Job Discussion Forums

Baroque · Joined: 29 Sep 2007 Posts: 23 Location: Sydney

Hi there,

I have applied for a few jobs in Hong Kong and am fully aware the waiting process for appointment is a long drawn out wait. I am a fully qualified TESOL Teacher having graduated from a respectable University in Australia ; which means I have real teaching qualifications hence a high probability of working in Hong Kong.

However, I am also considering my options to work in Guangzhou simply because I would rather be living in a temperate climate as opposed to Northern China where it can be rather cold. Besides , I would rather live near the coast and not landlocked in a parochial village.

I know the wages are not very high in China but am a proven educator with a strong interest in Asian culture.I do not want to work for a fly by night Academy as I like to work in a professional environment.

I would like to hear from anyone who is working for a professional organisation who can give me a hint who to work for in Guangzhou or possibly inform me of a vacancy in their school.

I am looking for a long term contract in a professional school that values real educators.I have up to date knowledege of current pedagogic methods and syllabus design related to the communicative approach.

I would appreciate constructive feedback.Thank you.

From Terra Australis

7969 · Joined: 26 Mar 2003 Posts: 5782 Location: Coastal Guangdong

Baroque · Joined: 29 Sep 2007 Posts: 23 Location: Sydney

I have a Graduate Diploma in TESOL that allows me to work in any ESL related context both in Australia or abroad.Why have I eliminated any possibility of finding a job when I am professionally trained to teach? If I were to find a school that simply wanted a foreign face then I might as well go to Korea, which is not a favourable option.

I really enjoy the job of delivering a lesson plan and helping students work on tasks;and I also enjoy working within a structured syllabus because it gives one a sense of purpose of working with a curriculum.

By the way, I would like to know how comfortable foreign teachers find themselves in Guanghzou or the province itself. Is it foreigner freindly?

malu · Joined: 22 Apr 2007 Posts: 1344 Location: Sunny Java

vikuk · Joined: 23 May 2007 Posts: 1842

Shan-Shan · Joined: 28 Aug 2003 Posts: 1074 Location: electric pastures

Baroque · Joined: 29 Sep 2007 Posts: 23 Location: Sydney

It would be informative to know how Foreign Teachers are finding their experience of living in Guangzhou. I was in Hong Kong for two weeks and loved the place. As I said in my initial posting I am awaiting the possibility of appointment to instruct in Hong Kong; I have applied for more than a few jobs, The NET scheme, The ESF and some regional University positions. If that falls through I am considering Guangzhou. Positive and negative critical observations of Guangzhou and the province are most welcome.

BTW Thanks for the replies.

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

If you want to be taken seriously, teaching ESL in an Australian public or private school is a far better option.
Hong Kong students are no better than mainlanders. With the benefit of 150 years of enlightened British rule, they have picked up remarkably little.
So, go to China and enjoy yourself, or be a serious TESOLer. You can't have both, sorry. Krashen himself couldn't inspire 50 sleepy post-lunch students in a sweltering classroom full of bolted desks, with the smell of effluent pungent in the humid air.

Oh, am I way too cynical, or is this another of Tony's Kowloon Kreations? Wink

malu · Joined: 22 Apr 2007 Posts: 1344 Location: Sunny Java

GZ is the most polluted city I've ever spent much time in, beating even Jakarta for omnipresent smog. I'm told there are other Chinese cities that are much more polluted, but I've not been to any myself.

The most redeeing feature of the city for me is the former foreigners' ghetto of Shamian which still has a relaxed vibe about it in places. The metro system is modern and efficient but darn crowded at peak times, so getting around GZ isn't difficult.

I'm sure there are some scenic and wonderful places in Guangdong province, somewhere, but generally the Pearl River Delta area is wall-to-wall factories and concrete. The NT and outlying islands of HK are a good deal less polluted and prettier than anywhere I've seen this side of the river.

That's my take on it. Sorry it's not more positive.

jwbhomer · Joined: 14 Dec 2003 Posts: 876 Location: CANADA

Guangzhou stinks -- literally and figuratively. Evil or Very Mad

Kram · Joined: 20 Sep 2005 Posts: 152 Location: In a chair

AussieGuyInChina · Joined: 23 Nov 2006 Posts: 403

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

11:59 · Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 11:57 am Post subject:

First, if you really are seeking work in Singapore and HK why are you also looking for employment in that poor and pathetic caricature of HK, viz., Guangzhou (aka 'the armpit of Guangdong')? After all, locations such as Singapore/Hong Kong and dumps such as the cesspool otherwise known as Guangzhou are at different ends of the scale! I could understand your seeking work in Brunei, or Japan (or even Taiwan), but not Guangzhou (or indeed anywhere on the mainland).

Second, is it not the case that "a respectable University in Australia" is something of an oxymoron? Is it not the case that it is Australia to which the Asian student hordes flock as it is there that they are ensured a passing grade in whatever tests and exams they have to do?

Third, perhaps I am mistaken, but isn't Guangzhou rather landlocked? I certainly don't recall too many beaches. Even on a good day it can often take at least 3 or 4 hours to get to the coast from that hell-hole of a city (and on a bad day it can often take that long to just get out of the city!).

Fourth, if you really are as serious as you claim as regards your professionalism and knowledge of underlying educational philosophies/pedagogical approaches then you might want to do some work on use of spaces and punctuation in English. I know you state that you are a junior teacher, and so perhaps you are not aware, but it is customary � especially for a "fully qualified TESOL Teacher" � to place a space after all and any items of punctuation. In fact, I am somewhat surprised that you did not cover basic, primary school-level punctuation in whatever qualification(s) it is you completed which you think make you "a fully qualified TESOL Teacher".

malu · Joined: 22 Apr 2007 Posts: 1344 Location: Sunny Java

Foundation course results don't affect university league tables. It is a very lucrative market with minimum risk.

An academic from a British university with a link-up here in China told me just yesterday that this was also why they chose to offer 'joint' degrees with the Chinese partner institution rather than recruiting Chinese students into UK universities. In the UK there are league tables showing the average grades on entry for freshers, and stats such as percentage graduating with 2:1 or above, percentage completing within 3 years etc etc.

If you set up as the University of Fulchester (China Campus) then it is possible to keep the stats separate from the home university results while still trading on the name.