Employment & Professional Development

I finished a two-year stint of teaching English in a Korean public school earlier this year. I didn't mind the job except that it wasn't really possible to teach English in a proper fashion due to classes being large, until recently, non-streamed, often not so well behaved, and the fact that I only saw each class about three times a month.

I tried to make myself as useful as I possibly could in that situation, but it's hard not to feel the job was a bit of a joke in many respects. And that's with a reasonably supportive supervisor and most of the Korean English teachers being able to speak at least some English. It could have been much worse.

I'd like to teach in the public system in China and benefit from the low workload and standardized contracts, but it would be nice to also be effective in actually improving students' English abilities and develop my teaching skills in that area. Is this an impossible dream?

It seems to me that Chinese public schools and universities are very much like Korean schools in this regard. Failing that, are there any private institutions that allow you to teach in a proper fashion without doing overly long hours, split shifts etc.?

Hi Devlin,

I don't think you can necessarily count on finding greener pastures in China after having been so dissatisfied with your experience in Korea. As you pointed out, their approach to English language teaching and to the English language itself are about the same. The main difference in China is that you will work fewer hours and don't have to be in attendance when you are not teaching.

If you have an advanced degree in English or linguistics, you might be able to find a position in a graduate school program (M.A. program in English or linguistics) that could provide you with some professional satisfaction (although not much more money) but barring that limited scenario, you would just be filling a national "exposure to a native speaker" requirement.

I wish I had better news. The reality is, as a rule, English language learning is not valued by China's academic leaders.

The only other place where you can find professional satisfaction in China is at international schools teaching Western curriculum. Of course, that requires teaching certification in one's country of origin and 35 to 40 hours per week, but the salaries are based on Western standards.

So if the school wants teachers to prepare their own lessons, what sorts of things do they generally do? If the school wanted you to do lesson plans in advance, what would you give them? Also, how many different lessons would you generally have to prepare each week for a Chinese public school?

If a Chinese public university fails to provide you with a syllabus and textbook and indicates that you can "do whatever you like," they mean that quite literally.

Talking about your latest girlfriend, current events, how much you love Chinese food, and how you can use chopsticks are all very "appropriate" topics for your typical university oral English class in China.

If you are ever asked for a lesson plan (and I never have been) and are left to your own devices, then find suitable articles on the Internet that deal with issues that would be of interest to Chinese young adults, e.g., cultural differences in dating and marital customs, the 10 most top-paying jobs in your country and how they differ from China's, etc.

As long as the students aren't actively complaining about you, you won't have any problems. Figure one lesson plan per class, again, assuming you are ever asked for one.

Thanks for the advice.

What I meant about the number of lesson plans was to ask how many unique plans you generally need in a week. In Korea I had to teach about 20 lessons per week but only had to prepare 2 or 3 different lessons, one for each grade, which I would teach over and over.

Is it generally the same in China? Would I be right to think the lessons should be largely presentational in style without requiring much of the students, i.e., the very antithesis of standard ESL methodology in the West?

Again, assuming you are even asked for a lesson plan, I should think one lesson plan per week per course title is sufficient.

Devlin wrote:Would I be right to think the lessons should be largely presentational in style without requiring much of the students, i.e., the very antithesis of standard ESL methodology in the West?

For me this is a very loaded question.

The entire foreign language program in China runs completely contrary to well-established second language acquisition theories and methodologies.

No one will openly object if you try to seriously teach your students something, just as long as they are happy with you. Bear in mind though that the estimated functional English literacy rate in mainland China is 0.7 percent (one in 130) and that is neither an accident nor the result of misguided effort. The fact of the matter is there is no English language speaking environment outside of the foreign teacher's classroom and there will never be in China--at least not in my lifetime.

You are being hired to meet a deeply resented and bitterly contested Ministry of Education "exposure to a native speaker" language requirement.

Hi Devlin,

To echo what Dr Greg has said, you are hired in China to meet the "exposure to a native speaker" requirement. Secondly, you are hired to improve the face and image of the school.

In the private sector, which is the area I can advise having never worked for a public school, the main reason you are hired besides the government requirement is that the school is often "spending money to make money."

I work in a private kindergarten and I know fine well that the most important part of my day is the time I spend standing at the gate with the 5 other foreign teachers welcoming the children in the morning and saying goodbye to them in the afternoon. This is because we are on display and justifies the school's decision to spend considerable cash on foreign teachers.

In the private sector, being popular with your students is of paramount importance, far more more important than the quality of your teaching. So if professional satisfaction is your primary motivator, I would NOT recommend the private sector. The school is ultimately bottom-line focused and that consideration trumps all others.

I personally find the the most rewarding work I have done is with my private students. Not only is the money good, but it is possible to forge a close bond and it's great to see your student getting better week after week. Get some business cards printed and you will soon learn of these opportunities.