Again, personal responsibility, it's not a fashion or trend, a lot of FT's in China should try it sometime?

A lot of FT's in China are ne'er-do-well backpackers. It will never be part of their nature to act in a responsible manner. The way they're treated in China is exceptionally well compared to the way they have been shunned back home. No wonder they have become too big for their boots here, and therefore should be spoken to with caution in bars by those of us who do not wish to fight in public.

: No it's no surprise that FT's get looked down upon here, just look at the people that are here teaching. Some are professionals, maybe 5 percent. The rest are 22 or 23, fresh out of college, and looking to drink and get laid as often as possible. While I have nothing against this, everything in moderation. Too many boozers as well as backpackers in China teaching.

You've said what needs to be said. But Chinese employers continue to be dumb enough to invite more and more good time Charlies here to teach. White boozers and backpackers comprise the majority. Mind you, the way the young women dress here, showing off their legs at every opportunity, even in cold weather, is enough to drive young red-blooded male FT's wild! And that's not only their students, but also the teaching staff, including female teaching assistants. You can't blame foreign young males for playing the field when Chinese women make it so obvious they're there for the taking. If I were young again, I'd be after those sexy Chinese girls in a big way too. Moderation would be very difficult. That's not to say I haven't already had my fair share of pleasure with them, and I enjoyed every minute of it! Why Chinese males don't get hot and bothered whenever they see that kind of girl seeking male attention is beyond my ken! They obviously lack manhood.

This was not always the case, but the market is becoming more and more saturated with foreigners, so schools feel they can get away with more crap; because there is always someone else waiting to take up the reins.

Agree about too many foreigners in China, another good reason to seek work elsewhere, unless you can get a high paying NON teaching job there. But how many foreigners have a good enough command of Chinese (not just spoken, reading and writing is more important) to get a job elsewhere in China? How many have qualifications or business know how to succeed in that growing market?

Pay peanuts, attract monkeys...and there are plenty of white and brown monkeys with irrelevant/no education in China who need peanuts it seems?!

Case in point: An aussie mate I know is a head chef at a 5 star hotel in Shanghai, RMB is mere petty cash to him, it's his allowance, he gets paid in aussie dollars in his home bank account, so is it any wonder foreign teachers get looked down upon for earning what to most businessmen/non teaching expats amounts to a monthly allowance?

there were numerous postings about this a while back warning people to stay away. and it seems they are up to the same old tricks!

People can now take this as another warning. Stay away!

It does make you wonder, how people can keep going to work at such places when their are warnings about them all over the internet. A lot of the time this is the fault of the foreign teacher I'll admit. We often come here trusting others too much, without much understanding of Chinese culture. No excuse of course, but if people knew a bit more, they'd be a lot less likely to take what they are told at face value I think. Some of it is also just plain laziness, as google is not a hard tool to use.

Some of it though is the schools fault, or their recruiter, if you are unwise enough to use one, which a lot of newbies are. I have run into schools and agents that have multiple operating names, making it difficult to find reliable information about them and their set up. Doing this is of course a purposeful attempt to avoid any negative press they have gotten in the past from disgruntled ex teachers who have been treated badly. I can tell you how many times I have contacted one place, to find out it was actually another, after a very long and exhaustive list of questions to do so. Many schools, especially private ones, no longer even advertise under their real names. You have to be extra careful these days because of this. You should be extra careful anyways when traveling to a foreign land to work, but too often westerners are far too trusting and naive to realize this and practice due diligence. It is this factor, more than any other, that's get's so many caught in a bad situation that's hard to get out of, and makes life for the rest of us who make a living via teaching so hard. Thank goodness for websites like this, that encourage the sharing of information. If only more people would avail themselves of such resources.

We who post regularly on the boards are even less impressed. Hopefully they'll go out of business!

Lingdong Foshan school is a waste of time and YOUR money.
If you have been offered a job there DONT TAKE IT.
First the promise you a Z visa and then they dont follow thru.
They offer you 1,500 p/m for rent , but YOU will have to pay out around 4,000 bond and 1 months rent in advance around 6,000rmb.
They with hold 1,000 p/m as a deposit . they offer an end of year bonus 6,000rmb sounds good yeah........NEVER HAPPENS.

The private school Lingdong is running out of students and money.
Do yourself a favour and stay away.

Not impressed