Hi Silverboy,

I was working 60 hours a week in Australia for many years, I certainly don't want to do it in China. And as all the long time FT's here would know, that 40 hours includes lots of useless garbage like teachers meetings, interviews, English corners etc, etc.

First of all, with regards to working 60 hours a week, I agree that that is excessive which is why any competent teacher working according to the EF contract should be able to complete all their work within 40 hours a week. That 40 hours includes 22/23 hours class time, workshops, training sessions, meetings, marketing activities, placement tests and lesson planning. That may seem like a lot but in actual fact there is plenty of time for lesson planning. You may consider teacher meetings (they're held once a week for maybe 30-60 mins depending on issues and are a good opportunity to formally air any problems with the company), interviews (placing students accurately in classes makes them run more smoothly) and English corners at KFC and McDonalds (marketing activity, they are not held for their learning value, they are used to attract students. I never enjoyed doing them but they are important for business) to be garbage but these are all essential parts of the business. Try to understand, as so many English teachers don't, that you work for a company that has to attract and keep customers and maintain a revenue stream.

Owners of schools like EF expect ( and require ) teachers to work on weekends. That is crap.

Yes, teachers work at weekends. Some schools can survive by teaching students in the afternoon and evening after work and school, others need to hold lessons at the weekend. As far as I know the school makes very little money during the week and the majority at the weekend. That is their business. Staff still get two days off a week (except during the intensive period which I admit is a bit excessive at 5 months in total but none of this is hidden from teachers before they go there)

You said in your post that the teachers at EF Changchun who have problems are lazy, incompetent and expect everything to be done for them. I find that very hard to believe.

When I say problem, I mean serious problem, the kind that causes them to leave or be fired. I've had plenty of problems with them myself, as have others, but have always been able to work them out. Some examples of the problems caused by teachers during my time there - drunk while teaching, repeatedly missing lessons, no preparation for lessons, physical abuse of another teacher, sexual harassment of female students.

I have seen this scenario many times: A teacher refuses to teach the "EF way", or the "Aston way" in other words they put education and learning ahead of entertainment, then they are told they are incompetent, lazy, or they "have no personality", because they will not "play games" with the students. Teachers must be able to create their own lesson plans without interference. Ever heard of creative independance Owen?

Maybe I didn't make myself clear in my own post but this is the exact reason I praise that particular school. I have also heard of teachers being forced to teach a certain way i.e. you must use only three types of TPR or you must make students laugh all the time. In fact, EF Changchun allows incredible creative independence to its teachers. The only restriction on me was that I teach the curriculum, how I did that was entirely up for me. The school has massive resources of books and an online library of lesson plans created by past teachers stretching back 5 years. Any teacher there at the moment can look up my folder for ideas on lessons and supplementary materials that I created during my time there. In fact, I can guarantee you that two classes of the same level, taught by different teachers would be completely different.

Teachers time is monopolised at training centres like EF. It is why many training schools have floor to ceiling glass windows, so a DOS and useless TA's can spy on FT's, and make sure they are "teaching the correct way".

I've found that many teachers in China have never held a proper job in their life and don't understand the difference between utilizing and monopolizing. Furthermore, I take great exception to the comment on the TAs and DOS if you are referring to that school because they are excellent at what they do. The TAs provide great support for the teachers. You should try reading "teaching the correct way" as "teaching appropriately". TAs only report teachers if they are not teaching effectively or to curriculum. The majority of complaints stem from teachers who do not communicate and respect the TAs who have often been doing their job a lot longer than the FT.

You come across as being a typical corporate lackey to me Owen. BTW, saying you have worked at EF does not look good on a CV, I even know teachers from EF Wuhan who have lied about working there, they say they work at Wuhan University ( chalk and cheease there! )

Thanks for the personal insult mate. If by corporate lackey you mean someone who has an understanding of business as well as education and the trade-off between them then yes, that is me. As I said I don't teach anymore, I'm not even in China anymore but if I was I would be happy to use that location as a reference. I can't speak for all EF schools because it is a franchise and there are a lot of bad schools but Changchun is not one of them.

The only reason I wrote the first comment was because I know the standard of English teacher in general in China is quite poor. As somebody who took his job very seriously and enjoyed living and working in China, I was often annoyed by the attitude of foreign teachers who think that being able to speak English is enough to teach. As far as other schools go, I'm sure any school would be impressed by a teacher who has the broad experience of teaching students between the ages 4 and 70, from absolute beginner to advanced, classes of 1/20/30 (primary school), including business and government classes, and including some curriculum completely designed by the teacher.

All EF branches including EF Changchun are to be avoided. Anyone who wants you to work on weekends or teach more than 18 actual hours a week should also be avoided. Stick to public universities teachers, you will be much better off.

Working 18 hours is actually quite small. Last year I worked in a school in Ireland for the summer where the minimum contact teaching hours were 22, I was on 25 for that time. Anyone who wants an easy ride should stick to universities, but if you want to develop your teaching skills with the broad experience I outlined above I would recommend a private school.

Frankly, for anyone looking for a job in China you should be very careful and read all of these message boards that serve a valuable purpose red flagging schools such as Tianshuo in Changchun who actually exploit their teachers and withhold pay. However, you should also be careful not to be too swayed by moaners who were upset that they were asked to do a regular week's work as specified by their contract. Also, read your contract before you go anywhere and understand exactly what is being asked of you.

Owen