| The Skinny on Teaching English in Chinaby Tom | | | | Unfortunately, academics are not an issue to |
| Carter | | | | many of China's new educational entrepreneurs |
| | | | who put profit before curriculum and quality. |
| Having little luck finding an attractive job | | | | Classroom experience and Teaching English as |
| offer in the U.S. in 2004, I decided to take | | | | a Foreign Language (TEFL) certification is |
| my skills where they were wanted -- abroad. | | | | nice, but in many cases a Western face is all |
| | | | a native English speaker needs to land a |
| Enticed by the "Teach English in China -- No | | | | teaching job in China. |
| Experience Necessary" ads saturating the | | | | |
| online classifieds, I emailed my resume with | | | | In more reputable schools, most prospective |
| one hand and packed my bags with the other. I | | | | English teachers don't have it so easy. I |
| had no idea what to expect, but then, the | | | | endured a weeklong interview process, |
| great unknown can be what makes a job like | | | | including a series of teaching demonstrations |
| teaching English in the People's Republic so | | | | before 300 stern-looking parents, all while I |
| appealing. | | | | was still jetlagged and suffering from |
| | | | culture shock. I must have done something |
| As the world's largest economy opens to | | | | right, because I was chosen to teach at a top |
| foreign investment, education has become one | | | | school in the province. |
| of China's thriving sectors. Confucius | | | | |
| probably wouldn't stand for it, but he wasn't | | | | Being rice-wined and dined by my prospective |
| wearing pinstripe suits and driving a shiny | | | | employer over 30-course banquet dinners did |
| black sedan. The country may be Communist in | | | | not distract me from negotiating a fair |
| theory, but the renminbi -- Chinese currency | | | | salary. Many foreigners ("laowai") prefer to |
| -- is emperor. | | | | live in a cosmopolitan city like Beijing or |
| | | | Shanghai than a small town such as the one I |
| A Chinese adage says that the best advice is | | | | had chosen, and I was able to use this |
| often born from the most challenging | | | | preference as leverage during contract |
| experiences. After three years helping the | | | | discussions. All deals in China, like the |
| sons and daughters of Han learn English, I've | | | | price of fruit at the marketplace, can be |
| had my share. Westerners looking to teach in | | | | negotiated. |
| China may want to consider the following | | | | |
| before packing their bags. | | | | Most English teachers in China needn't speak |
| | | | Mandarin in the classroom. Instead, we |
| Some foreign English teachers may be | | | | instruct students through a process of |
| shanghaied at least once during their time in | | | | language immersion and simulation, which in |
| China. Baiting unsuspecting Westerners to | | | | time invariably leads to proficiency. |
| China with false promises of a high salary, | | | | Diligence and a little creativity are all |
| deluxe apartment, airfare reimbursement, visa | | | | that are really needed, but like performing |
| or other incentives is a common online scam. | | | | on stage five times a day, it takes its toll. |
| Blame it on temptation. Often Chinese laws | | | | |
| are too fluid and relationships ("guanxi" in | | | | Over the next few years, I would meet a |
| Mandarin) with authorities too intimate, | | | | number of disappointed young Westerners who |
| leaving some foreigners with little | | | | came overseas as English teachers expecting |
| protection against scams. | | | | to party all night and spend their free time |
| | | | pursuing adventures in the countryside. That, |
| The moment I arrived in the Middle Kingdom I | | | | I would tell them, is a lifestyle for |
| had what some seasoned expatriates call "the | | | | tourists, exchange students and embassy |
| complete Chinese experience." The "school" | | | | brats, not the hardworking teacher. |
| that had accepted my application turned out | | | | |
| to be a nickel-and-dime operation run out of | | | | As a foreign expert English instructor, I'm |
| an apartment by a guy in his bathrobe. I'd | | | | scheduled for up to 30 classes a week and |
| come half way around the world for a job and | | | | spend most of my free time planning lessons. |
| found myself out of work. | | | | I'm up at dawn with the older folks |
| | | | practicing their Tai Chi and not back home |
| I was literally lost in translation. Despair | | | | until after 10 p.m., about when the migrant |
| and a desire to return home to Mom set in. | | | | construction workers also are getting off |
| But I quickly learned that, commensurate with | | | | work. |
| its sizeable population, China has a | | | | |
| profusion of kindergarten, primary, middle | | | | I never thought I'd be an educator. I didn't |
| and high schools and universities in even the | | | | like most of my teachers when I was a kid. |
| most remote cities. In short order, I wound | | | | Teachers the world over are typically low |
| up with a position and salary more attractive | | | | paid, overworked and underappreciated. But |
| than the one I had originally accepted. | | | | the fatigue and the hit on my income -- |
| | | | compared to what I might earn in the U.S. -- |
| Chinese parents may work night and day to pay | | | | are what I pay for being part of a |
| for pricey English lessons so that their | | | | rapidly-changing China. As it turned out, I'm |
| child can get a head start in this | | | | not so bad in front of the chalkboard -- I |
| competitive society of 1.3 billion. | | | | actually like it. |