Job Discussion Forums

[Malsol]

[7969]

i think most of us already know that there are some schools (such as ones listed in this article) that have higher qualification demands of those foreigners that they intend on hiring. however, they're still not in the majority of chinese institutions that are looking for FTs.

i think its safe to say that it'll be some time before ALL or even most chinese schools have such stringent requirements. demand is still greater than supply for the foreseeable future, so noone should be saying their good byes anytime soon........

[latefordinner]

Just imagine how it would be if all or even most qualified foreign teachers were half so picky about the institutions they work for. Last one out, turn out the lights

[jeffinflorida]

Yes but does a 2 or 4 year degree really qualify someone to be a teacher?

I have met some "teachers" that were qualified to be garbage collectors - maybe.

[joesgonnago]

Please....anywhere you go to live or work there will be people who are there collecting the same salary as you that don't have your qualifications or work ethic. This is unique to mankind - not China.
What 'they' fail to realize is that's it is a problem that they have created. Allowing FT's without a teaching degree or bachelors to teach is a by-product of the working situations, salary, and need. You think people are getting rich and going globe trotting? Most I've heard from go for other reasons. Let those without sin cast the first stone at FT's without degrees or specific teaching degrees.
As far as the thought that the well might dry up? They all do. Let's hope that I get there prior to that.

[Super Mario]

Back to the topic, I think this article is specific to Shanghai and schools that can afford to be fussy, though I wouldn't be in the queue for a 6k job, especially given that I started there 5 years ago on 8k.
Lots of Westerners want to work in SH. Its one of the few places supply usually exceeds demand, at least in decent jobs.

[lf_aristotle69]

[kev7161]

I think having a teaching degree or at least a TEFL certificate does not necessarily make one a BETTER teacher, but does make them more capable of the mechanics of teaching. A degree does not make a creative teacher, anyone can be creative, but the day-to-day business of, hopefully, making students a better one is often handled by someone who has been in the teaching field. In this strange country that is China, all my past experience flew out the window pretty much the first week BUT over the course of three years, I was able to pull some of that back in and use it in different ways. I do know how to create a lesson with little sweat, I've done it a thousand times.

Sure, going in with your DVDs and guitar and CDs is a fun and an interesting way to teach English, but those types of tools shouldn't be used every day. Does a non-degreed, non-experienced teacher know the general psychological make-up or the different styles of learning you'll find in most every class? Believe it or not, Gardner's Multiple Intelligences can be VERY useful here in the Chinese classroom. How about the mechanics of putting together a test that insures that what is on the test has actually been taught? How do you do a review that is effective, interesting, and covers all the major areas of the last 4 weeks of lessons? What about when a normally lively kid comes in and seems gloomy and depressed? How do you handle that? What if it continues for 2 or 3 weeks or more?

Granted, many "educatioinal" tools one may have learned or used in the past will NOT work here in China, but just as many do work. That knowledge and experience can sure come in handy from time to time!

[saint57]

Good post kev. An outgoing personality is a novelty that will wear off if you don't have anything to back it up.

[Shan-Shan]

Though it's quite unlikely to apply everywhere, given the sheer mass of the country, the Chinese teachers with whom I've worked, both in the public and private sector, rarely seemed all that qualified to teach English themselves.

One case was at a private training institute where the sole qualification for Chinese teachers was a band 8-9 on the IELTS exam. Now, these teachers could speak English quite well; however, all they did in class was talk about the IELTS exam (in Chinese), and tell students how to answer questions. At that time, I also often came across "Secrets to Obtaining a Band 6 or Higher" cheat sheets prepared by the Chinese teachers. These materials, which students would dutifully memorize, would have been better labelled "Find the Errors on this Cheat Sheet on Obtaining a Band 6 or Higher".

At the university where I am, the Chinese teachers themselves have good linguistic background to English, but lack formal training in how to teach. Depending on the institute and the goal of the students, this (training in how to teach a "language") ought to be a standard requirement. In other places, the criteria could be lower: I recall a school I briefly worked at while a university student in Canada. Their classes consisted of small conversation groups. The teachers were not paid magnificent wages nor possessed any specific academic credentials, but that was because all they were asked to do was prepare a topic to get the students conversing with each other. Other places which might ask English Language teachers or other teachers to teach something other than English language should certainly have different entry requirements.

Myself, I have a BA in English and TESL (one year certificate program, with a one semester "observed" practicum, through the Linguistics Department of my former university). This training was certainly adequate for beginning my teaching forays: now critical experience is important, questioning what works and what doesn't work in my classroom. "Active" experience, being a teacher that is always attempting to improve him/herself through reading up on research, talking with other teachers, examing how he/she him/herself teaches is certainly positive and effective behaviour for a language teacher who is considering being a teacher for more than a couple of years.

Where I am now, the Chinese English teachers just read out lists and give definitions -- nothing is done to involve the learners. Standing at the front of a group of people talking about English only requires a knowledge about the language, something that will not necessarily help students learn English regardless of what great pools of knowledge lurk in the back of the teachers' minds.

Universities seem to still only look for the MA or PhD, presuming that "more knowledge" will make a better teacher. But for the majority of positions -- English Teacher -- I still have trouble understanding how an MA or PhD in "anything" without experience or training in language teaching as well as relevant experience will make for a better language teacher. My university Chinese language teacher in Canada only had a BA (in Chinese Literature) and formal language teaching training: I often recall her classes, and have adopted some of her techniques in the English lessons that I teach.

[Calories]

[kev7161]

Actually, "back home", we are instructed NOT to ignore behavior changes. If it is ongoing, we are to contact parents ("we" as in school counselors - - teachers if it is affecting grades or disrupting class). Perhaps there was a death in the family, perhaps somethng else such as seperated or divorced parents. Obviously we are to keep an eye out for abusive marks on a child and report these right away. "Back home", we are not only educators but caregivers. "It takes a village" and all that.

Here in China, I haven't had much cause to take care of my charges in this manner, that generally falls on the Chinese teacher's plate. But I remember the first time I saw a black patch on a student's sleeve. I innocently asked what that was for, only to have him tear up and put his head down. How was I to know he was in mourning for a recently departed grandfather?

Good, good post Calories . . .

[Calories]

lighten up

[MrBeijingles]

Although I don't have a TEFL certificate, I still feel like I am a good teacher and that I can teach well. I'm teaching at a college now and my bosses like my work. I worry that my lack of a TEFL certificate will prevent from progressing any further despite my current employment.

[dajiang]

Yeah I had the same feeling Beijingles.

So, I got myself a TEFL diploma and it really paid off. The quality of my lessons just got heaps better.
Now I've almost got my BA in education (will graduate in 1 month), and I'm going to make a career out of this. When I think back of how I started it's like I can't recognise myself. Even though you can do good lessons and have a great connection with your students without degree or TEFL, it's really worthwhile going the extra mile and get certified. Especially if you like the business and want to keep doing it for a while longer.

Dajiang