Teaching English In China

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Britster
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Jack (LordBlacknail) suggested to Jake, that I be invited to add some information and experiences, from my 2 years of Living and working in China.

 

 

 

This morning I was composing another Post, explaining how I got into becoming an ESL Teacher here in Cebu, back in December 2011, by responding to a Post by Paul (AncianRocka) on another forum on behalf of John (who was Head Teacher for AITIN WELTS School over on Punto Egano, Mactan.

 

Some 30+ minutes later, when I had mentioned about having enjoyed that Korean Winter Camp for Korean Teenager, and how there was not a lot of opportuities for Full Time work paying decent (USD1,000 pm or more), which is why I decided to try Full time work in China as a Native English Speaker.

 

My first Contract was with Sunny Engish Club (InFee Placement) based in Chengdu, Sichuan Province.  The job was not to the South of Chengdu, in some mountains, but in Mianyang to the North, about 1 hour Bus Ride.

I hit 'SEND' to discover the Internet had gone down and I lost the LOT!

I am going to install 'Firefox' om this Desktop PC with replaced under Warrant 1.5TB Seagate HDD, before I start again, so one can hit back and find it is still there in a 'buffer'!

 

In the meantime, I have being posting to "another forum" Forums under "living-working-in-china"

I know this Forum does not allow URL Links to other Forums but I am sure if interested parties, try a 'Google' search, they should find it, hopefully.

 

David (aka Britster)

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David & Sha-Sha (Hong Kong Dec1998

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Working in China can help one lose weight

 

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Jake
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Forum get together March 18 2011 013.JPG - Size 130.71KB

 
.....
 
Jack (LordBlacknail) suggested to Jake, that I be invited to add some information and experiences, from my 2 years of Living and working in China.

 

 

 

attachicon.gifDavid.R.Whittall_2014.ID.Photo.jpg

Working in China can help one lose weight

 

 

Looking good there teacher.  The first question comes to mind is your observation between Chinese, Filipino

or Korean students.  Is there a significant difference in their learning process?  Which group seems to excel

faster?

 

Respectfully -- Jake

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Britster
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Forum get together March 18 2011 013.JPG - Size 130.71KB

 
.....
 
Jack (LordBlacknail) suggested to Jake, that I be invited to add some information and experiences, from my 2 years of Living and working in China.

 

 

 

attachicon.gifDavid.R.Whittall_2014.ID.Photo.jpg

Working in China can help one lose weight

 

 

Looking good there teacher.  The first question comes to mind is your observation between Chinese, Filipino

or Korean students.  Is there a significant difference in their learning process?  Which group seems to excel

faster?

 

Respectfully -- Jake

 

 

First off I have a lot of respect for these Filipino English Teachers like those at the Winter & Summer Camps that I meet workingh for HelloCebu.com.  Their spoken English is very good as is their grammar and teaching skills.  Many of thjme do make the effdoret to learn the language of the students - Korean in this case , but some can also speak Putonghua - Mandarin or maybe Cantoneese also.  Yet  they get paid like 1/2, 1/3 or even 1/4 of what I get paid for being a native English speaker.

 

The Korean Students I have taught have been those attending Summer & Winter Camps here in Cebu, and I would say they are generally better at spoken English than Chinese Students of the same age, generally speaking.  But  I am not comparing them with Chinese Students who attend Winter/Summer Camps, so not a fair comparison perhaps.

Generally those attending English Camps, or Training Schools, want to improve their English, so are properly motivated and keen

 

The only Filipino student I have taught is my granddaughter, Anzhelica-Kate whose 1st Language is English (as that is what I spoke to her from 19th March 2010 when she was born 6 weeks premature, weighing 1.6kg and just 42 cm.) Her mother Ana-Katrina and her grandma Sha-Sha, also speak English to her.   But she is now learning Tagalog and picking up Visayan.   Sometimes she speaks a mixture of the language as I often hear 'ako' instead of I/me/mine

 

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Britster
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http://www.ef.co.uk/__/~/media/efcom/epi/2014/full-reports/ef-epi-2013-report-master-new.pdf

 

China—Building Momentum Behind English 

 

Over the past six years, China has slowly but steadily improved adult English proficiency. For the most populous country in the world, with 1.3 billion people, to make such steady progress is a major achievement.  This progress reflects the enormous amount of energy and resources the Chinese government and Chinese companies, especially those with international operations, have invested in sharpening the English skills of their workforce. 

