Job Discussion Forums

[KarenMarie]

I'm a newbie. Are there any countries where the incidence of EFL horror stories is very, very low?

Are there any with a reputation for honoring their contracts?

Are there any countries where high-quality education is the norm?

[Wolf]

I can understand your question. I've been trying to answer it for months, myself.

What I'm about to say is based on my own personal experience. Hope it helps, but don't take it as gospel.

In East Asia, I'd say Japan has the best reputation for honoring contracts and legal protection. I've personally benefitted from intervention from a trade union, and Japan's unemployment insurance system. As far as I know, that would be unheard of in China (where I am now), South Korea, or Taiwan.

Mind you, Japan has plenty of horror stories. But, from months of pouring over websites and talking to people, it seems that Japan is the best bet for honoured contracts (if you get it in writing, anyway.) If someone tries to scre w you over, there's also some possibility of legal protection. While not great, it rates much higher than China's no chance.

High quality education in Japan isn't as high a priority as one might guess. Educational standards at Japanese univerities are famously slack. EFL education is also not what I would consider "high quality." I've met 19-20 year olds - fresh from 6 years of English language instruction - who could not understand when I said "Hi, how are you today?"

In Japan's language mills, quality education is often sacrificed for the bottom line. I've even seen quality education sacrificed when no money was saved. However, the same thing is true of langauge mills in China, where I also briefly worked part time. And many schools in Japan will pay you, and not steal your passport, and apply for proper work visas. I can't say the same for many other locations in East Asia.

That all being said, there are many people in China, Taiwan, etc that are perfectly happy with thier setup. Through experience and paying attention, you can learn how to spot bad employers. By not being afraid to stand up for yourself and learning to negotiate, you can better protect your contract. My employer in China, for instance, has been above board in terms of honoring our contract for a year now.

That's just my personal take on things. Read the boards here, and other places, to get an idea of what you might expect in various countries.

One final item of advice: beware of the "nothing bad has happened to me, personally, yet, so the entire company/nation/region is all fine and good" story. Nothing bad, legally, has happened to me, personally yet in my year in China. But I'd be just this side of delusional if I asserted that the same holds true for EFL positions accross the entire nation. I have a friend who left a position at a nearby public university (such places are usually the 'safest' employers) due to a contractual dispute.

[denise]