UPDATE July 25, 2010
Foreign English teachers who want to teach in a Chinese University, now is the time to send electronic resumes.
University Foreign Affairs Offices that are understaffed and overburdened are just now finishing repatriation of last year’s foreign teachers. Now they have time to recruit foreign teachers for September 2010. Of course these are NOT the best University jobs but they are adequate.
The best University jobs were filled by efficient Foreign Affairs Offices back in April and May.
The best foreign teachers were snapped up quickly.
After July 20 there has been a flood of job advertisements and recruiting efforts. Either there is change in the air or desperation. Provinces that have previously stated that they will not issue a Foreign Expert Certificate to any foreigner over 60 are suddenly relenting and issuing.
Prejudices against black teachers, foreign born Asian teachers, older teachers, experienced teachers, L2 English speakers, and educated teachers are cracking under the realization of market supply and demand.
The insatiable demand for under 30, blue eyes, blond hair, with guitar in hand to sing and chat, can’t be met so Universities are condescending and hiring real teachers.
Now is the time for second class teachers to apply for that second class job in a second class university. Of course, if you are a first class teacher, why do you want to teach in China?
September 6, 2009
Basically, any L1 English speaker with any kind of bachelor degree can find a job teaching English in China. Annually, China hires 150,000 (legal) to 250,000 (illegal) foreign teachers.
Illegal foreign teachers are those working without proper permits. They arrive in China on a tourist visa and stay to work. More often than not, these are not trained or qualified EFL teachers and they end up teaching at privately owned language mills where they are at the mercy of their employers. They are commonly referred to as “backpackers”, people on vacation who work to finance their extended vacation.
Properly trained and qualified EFL teachers, who enter China legally, usually end up teaching at a public school or a joint venture school. However, that is not to say that public schools only hire trained and qualified EFL teachers.
While there is a prejudice for blond hair, blue eyes, white skin; some L2 English speakers are hired through the legal process, as are some Asian L1 English speakers.
Basically, if you are determined to teach in China, you can find a job. For links, see our Teaching Jobs page in our main menu at the top of our main page or paste the following in your browser address window.
http://chinaholisticenglish.org/teaching-jobs/
If you are in the “trained and qualified” category, start applying half way into the prior school term for employment in the following term. The good jobs are filled early.
If you are unqualified or L2, wait until 2 or 3 weeks prior to the term commencement, when schools start getting desperate.
Salaries are varied based upon qualifications, experience, and the academic level taught.
Qualified L1 teachers receive the highest pay at international schools, kindergartens, middle schools, primary schools, 2nd tier universities, 3rd and 4th tier colleges and the lowest at top tier universities where it is your honor and privilege to be hired (you should be paying them).
Unqualified L1 and L2 teachers can expect a salary as low as 2,500 rmb (US$300) per month.
Base pay salaries can be very misleading. 4,500 rmb in Henan can be the same as 10,000 rmb in Shanghhai.
If you want to make big money, pay student loans or save money, look elsewhere!
Teaching conditions, housing and living conditions, social conditions, overtime pay, internal travel pay, air fare, medical coverage, work hours per week, office hours, and administrative support, can swing between non-existent to excellent. Be VERY careful.
It is seriously suggested that you go to our download page and read:
China EFL: Foreign Teacher Needed
China ESL: An Industry Run A Muck?
China EFL: The Unqualified, Teaching (sic) the Unmotivated, in a Hostile Environment
EFL/ESL Teaching in China: Questions – Questions – Questions
China EFL: Programming Human Robots
China EFL: Why Chinese Universities do not Provide an English Speaking Environment
China EFL: One Reason for Midnight Runners
The Journey to Nowhere on the Information Highway
Chinese Business Institute Students Speak Out
China EFL/ESL JOBS: A Case of False Advertising
One last note: You may read or hear that your salary will be much higher than local teachers who only make 700 rmb per month. While true in its most basic sense, this is very misleading, irrelevant and inapplicable. It is “bait” on a hook. BEWARE!
Dear Reader,
Please consider, from my point of view (and forgive the length):
A decision to come to China for any reason is one you must think out for yourself.
