I have just been reading through some of the comments posted for the first time.
At first glance, looks a bit personal and bitchy at times, but some useful info in there.
I think Tefl, Tesol useful: Who is going to address problem of inflated egos and too much teacher talking time etc once the door is closed and it's just the teacher and students in the room? Good tutors try to sort all that out on these courses.

Whether to learn Chinese or not is surely up to the individual.Old hands like to show off their 'know all about China stuff' to newcomers- it's a male thing. But you don't have to join in. I would like to see more useful stuff in this forum such as what I read about visas etc. Slagging schools off etc not so good: sometimes, it might just be personalities clashing in a foreign land. My tip: relax, enjoy your stay in China;find what suits you. In our own countries, things were never perfect. Perhaps westerners are high-maintanance; lose some of that; be a bit more stoic.