Ah, yes, I remember the feeling well. When I first arrived in China, I experienced a sentiment not so far afield from the one expressed by JN... But after "giving it my all" in numerous schools/"organizations", in a wide variety of situations and settings, these feelings were ultimately dashed, replaced by, well, let's just say, the polar opposite. I departed China a much more cynical person than the optimistic one who arrived five years earlier.

In the end, I think FTs can knock themselves out for their students -- or not -- but until the HOST employer in the HOST country becomes truly interested in academic inegrity and reasonably ethical business practices, the efforts of the expats will make precious little difference.

The white monkey show ain't leavin' town any time soon.

After all, for that term with his students, he is not there to entertain them

Really? Haven't you heard of 'Raoul's white monkeys'?Unfortunately,at many Chinese educational institutions such as kindergartens,junior middle schools,senior middle schools and colleges,students expect to be entertained by their FT's.The trouble is the Chinese education system has given its students the power to choose their teachers by allowing them to fill out forms assessing the teaching.Oftentimes,clueless FT's who promise their charges that no-one will fail will be popular with students,while strict FT's who try to make students work hard will be given low marks.Apart from at the more prestigious Chinese educational establishments,which are relatively thin on the ground,by the way,being an entertainer is more important for an FT than being able to impart useful knowledge,I'm sad to say.So,what's the point of learning to teach well?Much better to learn how to entertain them by clowning around and playing games in class.
I get the impression you don't realise how bad the education system here is.I think it's in a dreadful state.
Those talented Chinese who get top grades do so in spite of that!

I'll not comment on the articles below, written by two practising FT's here in China, which I came across on the net. I've edited out names.

I had a dream, that was my first night in China precisely Beijing. When I waked up, the dream seems to me as an awful but now or today I see it to be my awesome dream ever. The dream was like I was teaching or working with this company in xxxxx, yyyyy Province that I havent heard that name in my life before because when I was coming to China my destiny was to work in Beijing. But my dream changed everything. The next day I had a call that, I can get you a job in yyyyy Province so I accepted it, just to follow my dream.
I got to xxxxx the next day and I was received by zzzzz in a nice way. So far so good,

I really love and like to work with this company because since I got here hmm let me see I havent got any problem with my company, and with their help Im legally staying in China. Also my company is having a good and respectable staff to mention zzzzz, aaaaa, bbbbb, ccccc and the rest.
Again, having the most intelligent and decent Teaching Assistants. If Am to talk about my company, I wont finish today or tomorrow.
ddddd School, the best so far.
FT's first name

welcome to the most powerful, excelent and breliant school in China.ddddd school of project and Experimental Bases.ddddd school is the only place be were i have seen love for humanity with a great deal of making us the foreigners feel at home.ddddd school is make up of excelent staff and with a wanderful Assitance whom we are proud of expecially fffff my Asistanst to name the few.I just want to used this mean to say a big thank to headmaster of the school and his staff for giving us the wanderful to experience joy and honesty while working with them.Thanks
FT's first name

Many teachers, such as yourself, being experienced, wouldn't need such training; however, clearly JN was referring to teachers who have had no experience and show up on the doorstep of a school without the slightest hint of what to expect or what they should deliver in the way of quality English training. Perhaps you would be best suited as one who provides such training or, at the very least, a few seminars on what you have found works best for you. The downside of the idea, though I think it a good one, is that excess pride often gets in the way; that is, too often a "teacher" simply because he/she is a native speaker carries the false belief that they can provide adequate second or foreign language training when, in fact, that is rarely the case. Moreover, administrators of most English programs in China proceed under the false assumption that because a "teacher" is a native speaker he/she must, therefore, be able to provide English training - if, that is, they're even bothering to concern themselves with that or any other issue beyond the growth of their bank accounts.

Unfortunately, I have no doubt in my mind that things are going to get a lot worse before they get better.

LOL!

You're welcome, JN.

You're quite right about hiring practices in China being in complete disarray. It begs the question as to when this is going to all be sorted out. Following is an excerpt from the preface of a recently published book by Martin Wolff:

"EFL teaching in China is not a program in need of fine-tuning, as some suggest. It is a
program that needs to be scrapped, thrown on the rubble heap of failed programs. A complete
overhaul is required, commencing with the basic EFL philosophy, including the foreign
teacher recruitment and the student assignment systems. China needs to implement modern
second language acquisition theories; concepts such as comprehensible input, comprehensible
output and immersion to create a friendly English acquisition environment.
We conclude that the proposed major overhaul would not increase the economic outlay
but would in fact save limited financial resources and apply them in a far more productive
manner."
(From "Teaching EFL in China, What Every Foreign Teacher Should Know Before They Go," by Martin Wolff)

In the same preface, Mr. Wolff also writes:

"China routinely recruits unqualified foreign teachers to teach (sic) English as
a Foreign Language, fails to provide them with appropriate teaching materials, and then
blames the foreign teachers for poor classroom performance. But the real problem lies much
deeper and is rooted in just plain wrong thinking about what a foreign teacher of English can
accomplish. Somehow 2nd language acquisition theory has been misinterpreted and
misapplied. It is believed that if a foreign teacher of English is in the classroom for 90
minutes each week, somehow that creates an English speaking environment and implements
the communicative approach. Although this has proven untrue for the past 20+ years, it is
continued; possibly in the belief that eventually it will be successful."

I think it good that Mr. Wolff does not put the blame squarely on the shoulders of the teachers, but, essentially, suggests that the problem with hiring unqualified teachers is that they are not given the support they need that may enable them to be successful teachers. Basically, we are all in the same position and what further exacerbates the situation is the almost whimsical approach that administrators take in terms of curriculum development and materials selection. Much of the material I've seen in China, by the way - and more to the point of this thread, is written for ESL and not EFL. Personally, I'd like to see more material that is personalized for a Chinese student audience. I do recognize that there is an irrefutable link between language and culture; however, I also believe that personalizing is an effective means by which interest and motivation can be instilled.

"The methodology is the same for each. Although there may be extensions available in English-speaking classes, your reference to this demonstrates a limited experience with ESL."
tatsuospirit

Before engaging myself in a discussion on what I consider an important and interesting topic, I would rather that I were discussing said topic with someone who has the maturity to express their "insights" without revealing their acerbic personalities. Albeit, I don't mind going so far as to tell you that you're wrong.

How long did you teach in America?

Interesting that you chose to respond to the reply. The methodology is the same for each. Although there may be extensions available in English-speaking classes, your reference to this demonstrates a limited experience with ESL.
The methodology chosen for young students will inherently be different than those chosen for adults or more mature students. Surely you understand this?
You mentioned in your response about "extreme" differences between ESL and EFL. Can you explain what these extreme differences might be? A certified teacher's focus is on delivery of services and adjustments are necessary for the make-up of the class. I don't think this qualifies as extreme so concrete examples would perhaps be enlightening for those with less experience.
I hope this discussion will continue to help those with less experience.