Remember: Wherever you go, you are still YOU. If you think you’re leaving a boatload of problems in your home country, you’re not. If you don’t come to China with genuine intentions, you’ll stink of it even if no one complains of the smell.
An “under-qualified” teacher can still prove his/her worth. Some training would be nice, but using that brain they were born with to do their best will earn them the pay they get. At the end of the day, they still miss out on greater opportunities, even if they are not focused on rate of pay. You really have to luck out to get a school where you can make a difference. I gotta say, there are some glorious schools here, full of bright people.
In any case, read your damned contract before signing it, for everyone’s sake, please.
As a newcomer to China, you can brace yourself for the culture shock, but you still have to experience it. Be equipped with a sense of humour and check your disappointed face at the door. Not every comfort will be made available to you, even if your keepers do their best to please you. Some stuff just isn’t possible. Scotty isn’t the man minding the warp coils on this ship (Star Trek, anyone?).
Other stuff is very possible, and you must maintain a certain guard against apathy toward you. Folks forget things here, just like they do back at home. They sometimes forget to check on the frozen pipes in the middle of the Spring Festival. The pipes break and you go without water for two weeks. This means you must be prepared to call once daily to your handler(s), and/or be prepared to get to the market and bring home your own water.
Last-minute changes are just the tip of the iceberg. Say goodbye to Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and YouTube, as well as half of the worldwide web. Maybe more farewells will be on the horizon.
If reverse logic frightens or bothers you, stay home or die of a heart attack here. Only a precious few foreigners will sympathize with you, but they’ll laugh and say: “Welcome to China!”. There’s no crusade to be won, so forget about it.
I don’t know anything about “midnight runs” in terms of pros/cons. It’s something I have not been unfortunate enough to ponder. Perhaps there is an article somewhere that I can be pointed to for my edification. If you’re considering it, you’re obviously very unlucky. Change your luck, because you’re responsible for you.
My personal take on the matter is that if your safety is being compromised, your time is up. You’re as good as dead if your safety isn’t being observed. Take your chances with Chinese authorities, if you must. Sympathy is not a lost concept here, even if the fear mongering L1 foreign teachers salivate when they tell you that you’re doomed like a bird with a broken wing.
The fact is, there are a DOZEN ways around the proper certification problem, and they’re inarguable.
Does everyone use those ways? No.
Does anyone care who is who? Not always.
Are you here to do a good job and try to get people speaking the language that they already know? That’s all I personally care about. That’s my business.
I don’t advocate an alien working anywhere illegally, however. It’s kind of a hard thing to explain to anyone when the jig is up, wouldn’t you agree? You just get deported or possibly (probably?) worse things can happen.
You hear about them, but there’s no account of these that I have heard other than the campfire horror stories. People like to scare each other. My mom was terrified that my kidneys would be on the black market within weeks. “NO, mom. That’s the Fils.” (Just kidding.)
Otherwise, do you experience the following:
* Discomfort?
* Confusion?
* Loneliness?
* Horrible misunderstanding?
* Feeling used or mistreated?
My answer is this: “Ha ha ha! Welcome to China!”
You can ALWAYS go home. Make sure you have the means, and maybe even the blessings of your employer.
Other Caveats: People You Meet
Don’t give out your phone number to random folks who seem really eager, unless you really want to make an English-speaking buddy. So many foreigners complain that they are being used for their English. GUESS WHAT? Without your English skills, you have no purpose in China. Every friend in our lives serves a purpose, whether or not we have the nerve to admit it.
Avoid local businesses that want to offer you good money for a few hours of your time each night. You might notice that they don’t step anywhere near your workplace, because they are not welcome there. They’re often “tutor-pimps” and vampires, and really don’t care about giving quality education to anyone. If you personally happen to care, good for you. These businessmen will fight you every step of the way, because your methods don’t necessarily agree with their understanding of the term “teaching”. They nickel-and-dime everything, heap unnecessary homework and weak textbooks on students. They will frustrate every foreigner that meets them.
If you really think it’s worth a few hundred rmb under the table each week, I will read the complaints about it in a few months and chuckle. Maybe you know a good one, but I have never heard of such a rare and beautiful specimen.
