Korean Job Discussion Forums

[creeper1]

I originally posted this in the China forum but they locked the thread because it was becoming "too Korea centred". So I will repost it here and hope for some answers.

I am thinking about making the move to China. Before I make the move however I would like to sound out you guys on wheter it's a good idea to leave good old Korea for China.

I would like to have opinions on the following topics

1. Student motivation - Are the students motivated and excited by English? Do they seem ambitious? Is it important in Chinese society to know English? I am asking this because in my current location I can at least say that some of the students are motivated.

2. Technology in the classroom - Do you have computers wired up to big screen in front of the classroom or is it just plain old board and chalk type stuff we are talking? These days in my current location I use a lot of powerpoints and videos and it makes lessons interesting. I wouldn"t like to go backwards so to speak.

3. Accomodation - I heard China can be pretty dirty. How is the accomodation? In my current location I have a clean apartment but fight roaches. I don't want such issues in China.

4. Sports. I like to do two sports - swimming and judo. Is it usually easy to find a pool in China. There is an olympic size pool close to my current apartment.

thanks guys in advance for any info you are able to give.

[mm]

I worked in china for almost two years. It all depends on your location and where you choose to teach.

1. In the time I was in china, I taught at an elementary school, a private kindergarten and a state run elementary school. I never came across unmotivated students. they all seemed pretty eager to learn english and were interested in communicating with a foreigner. even in a university class with 60 plus students, motivation was not a concern.

2. I would say the private run schools would maybe have the technology in the classroom or private programs run at local universities. But local schools, would not. I taught there from 2006 to 2008 and in my state run jobs it was chalk an chalkboard use.

3. No matter where I lived in China (Beijing, Nanjing, Guangzhou, a small village) I had the best accommodation. Big, new, modern apartments. Nicest apartment I ever lived in was in Nanjing.

4. I am a swimmer also. It was difficult for me to find a place to swim when I lived in China. The pools are often dirty (some don't use enough chlorine) and too crowded. But i guess a lot depends on location, in Beijing and Shanghai I imagine if you lived in the nicer parts of town you probably could get a decent size and clean pool. As for Judo, my friend use to go to a variety of martial arts classes when I lived in Beijing, I don't think that will be a problem.

[smoggy]

In the private schools they have a tech center, but generally it is a white board. They don't have working a/c, and some children are motivated. I was at EF. While the pay is often less, cost of living is less. China in the smaller cities (outside the big 3) is polluted and filthy. They spit all over and there are no farmers markets like in Korea. They do not use chlorine in the pools, and often my friends got rashes. The Chinese are very happy, and the Chinese teachers make 1/3 of the pay that Americans get.
The apartments are new for the most part, but the stench from the garbage is almost unbearable.
I was there in 2006 during the preparation for the Olympics. Motivation for the few adults that I taught was high.

[mm]

I agree with a lot of what you wrote. Except for the farmers markets, I lived in four cities in china, and each city i lived in had a neighborhood farmers market.