Job Discussion Forums

[NBF]

Can anyone give me a little bit of information about the school, its reputation, Changchun in general? Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[Roger]

Nobody is perfect, and nothing is perfect, least of all English institutes in China.

Changchun is a relatively clean, cedrtainly boring place in the NE formerly known as 'Manchuria'. Apart from Changchun, the province is part of China's rust belt of SOEs.
If you spend a winter there, be prepared for an experience similar to Canada's northern parallels made worse by heavy coal dust concentrations in the chill air.

[mlomker]

I haven't found anyone that particularly liked the town and it gets very cold in the winter. I've researched the city a little bit and did find a couple blogs listed on Sinosplice http://www.sinosplice.com/cbl/.

I have also read through Perfect English's website and did some Google searches on them--I've heard nothing but positive things. Here's a thread to look at: http://www.englishclub.com/tefl-forums/discussion.pl/noframes/read/2230

[cj750]

As to the nobobys perfect..the management at Perfect Enlgish is as good as it gets...management is maintain by a couple from the US and it is a medum range school that caters mostly to children... the owner was perhaps one of the fairest operators during the SAR scare...as to Changchun..cold is the word but boring it is not...this city has poured a lot of money into it's facelift over the last few years...with the second largest square..more lively in the summer than Beijing...and a city that is expanding its "nature" aspect ...it also has a man made reserve and it is a great place to hang out and ride bikes..that said it is cold...moneys is good in Changchun and the "high" prices are not likely to end up on this board as a "post"..for example a one bedroom apartment I rented cost only 600RMB complete with heat and water....the only problem is the cold...and man does it get cold...but withstanding that (I rode a bike all winter long at close to 40 below)..it is a good place to start and to study Chinese...

[Captain Yossarian]

Changchun certainly isn't boring.

It has one of the nicest parks in China, an internationally renowned sculpture festival, fantastic back streets, interesting Japanese architecture on Renmin Lu and Xinmen Lu, a wonderful selection of food (including Indian, Thai, 2 French bakeries and vast numbers of Japanese and Korean restaurants). Locals are proud of their Chinese (it is considered the clearest in China - and this explains the large number of foreign students in the city). The city is also in good reach of other nice cities like Jilin, Dandong, Dalian and only 8 hours to Beijing on the fantastically luxurious new Z trains (which provide each bed with its own flat screen TV).

Perfect English is a good school and is managed well by its American owners Jack and Janet. The only downside is the amount of outsourcing you may be expected to do.

[cj750]

This posting on Changchun brings to light a flaw with seeking advice on these web boards....posters often have little idea about the places they give advice on...you had here two posters who have no direct knowledge of present Changchun who reported dismal suroundings...and one made a comment on the quality (in an off hand manor) of the school...and then two who have worked and lived in the location that concerned the posting...make sure you read carefully...

[tradinup]

Yeah, like mentioned a good place to pick up on Chinese, if that matters to you. It is within the SPB (Standard pronunciation belt) Harbiner's though, to me, have the best Chinese.