Sorry Happy Hooker, I missed your reply.

I havent claimed to be a super teacher have I? I apologise if my posts appear that way. I actually think Im OK, but I really want to improve, I need to learn a lot more before I can claim to be a great educator. I do want to be great though...and I dont think there is anything wrong with that, with wanting to improve.

You may have read a reply I posted stating I prefer to work in small towns, and would avoid large cities. This is one reason why I would be unlikely to apply for Uni positions. The other, and some may take offence at this, is that I dont believe most University positions offer any real opportunity for me to actually learn much as a teacher. This is specific to China BTW.

It's not secret that the Chinese state education system has a number of serious flaws, and I believe (could be wrong here) that most University Oral English classes are not taken seriously by many students and by the Uni administration either. Middle Kingdom Life suggests something along the lines of 'just turning up to class sober is enough to keep the FAO off your back'. The same website (and others) often mention that schedules change often and unexpectedly, and channels of communication to FTs in Uni's is often poor. That doesnt hold much appeal either.

Added to this is the large class sizes ... and infrequent contact time. I honestly cant believe classes of 30/40/50 students that you see for one, 90 minute lesson a week is likely to be conducive to quality language teaching. If I found a Uni Job that assured me class sizes would not exceed 10 students, and that I would see them for a minimum of 3 x 90 min periods a week I would consider applying.

Of course, my opinions are based on sweeping generalisations. Perhaps Uni teaching isnt quite like I am suggesting, and small classes etc are common. Equally, perhaps training centres and language schools are often poor places to work? I havent experienced either though ... but that could be just me?

Incidentally, I teach in summer school with a friend who has just completed her Masters in TEFL at Brighton Uni. I met her and one of her lecturers for lunch yesterday and he was of the opinion that TEFL in China is suicide for someone interested in a career in EFL, and reading between the lines, I think its partly for the reasons I mention above. Im not looking at staying in China long-term, and I dont believe many/any Uni teaching skills are especially transferrable, or well regarded outside of China.

Regards