Job Discussion Forums

[yli]

Now I have a few questions for you:

1.) How do I get started? I think someone in my situation needs to get a TEFL certificate. But from where? There are many places, and the risk of getting scammed is pretty high. If anyone here has taken the TEFL cert. route, how did you get one? From where did you get it?

2.) I speak Mandarin Chinese at a native level. Will this help me? Especially if I'm looking for work in China.

3.) I have some health concerns (that are fairly minor). However, foreign employers might not exactly be too understanding about it. What exactly goes into a Z-Visa health checkup anyway?

[randyj]

1) Do you have a four-year degree from an accredited college? I do not know what your situation is exactly or where you are located. TEFL certification is not absolutely necessary to teach in China, but a good program is certainly worthwhile. I personally did not go that route.
2) Native Mandarin fluency is not really helpful as far as finding a job is concerned, in my opinion. Are you ethnic Chinese? Many people believe that a white face is one of the most valued assets for employers. Mandarin ability is not an asset for teaching English in China.
3) As long as a person carries no infectious diseases, minor health issues should not be a problem. I don't know how minor "minor" is. AIDS is the biggie.

Good luck.

[yli]

1.) I will get my BA in Economics from the University of Maryland in 2010.

2.) Yes I am ethnic Chinese. I can get hired in a school system one of my relatives works in, but that sort of nepotism is something I'd like to avoid. I'm probably less vulnerable to a bad contract though. In any event, I don't intend on working at any place where the people are that close minded.

3.) My blood pressure is just a touch high and I take ADHD medication. Otherwise, I think I'm fine.

[xiaolongbaolaoxi]

Well, if I heard that someone grew up with native fluency in English and Mandarin, I would be first in line to sign up for my kid's classes. Unfortunately marketing in PRC does not work that way... the students will absolutely love you for your ability to (hopefully) jump between languages, but parents may feel the school is cheating them in terms of "native speaker." Doesn't matter if you were born in a native English speaking country, or born in PRC but immigrated and completed college using English as your primary language, they were promised a white face, and you probably don't have it.

I would recommend taking the family-linked job just to get to China, then figure it out. Alternatively, find a school with international links that, due to their employment laws [the "other country" is USA, UK, Canada, etc.] can't discriminate against you just because you look the way you look.

I can imagine universities falling over themselves to hire you once you have an established record [the city/province has already granted you an FEC].

Without being rude, I would stock up heavily on your meds and minimize mentioning it to others... other FTs have been known to use whatever dirt they can to ensure their own position.

XLB

EDIT: just remembered... if you can get hired onto something like an international school, you can teach Chinese as a Second Language as well... yes, there are some fairly rigorous/the weak shall not survive methods employed to pass the HSK, but students will _definitely_ appreciate someone who can teach them English and fill the sparetime with Mandarin in a more open/touchy-feely manner. Especially with the ability (?) to teach econ at a level that they probably haven't seen at any lelvel.

[Miasaurus]

Nepotism is really only nepotism if your qualifications are not considered at all. If you are qualified for a job and use your connections to help you get it... well, that is just smart job hunting.

But, if a school does hire you despite the fact that you both look Chinese and speak Chinese, it probably won't only be because they're so open-minded and modern. So, don't think you'll be able to avoid working with closed-minded people.

Also, a "bad" contract isn't usually the result of an FT being unable to read Chinese. In fact, I've never heard of there being a major discrepancy between the two versions that screwed someone over.

[MisterButtkins]

I would even consider leaving the fact that you speak Chinese off your resume. If you are a native speaker of Chinese, some Chinese people might feel that you aren't really a native speaker of English, and wouldn't want to hire you. It really isn't doing you any favors as far as getting a job goes, although it may end up helping you in the classroom.

[nickpellatt]

[yli]

Note: I can't PM yet.

Nick: I'm not entirely a newbie. I've been teaching recent immigrants English for TOEFLs and SATs for a while. I'm not sure how well that translates though, but I've noticed that some things and concepts people just don't get unless you explain it to them in their native tongue.

I do however, understand your point about forcing them to actually use their language. If they don't use it in the classroom, they won't figure out how to use it outside of the classroom.

However, that might be another problem for another time.

[nickpellatt]

I've noticed that some things and concepts people just don't get unless you explain it to them in their native tongue.

Thats a total newbie statement there!

Thats exactly why you shouldnt tell anyone you speak their L1. If you have the above ideas already you will spend all your time teaching English in Chinese.

Imagine you go to work in a Uni program for EFL in your own country. You may have students from Colombia, Brazil, China, Japan, Poland, France and Italy in your class. Of course, it is impossible to use each students L1, so EVERYTHING is done in English. There is absolutely no need for the teacher to speak the students L1 in an English classroom (in the majority of EFL jobs), and lots of employers will be unhappy or wary of foreign teachers that do.

You will also find students may complain (probably behind your back) about you using their L1 too.

It really ISNT an advantage when looking for a job as a classroom teacher IMO. Unfortunately, your ethnicitity WILL count against you in China in terms of finding work, and your experience is minimal. I think that speaking Putonghua is probably at best irrelevant, at worst, a disadvantage

[Cal_Ger]

The only value in having an English teacher who can speak Chinese is with the Adult English classes for 'beginners'.

[johntpartee]

The way that English has been taught in China is a total mess because they have been taught by rote. "This" means "this" in L1 means that the students are making English "noises".

[rogerwilco]

[rogerwilco]