The demand for foreign teachers is outrageous, in any case. This might be why you see so many backpackers and other riffraff wandering about without a care. If you don’t do the job, someone else will. God only knows what sort of person is being left alone with these darling young people.
If you’re going to come here on illegal terms, understand that you should tread lightly, but make the best of it. You came to teach, right? Take pride in this opportunity, and show everyone what you’ve got. Try to figure out what the problems are, and take measures to implement change where available. Work alongside your colleagues. Don’t let doors separate you from them.
It really is a pity that there is a visible caste system, but realize that it’s there. Don’t march up and down people because you have the golden ticket of looking like a desirable. Be gracious and kind, and put out a little. Spend quality time in the effort of making the world a better place, if you sense even the slightest royal treatment.
Another foreign teacher is not always your best friend by default. Sometimes, they can be an uneasy ally that you walk with. They might be damaging your reputation with their behavior when you are not around. You don’t really know what they’re all about until time passes. Be open and friendly of course, but be mindful as well.
They come with all the baggage they had back home (remember that you’re not best pals with everyone from your home town). Sometimes, they can be just great, and you’ll know them when you see them. There is nothing better in the world than an experienced and understanding mentor to talk with when you’re a foreign teacher alone in China.
Ever see the movie “Labyrinth”? Consider this: It’s not fair, but that’s the way it is.
Welcome to China!
Please, stay safe.
Mind your company.
Show your value.
There are many useful hints included in the original post, and in Kris’ follow up. I wish only to add one additional point, perhaps I have overlooked it.
Unlike Britain, North America, or Australia/NewZealand, native speakers arriving in China to provide instruction in English will be confronted, from day 1 with the reality that in China one cannot access whichever internet site one wishes. In my own case, I was shocked to learn that my favorite computer programming web site had disappeared from view. Censorship is real, and pervasive. I was unable to access my favorite Czechoslovakian internet radio station and, in general, the internet is not available, in English, for students to access.
Perhaps this is simply “culture shock”. To me, it is intellectual shock.
CAI ENG
After i read the article, i think the author gave many many his experiences to the fresh men to china. The author have said clearly, you just do your job, and don’t care too much about politics in china.
Author said you should keep conscious when you make friends here. I agreed with that, everyone needs friedns, even you know he must have some purposes. But it doesn’t matter, we too, sometimes have the same reasons to make friends. we ourselves won’t cheat others, but as a chinese saying states don’t hurt others but precaution others. I think it also work for everyone.
Everyone should read this to know a sophisticate foreigner’s mind.
When you come to different countries, you may have culture shock most of the time. Actually, there are some places you must pay attention to before someone wants to teach English in China. Through the foreign teachers may have some troubles coming to China at first, the days will be better and better. China is a developing country, the salary won’t be very high. But I firmly believe that the foreign teachers will have many surprises in China. Welcome to China!
No matter what you are L1 English speak, illegal foreign teacher or you are unqualified or L2, if you want to be an English teacher in china or the other country, you must have responsibility for the school and the student. As a teacher, you need to learn English all the time. There is a proverb to say: lives old, learns old.
The teaching profession is a very sacred.Teachers are training the pillars of the country.So it is very important for us to choice teacher.In my view,every teacher must have strong teaching responsibility.If you are not this condition,you will be not a good teacher even you getting kinds of bachelor degree.At last ,you wiil be obsoleted by times. So if you want to be english teacher in any country ,you must be kind to the students.
As China carries out open reform,more and more students learn English.Many universities hire foreign English teachers in order to improve students English level.The author is familiar with China situation.He gives many advice for those foreign English teachers who wanna to teach English in China.It is helpful for them.We also gain benefit from this article.Middle school,including high middle school,and college or universitis should hire those who are legal English teachers and not hire those who are illegal English teachers working without proper permite.
when I was in middle school my teacher told us that not all foreign teachers are excellent teachers, some of them didn’t have diploma. Now I know that this is the China’s need to change the status quo, and also the English-speaking countries’ pride. No need to worship China’s teacher, In philosophy, there are reasonable for everything to be, but it is not eternal. If you like to do something do not take into account other factors. Do what you want to do, in fact ,teach in China also means learning each other.In my opinion, many things can not be judged by wages.
