This is a great thread, and should be perused with great interest by not only those whove been teaching abroad for an extended period of time and have been witness to the total lack of accountability in certain countries, but also by those who are considering teaching abroad in the future.

Of course China ranks way up there in terms of a near absence of accountability. And, as has been pointed out in previous posts here, that lack of accountability applies not only to teachers but to employers as well. For the sake of brevity, though, I just want to add a few thoughts regarding teacher accountability.

Its true that many inexperienced teachers have come to China with the goal of gaining valuable experience and improving their ability to be hired as ESL teachers at home. Unfortunately, theyve had little training in terms of teaching EFL. Furthermore, a large percentage of these teachers seem to have little interest in discovering what it is about teaching EFL that is intrinsically different than teaching ESL. But even though that lack of interest is often evidenced in the classroom, I have a hard time accepting that said teachers should be held to blame - or, at any rate, not held to blame in a way that will damage their reputations and/or moral. The root cause, I would suggest, can be found in the shoddy training theyve received as ESL/EFL teachers, and in the lack of feedback once theyve reached their particular destinations. Furthermore, the often outdated and non-authentic teaching materials they are presented with should be considered a mitigating factor as well.

So, should these teachers be held accountable? My personal feeling on this is that the accountability itself should be shown in the lack of a contract extension, which, in itself, shifts the blame back to the employer in that said action obviates the fact that the teacher should not have been hired in the first place. In an ideal world, though, inexperienced teachers would take the initiative to improve their skills through workshops, research, and, of course, picking the brains of those who are more experienced. But again, this points back to the training theyve received (or not received). Do they have research skills? Do they recognize that language teaching and learning is still evolving despite the fact that its been happening for a few thousand years? Even experienced teachers have trouble with this concept.

Which brings me to the next category experienced teachers who havent a clue that their methodologies are outdated or simply dont apply in an EFL landscape. And of course teachers that may be well qualified to teach in other disciplines, but who really should never have been given the opportunity to set foot inside an EFL classroom. I recently met a teacher at a university whose discipline was Business. Now hes teaching EFL. Doesnt know a be verb from a schmee verb! Has no concept of sequencing in terms of language learning and, worse than all that, speaks to his students as if hes speaking to hearing impaired native speakers. His contract wont be renewed; however, hell probably find another job no doubt in the private sector where accountability is a rare bird indeed, and pardon that digression because I think this discussion should focus on the public school sector where accountability is the real issue; not on the private sector where a host of other problems have emerged.

There are experienced EFL teachers here who are simply burned out. I could be one of them. If I were an employer, I wouldnt hire me after one or two more years even though I try to stay abreast of current methodologies and my own approach tries to take into account the cultural and historical background of my students. Why wouldnt I hire me then? Lack of energy. Lack of enthusiasm. It sometimes shows in my classroom and thats a real problem. But should I be held accountable? Yes and no. Yes because as soon as the students see it as a real problem it will show in their evaluations. No because I still seem to reach them the majority of the time even though I know Im not giving it my all.

So, other than the aforementioned shoddy ESL/EFL schools and employers who have not properly evaluated or chosen their employees, who should be held accountable? In my opinion it should be those teachers who obviously just dont give a damn and/or simply do not care enough about the quality of their teaching to be more than the white faced clown. How is that determined? Well, in this case, the question is the answer; moreover, I think the policy of a probationary period as it exists at many universities is a good one.

There must be a weeding out process that is a given; furthermore, Chinas educators must be willing to give up some of their power and involve more qualified, native speaking teachers in the hiring process. Also, as in American ESL environs, less experienced teachers should be mandated to attend work shops, seminars and the like to increase their awareness of how to properly conduct an EFL class.

Finally, though I am loathe to admit it, the government itself must get more involved if they truly want to positively affect the EFL landscape in China. Perhaps part of that involvement could be the setting up of a sort of watch dog organization chaired by native speakers with a wealth of experience. And certainly that involvement should come with the awareness that EFL in China is a business and the corruption within that business must be addressed before any real progress can be made.

So, lest I go way beyond my hope for brevity, let me close with a quote from Dick Cavett that I stuck in here once before:

As long as people will accept crap, it will be financially profitable to dispense it.
Dick Cavett

And, although it totally does not apply, just for laughs:

If your parents never had children, chances are you won't either.
Dick Cavett