Job Discussion Forums

[xiao_qing]

Hello, this is my first posting here, but I have been reading this board for quite some time and have been living in China for over three years.

Well, we all joke about how any moron can get a teaching job in China, but I have been perplexed and confused about my experiences.

I taught for two years at a middle school in a medium sized city. I had the good luck of teaching a relatively small group of students, and most of them lived at the school, so I got to know them well over the two years. I became something like a big sister to the students, many of whom lived far from their parents, and I made a lot of connections with students, many of whom I keep in regular contact with today. Now, granted, all this does not necessarily speak to my teaching ability per se, but I figure I must have been doing something right....Seemed pretty typical of a foreign teacher's experience in China; you know, having some classes go great, and others feel like you are standing by yourself, talking to a wall. But several of my students' english ability improved a lot, as we often spent time together.

So, after those two years, I moved to Beijing...totally different scene. I came here to study Chinese, and got some teaching jobs part time to cover the expenses. Seems I find myself in a place with a lot more competition, and a place where people are paying a lot more for English classes. None of my teaching experiences here have been successful! (except for private tutoring). I have been told I am too quiet and do not make the classes interesting enough, and I have been "let go" several times. I am quiet. And I don't claim to be the best teacher in the world; but there was a time that I enjoyed it and thought I did a pretty good job. Now, I feel really rejected.

My lastest rejection came from a small public college in Beijing. I was told I'd be put on a month-long probation period, and after the month told by the dean that students had complained about me but that she would give me a second chance since I seemed like a "good person". (by the way, I was the fourth foreign teacher this school had seen in about 1.5 months). After giving me about a week of a second chance (during which my lessons seemed to be better, I asked the students what kinds of things they were interested in and did role plays with them, which went well), the dean called me and told me that there were too many student complaints about me, and that not enough students were coming to my classes. (Actually, several students contacted me after that and told me they liked my teaching. )

If it had been this once incident, that would have been okay. But this has happened to me before, and I am just not sure why. It does seem like any "idiot" can hold a teaching job here...except me. Is it just the competition in Beijing? Is it my quiet nature? (I thought the point of a speaking class was to get the students speaking, not the teacher?).

Just wondering if anyone else had any similar experiences, or insight. If you can, spare me the sarcastic and overly-critical comments (constructive criticism welcomed), I already feel bad.

[sheeba]

I don't think any idiot survives in China . Your post is very honest and you sound like that kind of a person . Hang in there . Keep going . don't let anybody get in your way . For me what I find is the more I form my own personal opinion on what I feel is needed in class the more I thrive and believe in myself . I went through a spate of rejection and felt down but you know now I just think bollacks to y'all . Have confidence in yourself . I've seen terrible teachers who are really popular with the students because they know how to 'wing it'

Don't learn how to 'wing it' Do it YOUR way . Sit down and really work out what you believe is needed and then just do it . There really are some orrible people in this world who just like to get on your case . Be yourself -and fight those types.

[Sinobear]

You have to engage your students. Don't ask them what they want - deliver a planned lesson.
Entertain them with stories, ask them questions and allow them to ask you questions.
Get on their level.

Maybe your problem isn't being shy, perhaps you are allowing everyone to walk all over you. Be a little more assertive - tell ppl what you'll be doing instead of waiting for them to tell you.

Cheers!

(Edited after purchasing a couple of missing letters)

[Malsol]

You moved to Beijing to learn Chinese? So your priorities have changed and that means so has your teaching.

[erinyes]

I find that if the people around me are supportive then I feel like I can do anything, and I frequently do. but in situations where I feel intimidated, I really close up, and don't do a very good job at all.

Maybe the situation of moving to the big smoke made you feel intimidated a little and like me, your not really doing the same job in the same way as you were before.

I haven't been to Beijing, but I did move from a little tiny town to a sizable one (and to a very famous school) what saved me was the guy before me was truly terrible, and the students just compared me to him (he used to show the students photos of Chinese rubbish all the time and say "what is this?" "What is that?").