In China, most of teachers who teach us English are not foreigners in middle school and university. In my university, Inner Mongolia University, only those students whose major is English have foreigner teachers. Now many people study English because we want to know much about world. But many school have not enough money because they think that a foreigner teacher’s wages is expensive than a Chinese teacher or they do not think English is not useful for students. But I think English is more important in our life and we should strength our English education, and I hope more foreigner teachers come our country.
Teachers are engineers of human souls. Helen Keller is lucky, she met Anne, then she shok the world in a brave way. Our grief is that: we have learned English for many years, but we can not communicate with foreigners. But we are still very lucky, we met Professor Martin. There are two kinds of teachers in the world, one is the good teachers whose requirements of wages and benefits are very high, the other is the unqualified teachers whose demand is less. I will select the former ones to be my teacher, is not the future more important than money?
To be honest, I had a bad impression of foreign teachers who taught English in high school or colleges before I met Professor Martin. Most of those foreign teachers didn’t focus on how to improve our oral English. They just kept routine to finish classes. I remembered that one foreign teacher in high school told us to teach him Chinese instead of practicing our oral English. At that time, our class felt sad and angry, so we request to change the foreign teacher into Chinese English teacher. I always find that some foreigners come to China for tour, for sightseeing or other activities. For covering the cost, they may choose to be a foreign teacher in kindergartens or primary schools or high schools or even colleges. I think this may be a irresponsible attitude towards students. Chinese educators should take teaching and learning efficiency and quality into account.
I had my first foreign teacher when I was in senior middle school. He is an American and only taught us for a few classes. He is a humorous and humble teacher. My second foreign teacher had a four-nation descent. He looks like Chinese. His grandpa is Filipino, his grandma is Korea and his father and mother are British and Chinese. He and his family live in China. He once said to us that he love China very much, I think that may be the reason why he stay and teaches us. My third foreign English teacher is you—Martin. I don’t know why you stay in China and teacher us, but I like you. You do have something same as my former two English teachers. And your teaching method is better and more practical.
My first foreign teacher is a British born French. He taught me French during the second year in college. He is only three yeas old than us students and likes travelling very much. Though He only had been stayed in China for about three years at that time but he had been traveled to many places in China, such as HK, Sichuan, Guizhou, Anhui and so on. Furthermore, before coming to China, he also traveled around to many countries. He is a travel bug.
If he visits a new place, he would tell us students the interesting things during his journey. And at the end of the talk he would say “travel can build personality”.
Though he likes travel, I consider he is a good teacher. He takes his job seriously and has a good patient for us students.
Because of the opening up of China, there are more and more foreigners come into China with all kinds of reasons, such as visiting, studying, doing business, and so on. Besides, English also becomes more and more important in our life. Schools pay much attention to teaching it. In my middle school, I have had a few foreign teachers. They came from different countries, and some of them had teaching experiences, but some not. They nearly did not stay in one school even one city of China. Every time, I was only curious about them instead of paying attention to learning English. So, I think we need not just foreign teachers , we need indeed a teacher who can improve our English.
I am afraid that I did have foreign English teachers like that,they didn’t teacher us anything,I know they were travelling China and have fun in school not to teach us by heart.I was upset then until I met you, Martin,I never see a teacher like you,teaches students with so many responsibilities and you make me understand what a truly teacher shoule be!
There are 1.3 billion persons in China ,and millions of students are studying English ,so China is a large market for foreign teachers .I think it is not so surprising that there are so many foreign teachers .In my opinion ,these foreign teachers have made contributions to improve Chinese level of English to a certain extent . Of course , not any L1 English speaker could become good English teachers ,many of them just want to earn money in China .So I advice that the government should set a certain standard ,only the foreigners who conform the standard can engage in English teaching .
As the reform and opening up policy carried out in China, more and more foreigners come here. Some of them seek jobs, while some others just travel around. When seeing so many people studying English in China, those who are on their tour also work as English teacher to get salary to continue their travel. Such teachers do not focus their attention on English teaching, instead they only teach students something less useful other than improving their oral English or extending their horizons of foreign country. Based on this, I think our government should change the policy of foreign teachers’ employing, to employ conscientious and responsible foreign teachers to improve our English teaching and learning.
