Job Discussion Forums

[Voyeur]

I have heard and read various things that suggest that, at least for the 'elite' level, you really need strong Language 1 (in China, Chinese) proficiency in order to really teach test prep (TOEFL, IELTS, SAT, GRE, etc.) properly and make a strong career out of it.
I know a friend of a friend who is an ABC (American Born Chinese) and makes big money in Beijing teaching SAT and TOEFL. He has said that at the 'high end' of test prep, the ESL pecking order actually becomes inverted, with the native speakers being ghettoized somewhat, and only those who speak and write excellent Chinese being able to get the really great jobs.

I'd like to solicit any comments here, both on the veracity of these claims, and whether they are justified, i.e., regardless of the popular belief, is being able to deploy L1 a critical skill for test prep teachers?

[jm21]

All the high end jobs I've applied for have a strong preference for Mandarin speakers. At interviews they will ask how much you know, do you want to learn more, etc. I don't specifically know about the test prep field.

[Voyeur]

Hmm..typically the high end jobs are test prep. And it's test prep that doesn't care about being a native speaker because the goal isn't to improve English, but just to get a good score.

Which high-end jobs are you talking about? Perhaps you mean the good university jobs etc. where they want native speakers, unlike test prep, but they want you to have some mandarin to deal with administration, etc. (but not use it in class)?

[jm21]

[Voyeur]

AH yeah. Some of those International Programs. Not real International Schools (you don't need to be a certified teacher), but still nice jobs. I can see wanting Chinese language proficient teachers, for sure. Makes their life easier.

The guy I 'know' makes about 30-40k in Beijing doing high-end test prep. Not sure if it is one job or his own mishmash of jobs and privates.

[buravirgil]

[Voyeur]

RMB monthly. My bad, though some can make that much or more in $$. At least I have read about such 'rock star' teachers before in Korea. But they typically prepped the national university exam, often teaching online or in huge rooms to thousands.
But it's possible there are a couple of rock star English test-prep teachers doing something similar.

[nomad soul]

[Bud Powell]

It is likely that students who are attracted to ethnic Chinese teachers who coach in two languages are more willing to pay more for their services. I have found a direct correlation between how much I charge and the ability of incoming tutees.

In China and in the States, the more I charge, the better the student.

E2 speakers with limited ability certainly would benefit from being coached by someone who speaks his native language. I don't see how having a bilingual coach for any test will benefit such a student in a short period of time. It can give a boost to those who have acquired a good working knowledge of English but need their understanding of certain aspects of the test to be tweaked.

Students who need a bilingual coach probably aren't ready for the test.

[Bud Powell]

[nomad soul]

[buravirgil]

[wangdaning]

60k USD/year is about 30k RMB/month. Seems it would be easy if you worked a lot. I mean I could probably pull it off at 35-45 hours a week. That is without getting a cert. I would never do it as I am not that kind of person. I would be too angry.

I never use Chinese at my job, even though that was my major.

I see no reason to do it, it is not supported with development in that field, and it is not going to help any of my students get any better. A sad English sentence is a move towards learning, a Chinese sentence is a lazy one.

[ESL104]

I dunno wangdaning, that's 35 hours a week of private students at 200rmb an hour to make that amount (30k rmb). You'd need to be unimaginably lucky to get that to fit in a schedule given most students want to study evenings and weekends.