Hi does anyone know of any good recruiters for Thailand or the Middle East?

That tells me that there are too many FTs in China here for sightseeing and having a good time rather than for serious teaching.

I'm not sure that's entirely the right way round. I think a serious and qualified teacher should be able to teach the majority of classes without the aid of a TA. It requires a basic knowledge of methodology and techniques and the will to plan lessons but in most cases an oral english class doesn't need a TA. Indeed one might say that it is against the whole purpose of employing FTs in the first place, namely in order to create an entirely english environment for the students.

It's common place in western schools to find TAs in most classrooms for most subjects and they are a great asset to a teacher who is trying to cater for a variety of different learning styles. The problem is that most FTs don't have the skills to use a TA in this way (they'll simply get them to translate instructions,etc.). Furthermore, the schools and universities aren't employing the TAs to do this. San Migs is correct in saying that they'll probably be used to 'assess' you in some way. Furthermore, as Mancunian has said they do require 'training' and you might be forced to spend as much time and attention on them as you do your students. If you can find a decent one who speaks reasonable english, has a bit of common sense and knows their place then they can make life easier. If not, well ....

Sorry, mate. I beg to differ, and I can't be bothered to argue the toss with you. In any case, I'm retired from teaching. I have just given my two cents' worth, and I'm happy to leave it at that. Let the readership, one by one, make up their own minds. That'll do me fine!

Yeah, made one burst into tears with my constructive criticism once.

Often find that TAs are more of a hindrance than help. If they were that useful, they wouldn’t need to recruit me.

That was very written for a Chinese person, you even made an effort to use uncommonly used words which shows that you are developing an excellent vocabulary. Well done, Joan - 8 out of 10.

But to continue. Let's say you actually make contact, and they want you. Now you have to make a contract with them !! You better hope their English skills are impeccable because getting visas and expert cards and housing and neg. hours and utilities and air ticket, etc. etc. is going to be utterly wild.

You're assuming here that they've had little or even no experience of employing foreign teachers in the past. Most universities will have a standard contract to include the basics like wage, teaching hours, housing, other benefits etc. They should be drawn up along the guidelines laid out by the SAFEA (i will post these documents at a later date as i'm not currently using my home computer) this includes the basic wage which as per the SAFEA guidlines should be increased for those who hold post-graduate qualifications (which you alluded to in your post). All these would be a good starting point for any negotiations with the university.

I fully agree in regards the apathy statement. A lot of schools and universities don't have the apetite or skills required to go out and find their teachers. They are often reliant on people (like yourself) just floating by. However, it's also part of the whole difference in communication thing that us westerners have to adapt to. There are plenty of jobs out there to be had but no one is telling you. Considering you've already worked in China for 4 years my advice would be to contact every FT you knew while teaching there. If you like the sound of their current working environment ask them to pass you the details of their FAO. Do the same with any Chinese friends you have. Ask them if they know anyone who is working in a university and get an introduction that way. This is how i found my current position (A classmate of a chinese friend of mine was working at the uni and gave my details to the FAO). In some ways this can be seen as part of the culture of guangxi i.e. it's who you know but you shouldn't discount the fact that chinese communication methods are very different from those of the west. I'd recommend doing some reading on high and low context cultural communication styles

A TA is like a spy, I can teach an oral english class by myself, I don't need nor want external help from someone less qualified than myself.

Never a truer word said, San Mig, it is always part of their training. I used to actually find it amusing. The trick is this-can you charm the birds down from the trees? You have to do that, so you overcome their training and they become more loyal to you than their superiors-it's all down to building trust and confidence. I've had half a dozen TA's and I managed to have an understanding with all bar one, a bloke(nice enough chap though) With the other five I used to fill in for them if they wanted a day off and they would do the same for me. It's even possible to have regular sex with your TA and that can be highly convenient. But you're right-spying little Madams they can be. As for the bloke, I had to hand it to him, he always told me when he felt he had to report something to the bosses...but, I understood, it can be nearly a life or death situation for a Chinese to lose his job-anyway the repercussions for my misdemeanors were tellings-off and lectures which would go in one ear and promptly out of the other. Well said though San Mig-good point.

A TA is like a spy, I can teach an oral english class by myself, I don't need nor want external help from someone less qualified than myself.

Here is why you might need an agency: HARDLY ANYONE IN CHINA SPEAKS OR UNDERSTANDS ENGLISH.

Teaching English to China's students without the services of a Chinese teaching assistant is usually like pulling teeth. That is realized by the local government of Yuncheng of Shanxi and many of its educational institutions. If a prospective FT is unable to snag a post at a top-ranked Chinese university, where the average student's English level would make it easy to teach English efficiently and effectively, be he (or she) would be well-advised to work for a Chinese agent who provides a t/a. That's the best way for both an FT and his/her students.

Now, some schools will tell the Chinese teacher of English of each class to remain in class to assist during an FT's lesson. That comes in second-best to the Yuncheng way as the FT is not co-operating with only one t/a throughout each teaching week.

My posts regarding TAs aren't well-supported on this forum. That tells me that there are too many FTs in China here for sightseeing and having a good time rather than for serious teaching. China doesn't really want backpacking types, even educated ones, to teach EFL. Instead, China craves experienced teachers, but it's having great difficulty attracting them in sufficient numbers.

Here is why you might need an agency: HARDLY ANYONE IN CHINA SPEAKS OR UNDERSTANDS ENGLISH.

So pray tell, HOW do I contact these employer schools directly????? Call them on the phone?? From Canada? I worked and taught in China 4 years, and I had trouble with my own Human Resources liaison at a top 10 university! Do ya follow...? THEY CAN'T UNDERSTAND YOU. And doing it over a phone is way, way more difficult. Ever try that in China?

Okay, so let's say you email them. Wait, first you have to find the schools you want. So here's how I'm doing it- - I went to the list of Top 100 Chinese Uni. I chose some according to geography and warmth and ranking. Now you have to find their website and get a contact email. EVER DONE THIS?? It is a nightmare, I've spend days on this. Even top schools have crappy English websites that don't work. THEN, there is no email, certainly not one for Personnel, not that you can find.

BUT let's say you do find some, which I did, a few. So now you blindly send your stuff to them. (I'm laughing like crazy now....thinking of the Chinese lowly employee, which is most, seeing this English resume and what is he/she going to do with it -- this isn't the West, there's no moral obligation. They'd likely dump it somewhere. It's all so comical, imagining this, if you've been to China you'll know -- it's called APATHY.) So do you really think this clerk is going to run to their boss with this great discovery - 'HEY it's a great EFL teacher ! How rare! Look, look...'

Super funny... But to continue. Let's say you actually make contact, and they want you. Now you have to make a contract with them !! You better hope their English skills are impeccable because getting visas and expert cards and housing and neg. hours and utilities and air ticket, etc. etc. is going to be utterly wild. I get heart arrhythmia just thinking about it.

At best it's a shot in the dark, and takes a lot of work. And if you have few qualifications, like degrees and years of experience, then you are really screwed. I'm trying this because I do have a darn good resume, BUT INJECT SOME REALITY IN YOUR ADVICE, for pete's sake. You cannot just blanket statement to everyone - don't use recruiters. It's arrogant; it's Western ethnocentrism at its worst.

Let's all remember, we are not applying for a Western job in the West.

A good recruitment agency can be golden. The best is to have a former or present teacher at the school to recruit you and liaison the contract. Maybe that's what more of us should be doing before we take off, maybe we'd even get the recruiter's fee!

The bottom line is sometimes you have to trust someone, even a recruiter. Just make your decision as wisely as possible. And please pardon my passion.