Job Discussion Forums

danfournier · Joined: 13 Apr 2007 Posts: 3 Location: Canada

Hi folks,

I am looking to teach Business English in Shenzhen either this fall, next January or Fall 2008. I am currently considering two language institutes:

1) English First (see http://www.englishfirst.com/trt/locations_cn.html )
2) Wall Street English
http://www.wsi.com.cn/wseweb/en/careers/jobdetail.asp?jobid_en=8

They both seem to be American owned institutions that are quite reputable and who offer good salary and benefits. I know that EF has franchises throughout China and that I should be careful to only work for EF directly and not one of its franchises. I saw a post that confirms this for one of their positions - see http://www.teachabroad.com/listingsp3.cfm/listing/38523 ). I am not that aware about Wall Street so if anyone can enlighten me on the subject that would be great.

Even though I have a preference to teach Business English I am also open to teaching regular English to people of all ages. I have TESOL certification (Oxford Seminars) and am completing the "Business English" Specialization module. I also have a Bachelors in Business Administration and have been teaching Business courses for the past 7 years.

Basically, if anyone has worked for either of these institutions (especially in Shenzhen or Guangzhou) any feedback about your experience would be most appreciated.

I would greatly appreciate any *constuctive* feedback you can offer me about these two places or if there are other alternatives that I should consider.

I thank you in advance for your comments.

Sincerely,

eslstudies · Joined: 17 Dec 2006 Posts: 1061 Location: East of Aden

HunanForeignGuy · Joined: 05 Jan 2006 Posts: 989 Location: Shanghai, PRC

Dan,

Just pass on the remark about the prefix. It surely did not answer your question.

You should do a search on this site about EF English First and then I think that you will be quite enlightened. English First is a privately-owned Swedish corporation and has been in the hands of one family for fifty years. Many foreign teachers in China, including myself, report very, very, very, very negative experiences with English First -- exceedingly so. Please check this board and you will learn why.

As for Wall Street, perhaps some of the others on this Board might be able to assist you. I do not believe it to be an American-owned corporation, either. The reports I hear about Wall Street here in China tend to be more mixed than EF -- some love it, some hate it.

I am sorry that your first post on this Board got you an immediate impertinent comment in a previous post. It has happened to all of us but the moderators are slowly stomping these kind of things out.

In any case, I hope that our posters here with more pertinent information will be able to assist you.

BTW, Shenzhen has a reputation of being the "wild west of China". You might wish to post a separate posting on "life in Shenzhen" and you will learn more. It's a big, rather discombobulated, booming, artificial Chinese city.

eslstudies · Joined: 17 Dec 2006 Posts: 1061 Location: East of Aden

[quote="danfournier"]

I would greatly appreciate any *constuctive* feedback you can offer me about these two places or if there are other alternatives that I should consider.

quote]
Using the search facility for English First would produce enough reading to keep you busy for a while, Dan. Not too much would be positive. Please forgive my initial comment, but I don't know how your research turned up the conclusions it did! "Reputable" and "Language Institute" are rarely used in the same sentence in China.
An alternative?
With your academic background, a position with a public university teaching within your specialisation might be the way to go. These are many, with Shanghai being a good starting point.

jeffinflorida · Posted: Tue May 29, 2007 3:48 am Post subject:

The city center of Shenzhen is actually a decent place. Definately stay away from the outer areas of Shenzhen as the are dirty and polluted. Longgang is the pits in case anyone cares...

Wallstreet has a decent appearence but is your typical English Mill where you are expected to work 40 hours a week and usually 5 or 6 days.

I have never worked for either but have been inside a Wallstreet.

The only thing I can tell you is that rents in Shenzhen can be expensive so remember that when you look at salarys for the downtown areas.

Also check on www.shenzhenparty.com for rents and even jobs.