El Abogado
- 2012-12-28
It's clear their halfhearted efforts in class aren't improving their students' English levels!
Thats a load of rot. At my last gig, my FAO who was also a english writing teacher, came to my flat drunk, then admitted he had to go to teach a class.
Don't lump all foreigners in the same boat, you sound like a GW to me.
Magister
- 2012-12-25
Quite right foxy. Points 1, 3 and 4 are problems faced primarily by those teachers who work in big cities for big name private chain schools. There's a simple way to improve your happiness in china and that is to not take such jobs with poor conditions. Had the survey have included a greater variety of situations I'm sure the results would be more balanced. However, in reality job satisfaction in western countries at present is not high with a 2009 survey in the USA suggesting only 45% of workers were satisfied with their current position. A survey by yougov in the uk also found a large degree of employee disenchantment across various areas.
Dragonized
- 2012-12-23
My comments were directed at you and you only. Being that you cannot see things as they are. All you need to use is your common sense. Of course if you don't have any then that is your own problem, one that you should not try to find in others.
I assume you were born and raised in a western country, and you moved to china after you became an adult. Maybe china just gave you something good for your own bottom line. Then you can take solace that your opinion is just as good as mine, and you don't need to prove your worth towards me. But for whatever reason you choose to antagonize me and try to put me down even as I have tried looking the other way whether it's been with "mancunian" or the other, more well know ID. You just show your own inferiority by nitpicking.
As much as you may not like to hear this, there are some countries in the world that are better to live in than others. They can be for social, economic, or cultural reasons. But it's not like you really care about what I am thinking, although I must say I feel the same way towards you. Just give it a rest and we'll call it a day. If however you want to continue trolling my responses I will just get nastier with my own towards you.
pONY tONY
- 2012-12-23
accurate. Whether any of the other countries mentioned are any better (though they pay more money) is a moot point. TEFL is a dirty business.
Mancunian
- 2012-12-22
Nice attempt that flipping the truth upside down, buddy. The western teachers whom I met in china mostly have nothing but positive things to say about the chinese, with some token complaints thrown in. Usually they will never escalate it to a national level unless it is brought up in the conversation, which I did do when I was working there.
Just a few token complaints, eh? Emotive calls to action, are out of the question then? May I remind you of the rallying call you made to poster Caroline, please..as follows:-
"We will stand together and tell the world about the 4th rate education in China and how bad it is"
Usually, you say, they will never escalate their complaints to national level, you add. Not this time though?
Dragonized
- 2012-12-22
It's clear their halfhearted efforts in class aren't improving their students' English levels!
Especially when they are not completely sober from the heavy drinking that happened the night before.
Dragonized
- 2012-12-22
With many of those teachers, all their efforts seem to be expended in moaning about China, so they have nothing left to offer their poor students in the classroom; and trying to persuade them to leave China, if they don't like the place, is like trying to prise barnacles off of an old anchor.
Nice attempt that flipping the truth upside down, buddy. The western teachers whom I met in china mostly have nothing but positive things to say about the chinese, with some token complaints thrown in. Usually they will never escalate it to a national level unless it is brought up in the conversation, which I did do when I was working there.
Moaning about china has nothing to do with having nothing to offer your students in a classroom. [edited]
Mancunian
- 2012-12-22
We will stand together and tell the world about 4th rate education in china and how bad it is.
That's not gonna attract the best teachers to China, is it?
No wonder there are so many western losers already here trying to make a living by pretending to be teachers. I've seen some of them in action. It's clear their halfhearted efforts in class aren't improving their students' English levels!
Well said, extremely well said. With many of those teachers, all their efforts seem to be expended in moaning about China, so they have nothing left to offer their poor students in the classroom; and trying to persuade them to leave China, if they don't like the place, is like trying to prise barnacles off of an old anchor.
Caroline
- 2012-12-22
We will stand together and tell the world about 4th rate education in china and how bad it is.
That's not gonna attract the best teachers to China, is it?
No wonder there are so many western losers already here trying to make a living by pretending to be teachers. I've seen some of them in action. It's clear their halfhearted efforts in class aren't improving their students' English levels!
foxy
- 2012-12-22
So you want to teach in China? Don’t! That’s the advice of 79% of American, Canadian, British, and Aussie teachers according to a recent survey taken by the China Foreign Teachers Union of 500 foreign teachers in Beijing and Shanghai.
China is much more than just Beijing and Shanghai! I've taught in six provinces - Hebei, Heilongjiang, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, and in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. I'd never apply for a teaching post in the two cities you mention, I prefer small cities and towns.
My advice - I recommend teaching in backwaters and small cities to anyone wishing to teach EFL in China. China has much to offer if you're seeking a 12-clock hour/week sinecure of a teaching job for a reasonable salary.
Dragonized
- 2012-12-22
Yep it is about time. We will stand together and tell the world about 4th rate education in china and how bad it is. Let all countries use china as a model of caution so they will not be made an example of as well.
Confessions of a Foreign Teacher In China – A Timely Warning For All…
So you want to teach in China? Don’t! That’s the advice of 79% of American, Canadian, British, and Aussie teachers according to a recent survey taken by the China Foreign Teachers Union of 500 foreign teachers in Beijing and Shanghai. Here are the top 10 reasons cited:
1) You will be the lowest paid foreigner in China struggling to stay afloat as inflation eats away your paltry paycheck. ($20 an hour is average)
2) You will be targeted by a dozen fraudsters and fake agents every year and believing just one of them can make your life a living hell.
3) Most of your own Chinese employers will milk you for every free overtime hour and lesson plan possible as they scheme devious and creative ways to delay or avoid paying you in full.
4) You will have zero privacy in a world where everything is monitored and where due to low wages you will be forced to live with one or two roommates in an apartment that averages 120 square meters and where rent must be paid 3 months in advance.
5) Learning Chinese is extremely difficult which makes daily life awkward and way too “challenging” with too many “misunderstandings” that always cost YOU money.
6) The air quality just sucks, especially in the winter months when coal plants make you gag and cough without respite.
7) Noise 24/7 – from continuous horn-honking to loud-speaking Chinese who think restaurants were all made just for them as they fill the entire building with clouds of cigarette smoke (most are chain smokers) and lots of decibels.
8) As a foreigner you will charged much more for everything than locals except water and electricity.
9) If you are anything but white in China, you will learn about racism first hand as you walk down the street and realize crosswalks are only decorations that have zero to do with pedestrian safety. BTW… You can walk faster than most traffic here or squeeze into a subway designed for 50 people along with 120 others who get up close and face to face with you. Need more space. Don’t brush your teeth for a week.
10) Unless you like drinking, cheap hookers, and singing in Karoake bars, you will not make enough money to enjoy any other nightly entertainment so you can watch five stations in English that are regularly censored.
Interesting the other 21% who claim they admit the above is all true, still say they have found a way to adapt, and 95% of this 21% get by with the help of a partner they met here. So if you have a low tolerance for frustration, and a need for discretionary income, you might be better off looking at Dubai, Kuwait, Qatar, and Japan all of which pay wages that are three to five times more than China without all the scamming and employer abuse. For those that think I am exaggerating, visit the link below and think twice before wasting your money on an airplane ticket unless you’re coming to see the Great Wall and some other fantastic historical sites. Indeed, China is a great place…to visit.