 
China’s progress in English is similar to that of the other BRIC countries, although proficiency levels  across the BRICs remain moderate to low. These countries have understood that to advance from emerging to developed economies, they must invest in English training for their labor forces. The growing middle class in the BRIC countries has also been willing to spend part of their disposable income on private English lessons and study abroad programs.
 
Strong motivation to learn
 
Almost everyone in China seems to understand that in today’s globalized economy, English is inextricably linked to career advancement. Local governments from Beijing to Xi'an have set mastery of 300 to 1,000 English phrases as a goal some civil servants must reach by 2015. In the private sector, an increasing number of Chinese companies are becoming multinationals, as China’s outbound investment reaches an all-time high. For Chinese managers to operate teams abroad, they must be able to communicate with their foreign employees. Moreover, China’s new middle class are becoming world travelers. According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization, between 2005 and 2012, Chinese tourists quintupled their expenditures while abroad, spending 102 billion USD in 2012 and climbing six places to become the world’s top source of tourism profits. Along with international travel, English fluency is seen as an essential part of personal development and social status for many in China’s 
growing middle class.

Rising standards for both local and foreign English teachers
 
China is host to 50,000 English language schools and spends billions of U.S. dollars on English language learning every year. As spending rises and the market matures, the quality of English language instruction is improving.
 
China began to recruit foreign English teachers after opening up in the 1970s, and since then, there has been an explosion in the number of native English speaking teachers. Few of the first foreign teachers had TEFL certification, and some had never taught before. Now, the visa application process requires  that they have at least TEFL certification and some teaching experience. At more selective institutions, foreign teachers must also hold Master’s degrees. At the same time, local English teachers now have significantly higher levels of English, and school systems have invested heavily in better training for their existing teachers.
 
Professor Xia Jimei of Sun Yat-sen University, former Vice Chair of China's National Advisory Committee for Collegiate Foreign Language Teaching, commented, “Since I am a certified teacher trainer in China, I can tell you that the Ministry of  Education and all levels of government have paid great attention to on-the-job teacher training with all kinds of funded programs and projects in order to promote professional development for teachers. Also, syllabi, teaching materials, and classroom methodologies have been updated and reformed under the supervision of experts. We are following internationalized standards in a glocalized [global +local] context.”
 

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China became the world's top source of overseas students  in 2011. More than half of these Chinese students traveled to the U.S., the U.K., and Australia.

 

More students learning in English
 
More and more international schools in cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou are offering the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program or Advanced Placement courses. At these schools, instruction is usually delivered in English to prepare students for admissions to universities in English speaking countries.
 
In 2011, China sent 339,700 students abroad, beating India to become the world's number one source of overseas students. More than half of these Chinese students traveled to the U.S., the U.K.,  and Australia, and 93% were self-funded.
 
China can celebrate its progress, but its average adult English proficiency is still low, outperforming only Thailand and Kazakhstan within Asia. In 2007, Indonesia, Vietnam, and fellow BRIC countries India and Russia were all behind China, but they have since pulled ahead. To facilitate further economic growth and render it more competitive with its neighbors and other BRIC countries, China needs to continue improving English teaching in public schools, training teachers to use communicative teaching methods, and revising high-stakes exams to include assessment of oral skills. 

 

 

The reason that I quoted the above, was to show that China is increasing it's standards for Native English Teachers.

