Teaching in China

My first experience in China may have been very similar to many of yours’. I was a celebrity in a small city and it seemed as though I could do no wrong. I was a king. I had NO teaching experience whatsoever yet I was a “Foreign Expert.” This fact has created a bit of a problem among the foreign teacher community in Asia.

What problem?

As with most things in life, low standards attract low quality. With very low standards for becoming a “Foreign Expert” in China the industry is attracting very low quality work.

If you’ve been in China very long and/or have been living in a large city like Beijing or Shanghai then you might have noticed that, in general, foreign teachers’ reputation is not the best among Chinese schools. Because the demand for teachers is so great and the supply so low it opens the doors for lazy, low quality, unreliable workers. The high supply of ESL teaching jobs is a breeding ground for creating the idea that these jobs are jokes. It’s not uncommon to see or hear about teachers quitting, breaking contracts, leaving one school for a better deal, etc.

One could argue that these unreliable teachers have come about due to lack of an established system. Many of these new English training centers and other schools have no experience in recruiting teachers from abroad, can’t always stay true to their contracts, and have no ability in managing teachers or keeping them happy. My response to this is, “let’s try not to make excuses.”

In South Korea, ESL teachers’ reputation has really plunged. Let’s not let this happen in China!

My message here is simple. Let’s try our best to take pride in our work and build a good name for our respective countries as well as all foreigners in China. Don’t quit your job at the first sign of adversity, do your best to communicate with people you work with, and deliver some quality teaching.