English classes is a convenient cop-out to prove our political correctness and to enable us to pity them. Yes, you need 'total immersion' and you will become as good at English as we are...
But the Chinese students will seldom do their part, and you will soon be scrambling to find new avenues to be busy and to keep your charges happy.
Unfortunately, too much depends on their goodwill, or call it: charity!

For instance:
they seldom respect the FT as a teacher; they only think of their Chinese teacher as "teacher". You are an emcee, and too well paid at that.

Second: you will need to give individual learners some vital feedback; how can you do that since they hardly ever volunteer to speak up?
You are expected by them to
- "find interesting topics"; what is, scientifically speaking, "interesting"?
- give "us a chance to speak" - as though they were prevented from
speaking in English to each other by forces majeurs!
- You will need to give them some grammar brush-up but they won't
take THAT from someone like YOU! Besides, they don't understand
English terms like "infinitive", "past tense", "article", "plural" etc.
- To talk toomuch - THEY should do the talking, your problem is you
can't force them to do that...
- if you do speak, do so S - LLL - O -W - LLL - Y,
and repeat yourself as often as ten times.
- you should translate into Chinese.

In other words: your students often give you contradictory suggestions, and over time you get confused, frustrated and disllusioned.

Ariadne · Joined: 16 Jul 2004 Posts: 960

I like the other FTs at my university. We get together often for meals and drinks. We don't have anything to compete for so there isn't any backbiting. As you all know it can be hard to get information in China, so we all try to share and combine the bits that we do get. My experience in China has been enhanced by the presence of the other FTs.
.

Norman Bethune · Joined: 19 Apr 2004 Posts: 731

tofuman · Joined: 02 Jul 2004 Posts: 937

Regarding the borderline pedophile:
Report the guy. It's fairly simple. Make an enemy because if you do not, you are his accomplice.

I once, reluctantly, told a friend that I thought the guy she was seeing was primarily interested in her daughters. She said that her sister-in-law had recently told her the same thing. Her x got wind of it, and discovered that the guy was a registered sex offender. She ultimately lost custody of her children. Her poor judgment, in this instance, was a factor.

I live in a large, provincial, city where the sexual mores are indistinct and fraught with hypocricy.

But a FT who uses his position to exploit Chinese virgins would be benefitted by a caning or deportation.