 

In the past, perhaps someone who was a Native of an English speaking country, such as UK, Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand, was 'white', fair haired, blue or green eyes (ie looked like a Foreigner from these countries), could perhaps get a job with no previous teaching experience and teaching qualifications /Certification.

 

In China, these days, to obtain a 'FEC' (Foreign Expert Certificate) one needs as a minimum, a Bachelors or Honors Degree, and have at leasty 2 years post graduate experience. Holding DELTA / CELTA / TESOL /TEFL (in that order), improves the chances of getting hired and what salary you might receive.

 

I read this before I went to China:-

 

http://middlekingdomlife.com/guide/qualifications-in-practice.htm

 

Teaching Qualifications and Requirements in Practice

Last Updated: August 31, 2011
 

In practice, a significant schism exists in regard to teaching qualifications in China: As a rule, public schools and universities will require a minimum of a bachelor’s degree while private English language schools will be far more interested in an applicant’s ability to successfully engage and retain their student population irrespective of education, teacher training, and—especially in underdeveloped cities and remote locations—even experience.
 

unqualified_china_teachers.jpg


In reality—as the private sector is the largest employer of foreign teachers in China—the majority of people teaching English in China do not meet the minimum requirements, i.e., a bachelor’s degree and at least two years of relevant work experience. The bottom-line is that if you are a White native speaker of English from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the U.K., or the U.S. (i.e., the "Big Five"), especially between the ages of 22 and 45, you will be able to find a job teaching English in China with or without a degree, prior teaching experience, or a TEFL certificate.
 

If you have read the chapter on China’s Education System, the reasons for this are already clear to you: The humanities, including foreign languages, are relatively devalued in China as academic disciplines and, consequently, the teaching of English has been compartmentalized into four separate skill sets and de-professionalized in that the role of the foreign English teacher is reduced to simply facilitating the practice of listening and speaking skills. In the vast majority of cases, it is both fair and accurate to think of the foreign teacher as the Chinese English teacher’s teaching assistant. Everyone in China knows that this vocationally limited position can be neatly filled by just about anyone who speaks English natively, looks the part, is friendly, and has the patience of Job.
 

Consequently, although China’s SAFEA has established specific advisory minimum requirements for the hiring of foreign English teachers, the vast majority of provinces have failed to adopt them and those that have generally fail to enforce them. In great part, the tolerance—if not wholesale acceptance—of unqualified foreigners can be explained by the fact that the rapid and tremendous proliferation of private English language schools across the country has created an insatiable demand for foreigners that simply cannot be satisfied by those who actually meet the minimum qualifications. However, this once statement of fact may be slowly changing and it appears that the question regarding which teaching requirements have been adopted and are enforced in China is becoming a superfluously moot one.
 

Strong anecdotal evidence now suggests that the recent economic meltdown in the United States has resulted in an ever increasing percentage of applications from more highly qualified candidates than ever before, overrepresented by degreed young adults with white-collar jobs (and an absence of strong family obligations or significant financial debt) and those who have recently graduated with a master’s degree in education and can’t find suitable employment back home (or can’t afford to live on their starting teachers’ salaries given the relatively higher cost of living). If this trend continues, it will have two predominant effects on the EFL industry in China: Employers will be able to demand more work for the same (or less) money and unqualified teachers will be far less competitive for the most desirable teaching positions and locations. There are indications that this trend has already begun to have adverse market effects in that several qualified teachers with advanced degrees working at universities have reported contract hours of 18 to 20 periods per week (as opposed to the traditional 12 to 14) and several foreign teachers at private schools have complained that mandatory office hours are being unilaterally imposed (without additional pay).
 