This article is a very good reading introducing experience. With the development of globalization in China, high demands are put forward to English learning. So we Chinese invite more and more foreigners to teach standard English. A great number of problems have arisen. Both employers and employees should assert their rights. Take care not to fall into the trap.
English teaching is a big market in China,because almost every student is learning english for the exam or going abroad.From childhood to post-graduates,every person is “busy with it”!When you entry into a bookstore,you will find that there are a wide varities english books:CET,GRE,ITELS,TOFLE……But,how many students are really exerting themselves to learn english ?They like to buy many books and attend many classes.”xindongfang”may be a good instance for a lot of people want to improve their english in a short time!They want to talk with a foreigners ,they think only chat with foreigners can get a progress.This improper mind also lead many schools to invited foreign teachers who have not reached the requirements to teach english.They may just earn some money without responsible for the work.I appreciate martin’s opinion that the best and useful ways to improve our english is to talk with the people around us!So if a foreigner want to teach in China ,you must make sure you have the ability and responsibility to teach english !
China is becoming more and more opened. It’s developing very fast in recent years. The need for EFL in China is developing fastly, too. Chinese universitis are admitting more and more students, they need lots of professional English teachers to give a better English education to these students, especially the best universities. A qualified L1 English speaker teaching in these schools can get a high income. What’s more, as China is becoming more and more globalized, most chinese people are not prejudicing foreigners any more. Maybe a foreigner would find himself beeing watched strangely by people in China, they are very friendly.
Nowadays,English learning have been popular in our whole coutry.Children are asked to have an English lesson from primary school or even kindergarten.Being a member of WTO and holding Beijing Olympic Game also stimulate Chinese people’s enthusiam in English learning.So a large number of English teachers is needed.However,because of some reasons,most of Chinese English teacher can’t speak fluent English and they set a terrible example to their students.So I think employing some foreign English teachers is absolutely a good method to improve our nation’s English.Of course,what i mean is to get some experienced,creative and sense of responsibility possessing foreign English teacher,not only in university.I think there should be some foreign English teachers in middle school,primary school,even kindergarten.They can share their standard accent and their different culture to us from our childhood.That will have a good effect on our English learning. Welcome to china!Please enjoy our very long culture and help us to improve English.
When I was in high school, two foreign teachers gave me deep impression. One of them is a woman, called Rachel. She had one class a week, and only taught what is in the textbook. Maybe she has not much teaching experience, in her class we had few things to talk about, and she could not arouse our enthusiasm in English. After a semester, she left my school, the other came. The other one was a man, called Nash. He taught us by using different titles, such as economy, astronaut. And he gave us a viewpoint to discuss in a class, and told us what a foreigner thought of China. At the end of that semester, he helped a classmate to enter a university in American. I think there are some good foreign teachers in China and some not. It depends on their attitude to their English teaching.
This article recalled a class when I was grade two of high school. My hometown is located in the northwest inland of China, so we see little of foreigners. And one day a foreign boy was introduced to be the oral English teacher, we felt fresh and itched to have a go. Well, a week later he disappeared and we hadn’t seen him ever since.
We all know that two heads are better than one, but I think if someone who want to be or even he is a teacher already he must behave as a real teacher rather than just looks like a teacher. And so do the students!
This is may be the first time I heard or knowed that some foreigner teachers who teaching in china are illeagal without proper permits, not trained or qualified.But I don’t care about he/she is leagal or not,just he or she is a good teacher,who can help the students.Yes ,I think there really has many foreigner teachers who has no responsibility and just“backpackers”, people on vacation who work to finance their extended vacation.But I those person is few !
We need many English teachers to improve our English education in China. It is a great thing that many foreign teachers come and teach in China. But there are also some problems both for those teachers and students. It is not an easy thing for foreign teachers to live and work in China for a long time. Foreign teachers can not bring western education style in their lessons, and they can not teach in China’s education style. And always they teach one class just for a shot time, different teachers have different teaching style. Many students tire of adapt to different teaching style, they seen to become trial target. So we always complain that foreign teachers just make fun of us, they can not teach us anything useful. After all, there is still a long way to improve the English education of China.
