Thank you, Reflections. Others will quickly take umbrage and accuse you and I of not supporting our fellow FT's. My reaction to such an assertion is that the majority of so called Foreign Experts in this country are not experts and are definitely not my colleagues. In that regard I take great effort to disassociate myself from them. Although there are exceptions, those who recognize their own shortcomings and endeavor to right them, the unfortunate truth is that EFL in China is like a ship without ballast captained by a fool who claims it's really not that important. When the ship goes down, the survivors, themselves inexperienced sailors, will claim they knew all along that there was a problem; however, they will never accept that they too must share the blame.

New opinions often appear first as jokes and fancies, then as blasphemies and treason, then as questions open to discussion, and finally as established truths.
George Bernard Shaw

First, consider the source of any advice offered to you by members of this or any other forum. Posters who offer up their little "gems" of wisdom which are often generalities based on limited experience are obviously not good sources of worthwhile information. The poster Silverboy comes to mind in that context. Such posters are also inclined to offer up their biases based on a clouded outlook and an inability to see the big picture.

Second, ask yourself if you really want to participate in a scam that is being perpetuated throughout China by pretend teachers and administrators of so called English education. Although it may seem as though the government encourages and underwrites this scam, that is only partially true. Students all over China are beginning to recognize this scam and those in power are only biding their time until which time they deem it appropriate to seriously address it.

Third, there are excellent training centers and there are excellent colleges and universities that refuse to participate in the scam. They are hiring only professional teachers committed to excellence. Yeah, they're hard to find, but they are here; in addition, they are actually doing the necessary foot work that exposes those who would try to pull the wool over their eyes by providing false documentation such as fake degrees.* Scammers who provide manufactured diplomas, by the way, are not only being found out but they are also unceremoniously being shown the exit path out of China,. and rightfully so.

The argument that the scam is initiated by Chinese charlatans and that, therefore, it is okay to participate in it is a convoluted argument at best. Those who suffer the most are children, young adults and their parents who are parting with hard earned cash that lines the pockets of the school owners and the foreign "teachers" who immorally accept payment for services rendered that any right minded individual would recognize as shoddy by any standards.

Many posters here have pointed out the recalcitrance of Chinese educators in this country who are locked into outdated methods of teaching that limit the ability of Chinese students to excel. But rarely do such posters acknowledge the simple fact that the blame for sub-standard educational practices should be shouldered by a vast number of pretend teachers from English speaking countries as well. I find it quite interesting that said teachers come here and sooner or later, if not quickly, think of themselves as quite knowledgeable in terms of education when in reality they haven't proven themselves to be educators by any stretch of the imagination. Indeed, I've had colleagues that wouldn't know a "be" verb from a schmee verb and/or can't figure out where to put a comma in a sentence let alone have the slightest concept of what true education amounts to. Moreover, I've witnessed on many occasions "teachers" complain about poor attendance, poor motivation and the lack of attentiveness on the part of their students without even pausing for a moment to recognize that it is their own incompetence that creates all of the above. Whiners all and, what's worse, they actually believe that because they can speak English (sort of) and that because they have been given the opportunity for the first time in their lives to stand in front of a class as a teacher that they have suddenly become experts in the field of language training and can pass judgment on students who've had them pegged as the scammers they really are from day one.

Finally, maybe you're an exception to the rule. Maybe you'll come here and quickly recognize your own inadequacies and address those inadequacies by doing adequate research and relevant study. If so, I applaud you. If not, you'll just be one more pretend teacher who is a willing participant in a sham as you pursue your own particular agenda in China that has nothing to do with helping this country and her children.** What's more, you may end up being an embarrassment to yourself and your colleagues - some of whom are actually well trained and well qualified teachers.

*Just in the last six months I've met at least three pretend teachers who have provided false documentation such as Doctorates in Philosophy, which allow them to pull down max salaries. Interestingly enough, I've had to dumb down my vocabulary when speaking to them or they simply wouldn't understand half of what I'm saying. You may call that egotistic. I call it pathetic.

**Of course one of the most common agendas that have nothing to do with a desire to help Chinese students is that of wanting to hook up with a Chinese woman. Many men from Western countries have met Chinese women online and they've learned that by teaching EFL they can obtain visas that will allow them to stay in China so that they can either solidify a relationship with a woman or determine the feasibility of doing so. In fact, this has become so common that I would guess that about half of the pretend teachers at my college are here specifically for either that reason or simply because of the possibility of hooking up with a Chinese woman through other means. In my opinion, this rarely provides the necessary impetus for excellence in the classroom.

"Amicus Plato, sed magis amica veritas."