As well students here compare you with their previous teachers. Maybe in some cases they just lost a brilliant teacher (or a loud teacher) and so they are missing the substance in your quite ways.

Finally, if you are truly quite, perhaps you have not considered the larger classes? background noise? Perhaps they just can't hear you. Buy a portable microphone

[TravellingAround]

Any idiot might be able to get a teaching job in China...but it doesn't mean anyone can do it.

Try never to ask students what they want from lessons. Seriously, they're idiots. At least in this regard. They don't know what they want and need the teacher to take charge. I tried asking students a few times and it didn't work as their answers were generally useless. Even the act of asking seemed to smack as a loss of face I found and I never did it again.

I do feel sorry for you and can only echo the other poster who suggested using a microphone but you haven't really detailed what you do in the lessons so it is hard to give anything more than generic advice.

However - Do you thoroughly plan your lessons? Many "teachers" I have known don't ever bother anymore than thinking - I know...we will sing some songs then later learn some words from the book. They tend to be the worst teachers of the lot. Lessons can be 'winged' every now and then should the teacher have the talent but not indefinitely. Good, experienced teachers can get away with lack of planning in lessons but even then the quality will often suffer. If not, try it - make a lesson plan and print it out to refer to during the lesson. It will at least let you know exactly what you should doing at each moment of class.

Do you use Powerpoint in lessons? Handouts? Follow the textbook? What has worked? what hasn't?

If you give a bit more detail about how you have been approaching lessons maybe you can receive more suited advice in return. Being able to speak loudly helps but it is not the be all and end all.

Don't give up yet!

Hey Sinobear - do you still get annoyed when people refer to "soccer" as "football"?

[xiao_qing]

thank you all for your comments, they were helpful and insightful. Yes, its true, I came here to learn Chinese and so my priorities kind of shifted. Yes, it's true, I need to feel supported to do a really good job. And besides, my heart wasn't really in it.

I guess when I wrote this I was thinking of all the teachers I have heard of who don't do any more planning/thinking than me yet have no problems....but I think you all are right in saying that it's largely a confidence thing. Have to make the students believe you know what you are doing. And I also think its a Beijing thing (higher expectations and more competition). For now, I will be sticking to editing jobs and private tutoring.

thanks all who took time to reply, I am still interested in hearing any advice/experiences if anyone else wants to share.

[vikdk]

[nolefan]

The Beijing market is indeed a different animal. Employers pay slightly more than average for China but they're also extremely trigger happy when it comes to replacing teachers and moving on.

[tw]

More than often enough, what students like is nothing but a handsome/pretty foreign face and/or a dancing monkey to entertain them. The OP's lessons could be a bit too structured and too organized (translation: boring) for their liking, or she might be having a difficult time adjusting to the 30-40 students in a classroom as compared to the small classes she was used to at the first school.

[China.Pete]

Dealing with rejection as an FT in China is a really difficult thing - mainly because the expectations are so conflicting. For your part, you should be learning how to teach. You can do this either through the careful use of modern teaching materials (including teacher's guides) or by taking some kind of TEFL course, or both.

That said, proper training may not be the total solution to your problem. Students may still complain, not because YOU don't know what you're doing, but simply because your teaching is so different from what they've experienced to date. This is where the support of a good headmaster really matters.

Unfortunately, many headmasters don't know a fig about education (at least as we understand it in the West). Their expertise is largely in playing office politics, a game in which the FT is largely irrelevant and, therefore, an easy scapegoat. ANY student complaints, valid or otherwise - even those coming from a class which is constantly complaining about every teacher - are considered sufficient cause to sacrifice the FT. Public universities, at least in my experience, may be worse than private ones in this regard.

So, your actual teaching may have little to do with the rejection. Indeed, the better you become at your job, the more likely you may be to face complaints/rejection in some cases. But if you're going to stay with this business for for awhile, you're going to need to learn how to teach. And not just for your own confidence, which I agree with other posters is important, but also because the Chinese market may eventually come to demand it, as other markets are already doing in regards to TEFL certification, work experience, etc.

[Steppenwolf]

[TravellingAround]

[Malsol]

[william wallace]

nil