Teacher is a great job with a strong responsibility. They need a huge warm heart to what you should do to teach the important persons to their own country. It should be honor to say that’s a big difficult to be a good teacher, and there are less good teachers actually at least in China. Different people have different opinions on what the good teacher should be. However, every teacher should know that their target is to make the students have some ability, not just make them only pass many kinds of examinitions.
Teacher is a great job with a strong responsibility. They need a huge warm heart to what you should do to teach the important persons to their own country. It should be honor to say that’s a big difficult to be a good teacher, and there are less good teachers actually at least in China. Different people have different opinions on what the good teacher should be. However, every teacher should know that their target is to make the students have some ability, not just make them only pass many kinds of examinations.
I was a middle school teacher before. I think there are many request if you want to be a eligible teacher, so does the foreigners want to be a English teacher in China. It is not said that if you have the knowledge about a major you can be a good teacher .First , you should know your students. Secondly ,you work is not because you need money but to teach you students well and work for your students fervently,like Martin. I love his dedicated
spirit .Latter ,I want to be a teacer after graduation ,I will work for the students to improve them like him. Martin set a good example for the foreigners who are now or who are going to be a teacher in China .
I don’t know what to say after reading both the articles.It’s really a very unique outlook from a foreigner’s eyesight and stimulate my thought.I had never knew that there were so mang uncomfort felt by any foreigners.As a Chinese,I am used to see such drawbacks mentioned above and sometimes disregarded it.In such a big country,it happened everyday in every place,and some situations can’t be changed easily.For one thing,in a country which owns the most amount of people,something couldn’t be the same with all people,politics can’t not be put into practices in all places ,all these lead to inequality and inefficiency.Meanwhile,although the economic developed,there is still a long way for the improvment of national quality.For another,,there are many hostilities around this country wishing to see the downfall of China,and this county has been bullied too much in the history,it needs stable environment to revive and be strong.I am sorry to know that something happened in China let some foreigners down,but national conditions varried in different countries,as to who should be changed amd what will be changed and who will step forward,just leave it to the time.
L1 foreign teachers really touch even more students and let us know about the world outside China… but where it lead us to is barely imagined. As I see it, whether the benefits and problems arising from this situation are greater than those brought about by tranditional education is quite uncertain. Although we should hire some L1 foreign teachers, at the same time we should be circumspect about such event. That is choosing really qualified teachers, which will be benefit for students and themselves both.
After reading the article, I remember some words Mr. Martin once said “as a foreign teacher, if you find yourself behave like native Chinese people, it is the right time to go home”. Well, kind of a funny description, but it is really true as far as I am concerned. No matter whether you have legal certification or not, no matter what do you work for, if you choose to be a teacher, be fully devoted and work hard. That is the commitment.
Mr. Martin mentioned teachers receive the lowest salary at top tier universities where it is your honor and privilege to be hired. I have not heard such things before, but if so, I think it is not fair for those teachers. They deserve high salary for their excellent teaching performances, because the development top students will make in china really depends on their work.
I never met a foreign teacher in my senior high school, so I looked forward to being taught by the foreign teachers in college. To be honest, I was rather disappointed in them except Prof. Martin. It seemed obvious that they just focused on their salary, but not the students’ oral English improvements. The oral English class was indeed very easy, but it was not what we want.
Luckily, I came cross Prof. Martin in my college career. He is different. He knows exactly how to help us. He is a funny and responsible teacher. Not only has he improved my oral English, but he has enriched my mind.
EDITOR’S NOTE:
MANY GUEST FOREIGN LECTURERS, WHO COME TO LECTURE FOR UP TO SEVERAL TIMES, LEAVE WITH THE ERRONEOUS IMPRESSION THAT THE CHINESE STUDENTS UNDERSTOOD THEIR LECTURES BECAUSE THEY SMILED AND NODDED THEIR HEADS THROUGHOUT THE LECTURE. LITTLE DO THESE FOREIGN LECTURERS UNDERSTAND THAT THE KNOWING SMILES ARE AN ATTEMPT TO AVOID BEING ASKED ANY QUESTIONS SUCH AS, DO YOU UNDERSTAND?
