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kuntmans

A lot of the teaching methods would be anathema to chinese kids used to rote learning etc. Western educated ESL teachers would need to appreciate the fundamental psychological differences between Asians and Westerners to become a useful teacher of any sort in China.

Aug 05, 2015 16:03 Report Abuse

dd39203

Anathema... big word! How much did that cost you?

Aug 07, 2015 05:09 Report Abuse

Judred1967

Not really. A good teacher can use an eclectic teaching method. I did that in my ESL classes and it worked. You just combine some rote learning style and then transition to fun and games using flash cards or other language games.

Mar 06, 2018 19:32 Report Abuse

ironman510

I'd say just kick us all out and hire only teachers with education degrees and teaching licenses. Oh yeah I forgot not many qualified licensed teachers would come anyway, oh well it was just a thought.

Aug 05, 2015 15:01 Report Abuse

RandomGuy

Hehe, sure that. When they have cheaper yet higher paying, more foreigner-friendly and more professional Vietnam next door. Or expensive but much better environment, people and much higher pay in Japan or South-Korea. China just can't compete with its neighbors when it comes to attracting professional teachers. "Hallow you teach me English?", "Hmmm no, I am a chemistry teacher", "But you foreigner teacher, teach me English!"

Aug 06, 2015 01:19 Report Abuse

Guest626460

If you kick out the trash, it will automatically raise the salary-levels for the remaining teachers. Scarce supply brings about higher salaries which induces more quality teachers to come to China. Basic law of supply and demand.

Aug 07, 2015 02:03 Report Abuse

Mixal

Rules are different from one province to another. By law, only native speakers can work in rich coastal provinces for example.

Aug 09, 2015 20:58 Report Abuse

nzteacher80

Not all qualified teachers are good teachers. Not all unqualified teachers are bad teachers. Obviously training helps but it isn't a sure fire way to guarantee high quality teaching. The real problem here is how easy it is for the education providers to circumnavigate the law so that they can hire illegal teachers. If laws were policed properly and education providers were held to account then this would not be a problem. As with most things in China there are rules but no one seems to think that these rules apply to them, especially for people who have money.

Aug 05, 2015 10:39 Report Abuse

ironman510

When you say policed properly, it always reminds me of parking my car. Police for 1 month gave out parking tickets like I had never seen before, but for the next 10 months no tickets were given to those who parked their car illegally. Any law to clamp down on anything illegal in this country only last 3 weeks to 1 month. So an article like this will be posted again every 3 to 5 years because we both know nothing will be done about it. Well until there's a WWIII..

Aug 05, 2015 15:10 Report Abuse

carlstar

the schools hire the bad, cheap teachers so the good teachers don't get hired because they charge too much. Therefore no teacher wants to teach in China as they can do a lot better somewhere like Japan, where the internet isn't blocked too.... Some schools pay like 100rmb an hour and give the "If you work for less, then you can get more hours"... If the government had a minimum wage for ESL teachers, maybe about 250 to start with and increasing 100 per year, then people will be more likely to come and teach and good teacher will stick around. The Parents will pay the higher wages or just hire privately.

Aug 05, 2015 19:57 Report Abuse

sorrel

most schools don't want the professionals as they usually want to teach, as against perform as the 'dancing monkey'. Parents and teachers want the results without the students doing the actual work that is required when learning a language, so they dislike the professionals. There is also a strong element of Xenophobia in this article that feeds into the local perception of 'corrupting foreigners' that is being fostered in China. TBH, more local teachers are guilty of child and student abuse in China than the foreign teachers. This could be because most of the foreigners come from a 'hands-off' environment where you are not allowed to touch any student for ANY reason. I remember an English colleague who told me he wanted to run away when his tiny students wanted to climb on him, not because he disliked them but because he had come from a country where it is a criminal offence to even comfort a child.

Aug 05, 2015 22:41 Report Abuse

RobRocks

some of you on here no my situation,even though no degree,Iam a bloody good teacher,not for adults not for high school students or primary school students,But for kindergarten children. I feel that someone could come and take a look at ones class to see if they can teach.I have childcare experience and 20 years experience teaching kindergarten children.15 of those years are here in China. Im not a drunk I turn up to work on time and I can teach.you only need to take a look at my CV to know that I can teach.

Aug 05, 2015 09:51 Report Abuse

ironman510

Anyone can become a good teacher if they want. This article and the writer doesn't like us very much..

Aug 05, 2015 15:05 Report Abuse

Mixal

Going by your writing, you are definitely suited for a kindergarten. But definitely not as a teacher.

Aug 09, 2015 20:55 Report Abuse

Judred1967

It is erroneous to think that teaching ESL to preschool kids means babysitting or giving the required care for kids and that's it. I am a licensed teacher and preschool kids should also be exposed to correct spelling as well as correct pronunciation. Older preschool kids need to learn how to read sight words and not just sing nursery rhyme songs. They also need to master phonograms taught in phonics class and read simple sentences. Those who don't have a degree in preschool education and elementary education think that teaching kids is just about playing games all the time. On the contrary, kids need to learn basic language skills so if their teacher does not even know the difference between the homonyms "no" and "know," then they are screwed. Even native speakers of English need to learn this in kindergarten as part of their sight words.

Mar 06, 2018 19:25 Report Abuse

seansarto

FROM THE EDITOR'S NOTE: "The article mentions the massive amounts of red tape a school faces when hiring a foreigner but does not fully take into account the connection between China's overly strict requirements for foreign teachers and the number of illegal teachers working in China. In our opinion, China needs to better realize its market, which is often young people right out of college, and offer more roads to a legal teaching visa. It is really the young teachers who are taken advantage of by tutoring centers in China, and the number of “criminals” who come pose as teachers in China are the extreme minority." Why publish an article, especially as an editor, when you cannot verify nor do you believe in it's content?

Aug 05, 2015 09:34 Report Abuse

Karajorma

This website seems to basically post whatever is popular on Chinese media so that those of us who can't or won't read it can see what the Chinese are saying about things.

Aug 06, 2015 23:37 Report Abuse

seansarto

Kinda sucks for those of us who don't want to read this sh*t...I quote "Planet of the Apes": "it's easy to be monogamous here"

Aug 08, 2015 22:22 Report Abuse

BlightyMatt

Not a word about the crooks who run the schools then? Sloppy, disinterested and unprofessional.... Plus the writer of this article seems to have no idea what a CELTA actually is. Printed off from the internet it is not....I sweated for that bugger!

Aug 05, 2015 02:18 Report Abuse

coineineagh

Yeah, CELTA is a bit more involved than a simple TEFL/TESOL crash teaching course. I did the TEFL course before moving to China, and with my non-relevant Biology master's degree, I'd fall into the article's third category of teachers who often perform poorly. For a select few institutions I'm underqualified, but i recieved plenty of offers from reputable international schools in Shanghai and Tianjin when I looked around. The light skin blue eyes qualification reigns supreme. I easily met the FEC criteria, but ended up working for an illegal school because it was near my wife's hometown. I returned to Europe, leaving pakistanis behind to masquerade as an Australian and an American. They later found a real Irish woman to teach, but I still get contacted by the school to help them find old teaching materials I made.

Aug 05, 2015 03:45 Report Abuse