Yes Turnoi, and yet isn't it interesting that, despite the warnings on this site and many others, private schools and recruiters seem to have an unlimited pool of applicants. I guess the old saying, "there's a succor born every minute" has become their motto.

I guess the unfortunate truth is that we Westerners, for the most part, are way too trusting. We've been protected for so long by the rule of law that it doesn't occur to many of us that we're facing an entirely different situation in China and of course many other countries as well. However, it does beg the question; "Why isn't the research being done?" There is a wealth of information available to those who are interested in teaching abroad, but sadly and way too often the research seems to go only so far as to look for job openings on this and other websites. I seriously doubt that most teachers even bother perusing the forums.

Part of the problem may also be that the warnings posted here and elsewhere may be seen by many would be EFL teachers as exaggerations or simply spiteful whinings of teachers who couldn't quite cut it. Well, in some cases that may be true - judging by the quality of some of the writing I've seen in these forums, I'd guess that many of them haven't the ability to teach their way out of a paper bag; nevertheless, there are enough well written posts that you would think the above mentioned pool of applicants would be shrinking to the size of a puddle.

The US government has estimated that approximately 30% of EFL teachers in China have been cheated or have in some way entered into a situation that did not match what they were promised. They also warn that the contract won't protect you - should you encounter problems there is in fact little that you can do in the way of recourse.

Looking at the statistics in a positive light, one might say that 70% of EFL teachers in China have been well treated and have appreciated or are appreciating the experience. I guess I could say that I'm now one of the 70%, but in the past I've fallen into the other category and had to learn the hard way that even after doing a fair amount of research I can still fall victim to the hype offered up by recruiters and private schools.

Well then, there are more than just a few bottom lines to all of this. It's not enough to say that innocent teachers are victimized - we need to make wise and informed decisions. TESOL schools should be more honest and forthright about the potential problems facing teachers who want to teach abroad. The governments of China and Western countries should do more to address the problem. Those who post warnings should do so in a manner that clearly states the problems without resorting to slander and vindictiveness that reduce the believability of their posts. And finally, wouldn't it be nice if there were more posts that identified those teaching situations that are worthwhile, meaningful experiences? In my opinion, if that were the case, fewer teachers would fall into the traps set by the unscrupulous.