During my undergraduate course there was a foreign teacher teaching us optimization theory (a very hard course). When he gave us lectures, he spoke English completely and fast. We all didn’t understand him at all and finally I learned very little knowledge from him. So I think that he was not helpful for us. Afterwards I have met several foreign teachers as my English teachers. They are very good. Besides having learned English from them, I have known many foreign cultures.
For both students in China and foreign teachers themselves, it should be thought seriously whether foreigners come to China for teaching. We all know that teaching is a very difficult and important job, because it is about education.
I appreciate Martin’s teaching, and I think he have done an excellent job.
There was an English Corner every week in my high school, and many classmates took an active part in it because of a foreign teacher there. However, I seldom went there because I didn’t think it would help improve my English by speaking with the foreigner for only a few minutes and in most cases we didn’t have the chance.
Nowadays, more and more “foreign expert” come to China to participate in the English-teaching program and some of them really do contribute to the improvement of English of our students. Is it necessary to hire a foreign teacher? I don’t think so. Hiring foreign teachers does not equal more chances for students to practise their oral English with foreigners, more advanced teaching conditions or a superior symbol of a school. Conversely, not hiring foreign teachers does not mean the students can not get a good English education from the schools.
The key to be a good English teacher is the measures he/she takes in his/her class, but not the nationality and whether a English-speaking native or not. A Chinese native can be an excellent English teacher,too.
In my opinion, being a teacher is a great job that was my dream when I was a child. On the tendency of globalization, more and more foreign teachers are coming to China. At first, it may be difficult for them to know Chinese culture which could help them teach well. But as time past, they can gradually know how to teach Chinese students. In fact, foreign teachers are popular in China, students want to learn from them and communicate with them. So I think being a teacher in China is a job with honor.
I really appreciate those going to China to be a teacher. They are courageous and full of passions. They may have various reasons to go to China, getting experiences, tourism, making friends and so on. Anyway, they step the first step to experience new life. Culture shock exists certainly. Know more about culture differences, and you will be less frustrated when you meet with cultural embarrassments.
When I was in middle school, I actually think the foreign teachers are sacred and good. They always arranged activities for us to join, and gave us candies as prizes. Thus, I like them very much. But as I grow up, I think it was useless having this kind of class. We seldom learned how to improve our oral English, all we know was the activities were interesting and we could eat candy. We can’t get the real meaning and aim of oral English class. As I became a high school student, the foreign teacher I met was the one who always said profanity in class, who all our students couldn’t stand. This leads us to believe that not all foreign teachers can deserve our respect. Some foreign teachers are just because of lack of money, they choose to teach in China for fun and money. They don’t devote themselves to teaching. However, some other foreign teachers always take teaching just like their treasure, making every effort to give the best to the students. I pay my high esteem to those kinds of teachers. The foreign teachers that take pains to qualify themselves as good teachers are the ones we honor. They can not only receive respect but also the richness of their heart.
As English learning become more and more important in china, more and more “foreign expert” come to China to participate in the English-teaching program . Disappointing, some of them are just foreigners has no idea about teaching! Some school especially Private Schools to show their faculty sufficienciy hire these “foreign expert” . Some of them are just coming to China for a visit, they may leave the school when there holiday went over . These teachers have no goods for us. when I study in SUN YAT-SEN UNIVERSITY , I am lucky to be Martin’s student, he is a “real foreign English teacher”. He is a foreign and also a good teacher! I had learned a lot from him. When schools hire “foreign teacher” should check if the foreigners have Teacher Qualifications or not . it is also immoral for the foreigners without Teacher Qualifications come to teach in china. Maybe in this way foreign English teachers can help our students improve English .
