If you're going to work here... [TL;DR]
A lot of people told me, “if you wanna do foreign teaching, don’t go to China. You’ll be dissappointed!” "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 didn’t have BA’s, 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 “stupid” or “slow” or suggesting that they have “problems at home,” as of why they “can’t seem to learn/remember anything in [my] class.”
Others have said that “Chinese schools take [me] for a joke,” or that their class isn’t taken very seriously all while making 5-digits RMB a month. I admit, I’ve felt this way personally but it was only when I first started working at a school that I felt that my class wasn’t 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 you’re gonna work here in China:
1. Learn something about teaching. Don’t just show up expecting everything out of being a foreign teacher and not preparing for anything. Yeah, it’s fairly easy to get a teaching job in China (sometimes depending moreso on how you look.), but that doesn’t make it an easy job. And while it may seem like China’s quality control is non-existent, part of me believes it’s 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 you’ve had about what they liked and didn’t 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. You’ll find that the attitudes of a foreign teacher’s work versus the actual school or company are often quite different.) If I didn’t care for teaching, I wouldn’t be here. And if I were here yet not caring for teaching, I wouldn’t be blogging about it.
2. Do some homework while you’re still at home. If you’ve 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 you’ve never worked in the education field.
Don’t assume that Chinese schools are just like any Western school. There are a few similarities in structure, BUT that doesn’t 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 don’t have to be even remotely conversational, but at least be comfortable and able to say and to recognize “Hello,” “Goodbye,” “Excuse me,” “Thank you,” and “You’re welcome” when you hear it. And be able to at least count to 10. The options and connections that’ll be made available to you with these short phrases will take you along way.
And if you’re not the type to pick up languages at all, trudge through these phrases - and these phrases ONLY. Little by little, you’ll 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 doesn’t 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 don’t 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, it’s 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. (Can’t remember where I hear that quote; too lazy to search right now.) Let some people know what you’re up to with whom you can keep in touch while you’re away. It may seem like a no-brainer, but some teachers end up in situations where they just want to “get away” 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 don’t know can sometimes be even more encouraging than that of the people you do know.
6. Be prepared to adjust the way you speak English. Many schools and recruiting companies have staff who “speak English,” but that doesn’t 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 clichés and/or cultural references you use. If you’re not linguistically inclined, this’ll take some work, as this isn’t something everyone can easily do.
7. Develop an objective view of Chinese culture. Heck, this is with ANY culture, in my opinion. What’s rude in your country may not be so in another country. What’s barbaric in your country may not be so elsewhere. Likewise, what’s considered acceptable in your culture might not be so in another culture.
You don’t 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 “stupid” and seriously thinking that the people of China are “below you” due to their “barbaric/savage/ignorant lifestyle,” you’ll 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 don’t 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.