Despite this recent increase in better educated applicants, the vast majority of private English language schools are far more concerned with a Westerner's ability to successfully engage young children in a classroom than they are with a bachelor's degree. Generally speaking, an attractive young woman from one of the "Big Five" Western countries with just a TEFL certificate and a proven track record as an EFL teacher in China will be far more desirable to any private English language school than a middle-aged man with a master's degree in an unrelated field who has never taught or traveled before. A notable exception to this rule comprises joint-venture schools and Western universities with campuses in China: They strictly adhere to the minimum requirements and seek out professional educators only. Related, universities and colleges in China will insist upon a minimum of a bachelor's degree and, as of 2008, an increasing number are holding out for foreign teachers with a minimum of a master’s degree. However, what universities in China say they want juxtaposed with what they realistically need (in terms of actual job function) and are willing to pay for are rarely one and the same.

Occasionally, a university will genuinely need a foreign English teacher with a master’s degree or doctorate to teach in a graduate program in linguistics or foreign language but that type of position is relatively rare in China and the salary differential is nominal. Generally speaking, a recent college graduate with a degree in sociology and a 55-year old doctor and former professor of linguistics, with 20 years of graduate school teaching experience, will be assigned the same classes in oral English with an average salary differential of no more than 800 yuan (US$117.00) per month.

 

 

Read more ...http://middlekingdomlife.com/guide/qualifications-in-practice.htm

 

If you want to be sure of being hired, as a Native English Teacher, in China, and don't have a Degree, then your options are limited, I would suggest (from my limited experience of working in China in Sichuan, and Hunan Provinces, and will be returning to China for a Contract in Changsha, Hunan on 21st August).

 

Limited to Northern and Western parts of China, and Third Tier Cities, and Private Schools and Teaching Establishments and 'Training Schools'.   

 

Universities tend to want to see 'Teaching Certificates' as well as 'Bachelors or Honors Degree' and some relevant Teaching experience (preferably Chinese) of at least 2 years.

 

The advantage of Colleges and Universities however, being that one typically only teaches 14-16 x 45 minute sessions and most Classes are 2 x 45 min Sessions with 10-15 min break in-between (ie just 7 or 8 Classes per week).  This means plenty of spare time (for Private Tutoring for example).

As for Salary, the Private Schools and Teaching Establishments and 'Training Schools' may pay more than Colleges and Universities, but inevitably this is due to teaching more classes.

 

I gained some experience as a 'Substitute Teacher' for Aston English in Mianyang, Sichuan on some Saturdays and Sundays, and getting paid CNY100 per hour.  This is what I liked about such Training Schools:-

  1. Modern Facilities - electronic interactive WhiteBoards
  2. Full Curriculum to be followed, including approved 'Games' and teaching aids, flash cards etc
  3. Small Classes of 1/2/4/8 students and all 'graded' to be of similar Oral English abilities regardless of age.
  4. Laid down methods for English Language Assessment Tests (typically 5 Tests/10 min)
  5. Teacher Training often provided.
     

There may be a few negatives, like an allowance for accommodation or shared accommodation provided.  Perhaps no free or allowance for 'Utilities'? Often working in Evenings and at weekends. Perhaps getting seconded out to to Kindergartens, and possibly lot of travelling between schools?

This was more than the CNY65 per hour that Recruitment Agency 'Sunny's English Club/InFee Placement' was paying us Foreign Teachers.  We learned that the School was paying the Agency that hired us CNY120/Class.  

 

However this Agency based in Chengdu did provide help and support.  Arranging a car to meet me @ Chengdu Airport and take me to 'Sams Guest House'.  Ok so I was not going to teach at the School to the South of Chengdu as I had expected, but to Miangyang to the North.   I did not go to the School within 10-15 minutes walk of this filthy apartment that took a team of 8 women nearly 3 hours to clean and had no electricity or telephone/internet and no bed linen either!

But the next day,  I was moved to another School, where I did end up teaching to the 1,250 Students of Junior 2 (Grade 8) over 24 Classes per week of 50 min each.  

 

The school wanted to pay only for classes taught and not for Classes cancelled die to Sports Day, Exams, or extensions to Holidays beyond Public Holidays.