When I was in junior high school, I had an oral class per week. But we students could not understand the foreign teacher and so did he. So it made him feel embarrassed when he talked to us without any response from us. So he had to show us movies. And we liked movies but we didn’t learn anything. At that time we all thought that we didn’t need any foreign teacher. What we need was a movie class. I think he wasn’t a responsible teacher because he gave up talking to us. We are unteachable! Most of the Chinese teachers teaching Chinese in American should be good at English. Why the foreign teachers don’t need to know any Chinese? If they can’t understand our language and find it is hard to communicate with us ,at least they should be patient. We are not good at English. So we do need them to teach in China . Please be patient.
Chinese students have great passion in studying English, thus making English education a big industry, especially oral English curriculum. Based on one of the four great lies, that you can only speak English well when you talk to L1 English speakers, Chinese parents and students prefer to participate in a small class tutored by foreign teacher rather than to do the mute English thing again with Chinese teacher. So many foreigners found it a good way to make money, even though they may not be qualified to teach. The government noticed the problem and began to set basic rules and establish laws about foreign people teaching in china. It seems the laws and rules are not so efficient because people disobeyed them for the motivation of seeking fortune. Yes, problems still exist, what we can do is not to attend classes that hiring illegal foreign teacher by checking their qualification when we are about to sign in.
Because of the tide of globalization become irresistible, the language of English also become more and more popular, especially when China become a member of WTO. So this situation gives more and more chances to foreigners to teacher English. I can see that there are legal and illegal foreign teachers, I feel the hostility to the illegal foreign teachers, I have to see that there are also many good teachers in them. I clearly remember that in my primary school there were lots of teachers in rural schools who do not receive the normal remuneration from the government which may could be called illegal, but there were really a lot of good teachers and they had rich experiences. I just can say this is not fair to the legal teachers. To a legal teachers, there are really lots of troubles they may meet and even attacked by the local people, but they have to adapt to this situation and become more and more familiar with their surroundings, also become more and more affinity! To be a good foreign teacher won’t be too long!
I have never been taught by a foreigner in my previous days. So when I first saw Martin, I was a little excited. Until now, I have heard standard English by a really American. I benefit so much. With the development of China, much attention has been put on the education of English. So the quantity must be increased. After the reform policy, China has import many advanced technology from many developed countries. So many outstanding English teachers have chances to teach in China. And many Chinese students have chances to learn from foreigners and exchange with foreign teachers. But as a teachers, I think those who want to teach in China should learn about China, learn about the students situations and how to teach in China. Sometimes, it’s not enough if you only have enthusiasm.
At present, more and more foreign teachers are invited to serve as teaching English in the school, in order to provide students with a good condition of learning pure English pronunciation and English thought. After reading this article, it triggers my thinking. I think our school should consider their personal quality at the time of the introduction of foreign teachers.
I always think working in a foreign country must need some convictive reasons to support because there will be more difficulties than in homeland. When I was 16, I met a foreign teacher who was not just an English teacher in China but also an executive man of a Chinese charity abroad. He came to China mostly for his affection on China and never for money because his father had ever studied in China (in SYSU, coincidentally) and made a lot of friends here. But not everyone come to China to be an English teacher for that kind of reasons. Anyway, I think every foreign English teacher in China especially L1 teachers in schools with low salary should be regarded. I do believe they have some self-realization goals and some good impression on China.
Most of Chinese schools prefer to hire foreigners as their English teachers. Because they think the foreigners who are native speakers can speak more authentic English. In order to create a good environment, most of schools even want to use high salary to attract them to stay in China. I don’t know the real pay for them, but I think some of them do give us some new methods to learn English.
Before reading the article,what have cofused me for a long time is that “Is it easily for the foreigner to go to china for a teacher?” Because I find a lot of foreigner teacher can’t speak chinese .And now I know that foreign teachers also have to recieve properly trained and qualify EFL. And I also completely agree with the saying that you must think out for yourself.Whatever we do we must know what we really want or the only result is wasting time and accomplishing nothing.
Maybe it’s just your outlook about it!
I think the author gave many many experiences to the fresh men to China
Of course ,the foreign English teachers may will meet some difficults when they come to China to be teachers first time .There may surprise the way that chinese have lived.And they may not cooperate with their colleagues.So there should be well prepared for those promblems ,and have a healthy mind to confront this things.But teaching in china also is very interesting .you will learn a lot of things about China.It is amazing.So welcome to China.