If you're going to work here... [TL;DR]
A lot of people told me, âif you wanna do foreign teaching, donât go to China. Youâll be dissappointed!â "They make you work your butt off and not pay you." "Nobody will appreciate anything you do!" But I party disagree.
Mostly because the people that have told me this were average Joes who came to China and taught for the sake of getting cash every month. And that was it. Most didnât have BAâs, teaching experience, TESOL certificates. Nothing. Just a grasp of the English language and a desire to come to China.
Some have even gone as far as criticizing Chinese people/students calling them âstupidâ or âslowâ or suggesting that they have âproblems at home,â as of why they âcanât seem to learn/remember anything in [my] class.â
Others have said that âChinese schools take [me] for a joke,â or that their class isnât taken very seriously all while making 5-digits RMB a month. I admit, Iâve felt this way personally but it was only when I first started working at a school that I felt that my class wasnât taken seriously by ANYONE - not the teachers nor the students. But it was then that I learned not to approach staff members with "plans" but with "products," and that I had to go all out with those products.
Teaching anywhere, in my opinion, can be a rewarding experience.
But I think if youâre gonna work here in China:
1. Learn something about teaching. Donât just show up expecting everything out of being a foreign teacher and not preparing for anything. Yeah, itâs fairly easy to get a teaching job in China (sometimes depending moreso on how you look.), but that doesnât make it an easy job. And while it may seem like Chinaâs quality control is non-existent, part of me believes itâs up to the teachers to be of quality upon arrival.
So, read up on child psychology. Know a little something about learning disorders. You don't have to be super versed in everything related to the field, but arm yourself. Don't expect "training programs" in China to take up your slack. (Most of the more effective Chinese I've met in China studied elsewhere... that says something.)
Talk to teachers youâve had about what they liked and didnât like about teaching. Find blogs (like mine :D) and other online resources about foreign teachers and their feelings about their work. (Not necessarily the schools they work for or the recruiting companies. Youâll find that the attitudes of a foreign teacherâs work versus the actual school or company are often quite different.) If I didnât care for teaching, I wouldnât be here. And if I were here yet not caring for teaching, I wouldnât be blogging about it.
2. Do some homework while youâre still at home. If youâve never taught before or been in front of an audience of learners, teaching overseas can be double the pressure, double the stress and double the shock. Volunteer at a learning center or an after-school tutoring program if youâve never worked in the education field.
Donât assume that Chinese schools are just like any Western school. There are a few similarities in structure, BUT that doesnât mean you can walk into a Chinese classroom environment expecting the students to respond to you just like native-English speaking students would.
Familiarize yourself with the situation of the Chinese student. Research a bit about the Chinese education system - you may be surprised at some of the differences it has with your own country. Learn about Deng Xiao Ping and his role in shaping China. This information will soften the blows teaching in China may bring for an unexpecting foreign teacher.
3. Learn some Chinese. You donât have to be even remotely conversational, but at least be comfortable and able to say and to recognize âHello,â âGoodbye,â âExcuse me,â âThank you,â and âYouâre welcomeâ when you hear it. And be able to at least count to 10. The options and connections thatâll be made available to you with these short phrases will take you along way.
And if youâre not the type to pick up languages at all, trudge through these phrases - and these phrases ONLY. Little by little, youâll be that much closer to the students you teach. Knowing a little bit about the language will also help you predict and prevent many of the errors and troubles Chinese students may have with learning English. For example, the Chinese language doesnât have a distinct past tense, so realizing that, a foreign teacher may have to use more examples and activities to drill such a concept.
4. Have a back-up plan in case things donât work out. Anything could happen. Sickness. Family emergency. Accident. Situations like that call for immediate responces, and the stress invovled will be escalated without a plan. For example, itâs always a good idea to have money aside BEFORE ARRIVING in case you need a plane ticket home at time of emergency - REGARDLESS of what the school or recruiting company may offer you.
5. Try to develop a support system at home. No person is an island. (Canât remember where I hear that quote; too lazy to search right now.) Let some people know what youâre up to with whom you can keep in touch while youâre away. It may seem like a no-brainer, but some teachers end up in situations where they just want to âget awayâ from their home country and end up in China.
Mutual support is a necessary component in living abroad, I feel. It gives peace of mind and something to lean on. And if you have trouble with that, start an online blog. The support from people you donât know can sometimes be even more encouraging than that of the people you do know.Â
6. Be prepared to adjust the way you speak English. Many schools and recruiting companies have staff who âspeak English,â but that doesnât mean that you can talk to them about just any ol' thing any ol' kind of way. You may very well have a co-worker who speaks basic English or can only understand you if you speak slowly.
Get rid of big words, fancy phrases, slang, and be aware of any clichĂ©s and/or cultural references you use. If youâre not linguistically inclined, thisâll take some work, as this isnât something everyone can easily do.Â
7. Develop an objective view of Chinese culture. Heck, this is with ANY culture, in my opinion. Whatâs rude in your country may not be so in another country. Whatâs barbaric in your country may not be so elsewhere. Likewise, whatâs considered acceptable in your culture might not be so in another culture.
You donât have to approve of everything that goes on here, nor should you try to go all Manifest Destiny on the locals. If you walk around judging everything that moves - every person who spits, every child who pees on the sidewalk, every crowd of guys who talk with their mouths full of food, every cup of sugar-less tea, every bowl of plain white rice, every janitor who wears heels - complaining about people being âstupidâ and seriously thinking that the people of China are âbelow youâ due to their âbarbaric/savage/ignorant lifestyle,â youâll just give China another reason to hate foreigners.
You ought not even leave your house.
Yeah, there may be some things going on over here that you donât see in your country, but do your homework. Do NOT resort to stereotyping.
There are pleny of other points, but I don't want this one post to be so long that it turns into a book. I'll tell you now, this list isn't to help foreign teachers get more money. It isn't to directly criticize foreign teachers here who haven't taken to anything I've written. I just feel that one's experience in China can be just as rewarding working at a Chinese school as it would working in an international one - which some foreigners have labeled as part of the "golden package of the foreign teacher classroom environment." Merp. I feel a teacher can get just as much out of a traditional classroom, but with more preparation and purpose.