 
However the Contract with 'Sunny's English Club/InFee Placement' stated we get paid for all scheduled Classes.  We also did get our Z Visa and Fllght to Hong Kong to submit such application and wait 2 days to receive. Provided one traveled to Chengdu at the weekends, FREE Mandarin Training was given also (but one had to pay for the books and overnight accommodation as finished too late to travel back to Mianyang that same day.

However the Contract only said CNY1,000 would be paid for the 4 weeks that the School was closed for the Spring Break, In practice the School laid us off on 30th December and we never even received that months salary until 14th January (but no salary for any of January) and expected us to return on 27th January.  The Contract also stated it was until the end of July, but in practice, the School stopped paying from 6th June 2013.  

 

So we only actually got paid, for just 7 months and 1 week, not the 10 months we expected from Terms of the Contract.

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Papa Carl
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Great information! Many thanks.

 

I have been teaching English here in the Philippines for about 3 years now. First in Ortigas (Manila) online as partime, then here in Angeles. First place was System Plus College, but was not regular hours, during summer and winter camps, was teaching 8 hours a day, for 4 to 6 weeks, but at times was only teaching 2 or 3 hours a day, during the other months.

 

I am now teaching at CIP here in Angeles, a great place, with free lunches, pool, sports area, computer lounge etc. I am teaching 10 classes a day, 6 one on one classes, and 4 group classes. I have been here for just over 2 months, and they ask me weekly if I can teach any extra classes! Either early morning, or evening. You also have optional classes to teach on week ends, of which they will pay double your salary per hour. 

 

There are 13 "Native Speakers" from the US, England, Australia and Canada, along with over 20 Filipino teachers who tend to teach grammar alone.

 

I don't get as much per class as in System Plus, but still manage to earn over 12K a week, which although is not a great salary is more than enough for my wife and daughter to live comfortably, and is still a lot more than the Filipino teachers make.

 

I have no TOEIC, IELTS, ESL, TOEFL etc. certificate or training, so I think I am very lucky. I did teach while I lived in England, although I did not have a teaching degree there either.

 

There are just over 120 students in the school, and this appears to be a steady number, as some of the "native speakers" there have worked there for between 2 and 5 years and they say this is the average number of students regularly.

 

Most of the students come from Japan, but almost as many from Korea and Taiwan, the rest from Vietnam and Thailand with a smaller number from as far away as Yemen.

 

I think this is a great way to earn here in the Philippines, and I would say there are more opportunities that people realize. 

 

There may be more opportunities in the BPO industry, as that is where I worked before here in the Philippines, but this is much easier on my life and the well being of my family, as I only have to work, Monday to Friday, and from 8am to 6pm.

 

 

Papa Carl

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  • 3 years later...
allancomeau
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On 7/22/2014 at 4:30 PM, Britster said:

In China, these days, to obtain a 'FEC' (Foreign Expert Certificate) one needs as a minimum, a Bachelors or Honors Degree, and have at leasty 2 years post graduate experience. Holding DELTA / CELTA / TESOL /TEFL (in that order), improves the chances of getting hired and what salary you might receive.

 

Certainly a Bachelor's degree and in lieu of actual teaching experience a TESOL certificate. You also have to pass a health check. 

I wouldn't recommend an university post as the salaries are about 1/2 the norm though the teaching hours are quite a bit lower.

There is a comprehensive e-book on Teaching/Living in China coming out - I have a beta copy if anyone is interested............

 

 

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allancomeau
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On 7/22/2014 at 4:30 PM, Britster said:

At the same time, local English teachers now have significantly higher levels of English, and school systems have invested heavily in better training for their existing teachers.

 

There are studies that have shown that the 'better training' given to Chinese teachers has resulted in WORSE instruction. 

In my experience the ones with greater fluency in English go to the private sector to work in export Sales - the teaching of English remains at a dismal level. At a provincial government school in Jiangsu (one of the richest provinces in China) the Chinese English teachers scored a median of 5 on the IELTS test - which is rather bad - one needs at least a score of 6 to enter a Canadian university.

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