China Romance
Expats in Asia => Working In Asia => Topic started by: Paul Todd on July 13, 2010, 05:10:47 am
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I'm on my 2.5 months holiday break from teaching at the local university at the moment, but before I left one of the Chinese English teachers asked me if I would help out a family member of hers who was holding an enrolment day at their private school in Laishi about an hour's drive outside Baoding. She said it was an afternoon of activities and I would get 600rmb's. Ok I said,not bad money for 4 hours and I would have helped a colleague at work too. This is China so 2 days latter I get a call saying now it was in the morning and not the afternoon. I would be picked up outside my apartment at 8am and be home by 12, Ok I said no problem. Last night I get a call saying I would be picked up at 6 and maybe be home by 2pm was that alright? One thing you learn fast here is that if they think they can get away with it they will take advantage of you. It's good to be flexible for example if the school asks you to do some unpaid activity like run an English corner but there is a limit and now and again it's just good to say no. So I said "That's not going to happen" and 30 minutes latter I get the call to say that 8-12 was just fine.
So this morning at 8 I'm in the back of a car being driven through the countryside to the low rise agricultural town of Laishi. Not sure what I'm expected to do or for that matter where. This is China so most of the time you don't quite understand what's going on around you but you will be told when you need to know,honest!. We arrive outside a large Chinese state middle school at 9am just as all the kids are leaving, lots and lots of proud mums and dads picking up their kids. I'm met by a representative of the school I'm employed by for the morning, a very attractive Chinese girl in her late teens early 20's wearing bright pink sweat pants and top with " Juicy" written in gold lettering across the back. She had my full attention! I'm led to the school gates and told to wait there. Then I'm introduced to a team of her helpers who are dishing out business cards and flyer's to the waiting parents. I dawns on my that I'm there just to attract peoples attention and that's what happens. All those mums want to show off there kids grasp of the English language to me and all there friends,a crowd quickly gathers.
The school rush over I'm led away and around the corner to be seated at a table set up in the street piled high with more cards and flyer's and the team is doing brisk business handing them out to passes by,and I'm the bait. Or as my new best friend in pink said I'm the flower that's going to attract the bee's! Not too many white folks have ever been in this town so the strategy is paying off! I must admit it was an entertaining hour or so. Then I'm taken through a court yard and up some stairs to the Language school. The one and only classroom is full to bursting and I'm passed a microphone and introduce myself to everyone. Then I'm taken to one side and it's on to the break dancing display, well what else did you expect? The music is turn up so loud that it's all distorted and 3 Chinese teens with their caps on backwards are trying their best to spin on their heads, the crowd loves it and are clapping along happily.
Then it's our turn. Miss "Juicy" and I, she did tell me her name but I was distracted and can't remember it, so Miss "Juicy" will do fine! We start by getting the kids to name that animal by the sounds we make, cats meows, dogs barking, lions roaring you get the picture and just as it's starting to be a fun activity we have to stop for the Kung Fu display. That's fine and I get a cup of tea. I then get to do my demo lesson for real. I have her write some single letters on the board one at a time I say them out loud and get the kids to repeat them after me, we build up to simple words. Ten minuets of this and it's time to have some fun so I send miss "Juicy " out to find 3 toilet rolls while I get six youngsters to " volunteer" and come to the front of the class. I explain that they must pair up and one must wrap the other from head to foot with the said toilet paper. I briefly toy with the idea of wrapping miss "Juicy "up.....................just for an example of course, then decide this is not such a good idea. Once done I explain that the kids that are bound up mummy style have to jump up and down while the rest of the class clap and count and try to free themselves. Last one wins. Its chaos's kids shouting out the numbers and clapping ,toilet paper flying about until we have a winner, everyone is happy and that's the lesson over! As an English teacher as long as your students are speaking English it's considered a successful lesson. How you achieve this is up to you and if you've got 30, 6 or 7 year olds you can have some real fun!
I'm ushered out to have my photo taken with the kids and their parents and then with the team that were distributing the flyer's and finally with Miss"Juicy" who tells me they are arranging a visit for the schools students to see the Beijing aquarium and would I please accompany them. She then offers me private Chinese lessons, I give her my wife's phone number and leave. The car is waiting, I'm presented with a large cake for some reason I don't understand. I'm payed and I'm home an hour latter.
