Job Discussion Forums

[robalimason]

[size=18]HELP!!!!!!! IS THERE ANYONE OUT THERE WITH PRACTICAL TEACHING EXPERIENCE IN CHINA WHO IS WILLING TO GIVE ME SOME ADVISE AND DIRECTION.?
I AM A 53YR OLD MECHANICAL ENGINEER LOOKING TO CHANGE THINGS IN MY LIFE AND I AM SERIOUSLY CONSIDERING TEACHING IN CHINA.
I HAVE NO EXPERIENCE IN TEACHING AS YET SO I WANT TO GAIN A DIPLOMA WHILE WORKING IF POSSIBLE.

ITS A SIMPLE ENOUGH PLAN -- TRAIN FOR A DIPLOMA & TEACH ,--BUT ITS IMPOSSIBLE TO DIFFERENTIATE
REASONABLE OFFERS OF EMPOYMENT AND TRAINING FROM OUTRIGHT SCAMS!
THE MORE I RESEARCH THE ON THE NET THE MORE CONFUSING IT BECOMES.
THEREFORE I AM ASKING FOR GUIDANCE PLEASE FROM PEOPLE WHO ARE SEASONED PROFESSIONALS WHO CAN OFFER ME SOUND ADVISE AND MAYBE REPUTABLE ORGANISATIONS WHO I CAN APPROACH FOR A POSITION.
I WILL BE ETERNALLY GRATEFUL FOR ANY GOOD REPLY
THANKYOU[/size] ROBER[size=18][/size][/b]

[Anda]

This is a non government agency that employ people to teach English here. Government schools pay about 4,000 RMB per month for 16 class hours per week. Most will only give you a ten month contract but you get a paid four week winter holiday. They can also arrange an in country TEFL course cheaply for you. You also get free accommodation and usually some help with paying utilities. They get you the visa but then you are on your own. They will side with your employer and not you if there is a problem, but that is life here.

http://www.jseie.org/jseie/wjpq/english/qualisch.htm


Get it written into the contract that you can teach in your spare time at an institute to pick up a bit more money. There are plenty of our lot with experience and a good track record after the better paying positions so this is about all you can expect to get without experience along with your age. I'm 57 so don't take it wrong. Part time work pays about 100 RMB an hour outside of the big cities like Shanghai. Cost of living is far cheaper outside of the big cities.

If you work for an institute you will in general find your hours spread out over a greater period of time and little in the way of material / equipment available to use in teaching. You also mush be popular as a teacher and not loose students or else.

Best of luck as you will need it!

Oh, the are lots that employ for schools in other areas but the pay is the same. Top pay for public schools is 5,000 RMB per month for 16 class hours per week but you need a high degree plus experiance along with an English teaching certificate to get it.

[sojourner]

Robert,

Welcome to the forum !

I'm a bit confused by your message. It would seem that you have come across some programme that will provide training , award a diploma - and guarantee you a job. Is that assumption correct ? Are they asking for any "fee" ? I've heard of such programmes in other countries (eg,Thailand), but not in China. It would appear that the training that is offered in such programmes is only pertinent to the teaching approach used in the organisation's own schools.Thus, the skills you learn may not be fully transferable to other ESL/EFL teaching situations. And, of course, the "diploma" that is granted will not only not be recognised by other organisations - but, more importantly, will be seen as irrelevant by work visa-issuing authorites in other countries. Also, I've heard that the salaries paid after undergoing such "training" are often pretty low. So, could you please provide us with the www address of the organisation in question, so that we old China-hands can assess whether the programme is genuine or not ?

How long do you plan to teach in China, and are you hoping eventually to work in other countries ? In China, the usual requirement to teach here is at least a Bachelor's degree - however, to do a decent job, it's a good idea to have had some pertinent training beforehand.The two most well-known training programmes are CELTA and the Trinity College TESOL certificate courses. (Do a google search for those institutions in NZ that provide such training). Alternately, you might be able to do your CELTA training in Thailand, whilst en route to China - would be considerably cheaper than doing it in , say, Auckland !

You should not have too much difficulty in landing a teaching job in China - provided that you don't focus all of your job-hunting efforts on popular places, such as Shanghai. I'm a few years older than you, and have been teaching in China for more than five years. The longer I stay here, the easier it is for me to successfully bargain for better conditions and salary than what I had previously. Thus, next term, I'll be on 6.5 K RMB for 14 teaching "hours" per week (less than 10 "real" hours !) and 12 monthly salary payments rather than the usual 10. I'm currently teaching in a university - salaries might be considerably higher in language schools, but, you'll have to work much harder than is the case in a typical Chinese uni situation.

With your engineering background, you might want to consider applying for a job in a university that has a mechanical engineering faculty (do a google search for " China Universities Rankings" ). You might well be offered a job teaching "Engineering English"; or, even asked to teach some engineering subject - in English ! People with advanced degrees, or qualifications in certain disciplines, are often asked to teach subjects other than the usual Oral English. In my own case, apart from Oral English, I have also taught Business English, Marketing, Management, Advanced Writing, Inter-Cultural Communication, and Western Culture. In the not-too-distant future , am hoping to teach something along the lines of International Political Economy !

When are you hoping to commence work in China ? Don't accept the first job that is offered to you. As a newbie, for uni work you'll probably be offered about 4 K for 16 hours - try to bargain for 4.5 K ! PM me if you have any other queries.

Good luck !

Peter

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Anda,

Would you be the same "Anda" who was based in Sth Korea about 6 years ago; and who was very much "into" conspiracy theories ? On Dave's Korea site at the time, I often debated with the "Anda" in question. The name that I used at the time was "Veritas"

Regards,

Peter

[Anda]

Hello sojourner yes it's me and I still haven't changed. Things have just held out longer than I thought they would. I have been here now for two years. I'm expecting WWIII, bird flu, energy / oil crisis, hyperinflation and currency crash to happen together soon as I have been saying for years. It's all planned to bring about depopulation and a One World Order.

Dave started the Off Topic site because of me in South Korea.

Good to hear that you are doing okay here. My first year was good here but the last year after a change of management hasn't been that good. However I finish up where I'm at in a few more weeks and I have a better job lined up at a top middle school where the kids are into study. I also have permition for approved side work that I already have so things are heading in the right direction. Oh, I have a 22 month contract so they will get out of the summer holidays in the second year perhaps. I've got a dry spell for two months now but I have enough side work to hold me through it.