Just another day as an English teacher! Sure beat's the UK I know that much!
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Paul , that is a great insight as to what can happen , just to stop you getting bored , smart move giving your secretarys phone number ha ha , it does save lots of explaining , have a great holiday time , regards Robert and Sujuan [ Yo ].
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I agree with Rob lucky you gave the secretaries phone number. Oh to be a fly on the wall when the phone rings and the secretary hears "Hi is Paul there? Tell him its Miss Juicy calling."
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It seems the concept "Miss Juicy" (no photo?) is the same as what happens with actors and rock stars. Cut the ribbon for a new supermarket, etc. This is how I met Mitch Miller (an American musician, singer, conductor and had a TV show) when I was a kid. Come to think of it that was at a school too? So you were the "Star" of the day.
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Great story Paul, but next time you go there get a picture of Miss Juicy. :o :P :D
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Paul,
that was a great story. and as you said just one of the fun times you can have teaching here in China. i was a little curious
as im sure the others are. what chinese lessons will she give you hahahahaha .
when im tutoring we do a lot of unconventional things that are just as much fun for me as it is for them and i must say it
is a great experience from the 30 years of corporate work that i did. just like you said
Scott,
the bejing aquarium is a great half day of fun and i recomend it when you arrive along with the obvious other sites here. but if you can
go to the old hutongs that is by far a real treat with the locals who live there. go to the ones that arent as much for tourists and you
will experience a wonderful day and meet many people just sitting around eating,talking,playing chess and they all want to talk with you
and feed you fruits. an absolutely wonderful day if you can do it and have the time. far better than the obvious tourist traps.
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That was a great story Paul. I would love to hear more of your adventures.
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besides some of the wonderful stories i think Paul would also attest to this, the best thing about teaching here is that
kids want to learn and work hard to learn everything they can. its very rewarding to see your efforts to teach them taken
well and they respect you for trying to make their lives better. i find this very positive and makes you go all out for your kids.
they are not there because they have to its because they want to!!!!!!
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Ted is right to mention the point about their willingness to learn,
My first day at University and I walk into a class of 30 students aged 18/19 not too sure what to expect. I've agonised over a lesson plan for hours the previous day so I am well prepared but it does nothing to calm my nerves. Plus there is the head of department sitting in for my 1.5 hour class. I have a strict set of rules to abide by and even in my contract it says that I can only teach what is in the curriculum. Every week I'm given the page numbers of the course book I must teach and the topics for discussion. All very Chinese and as dull as ditch water, if you let it be.
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I'm faced with the problem of how to assess my students level of English as it's no good speaking to a class when they don't have a clue what your saying. I need to find this out fast and on an individual basis too if possable, and learning there names might not be a bad idea as well. I know there going to be curious about me as will be the head of the department,so I have come up with a plan that I think will fit the bill. Problem is it will take all of the lesson and I won't be following the guidelines. Start as we mean to go on I say!
I introduce myself and ask the students to write 5 questions they would like to ask me down in their notebooks. I give them 5 minutes to do this. I'm struck immediately by the fact that I tell them what I require them to do and instantly all there heads go down and they begin work. Not like back home were you would be faced by a bunch of smart arsed teenagers not interested in learning at all.
That done I get the nearest student to come up to the front of the class and write their name on the white board, this has got the students interested as they are all thinking I'm going to go round the class getting them to ask me questions,but that's not going to happen. I explain to the student that he is going to be me, and that he will take 5 questions from the class in turn and do his best to answer them from my perspective.Then the next student will come up until everyone has had a turn. For a right answer they will get a green tick next to their name and for a wrong answer a big fat X. So there is an element of competition involved.
The questions start tamely enough and the answers the same. I encourage them to have fun and soon when someone asks how old I am it's answered by... 87, to howls of laughter and even the head of department is getting involved. I let it drop that I'm married to a Chinese lady and after the look of shock passes the questions get much more interesting and the poor student who's turn it is to play me has to answer very carefully as I'm standing right next to them. This of course just encourages the other students to ask them the trickiest of questions and it all spirals nicely out of control,well almost anyway.!
This lets me learn a huge amount in a short time, who are the outgoing types, what their level of English is, their names and how far I can push things! They also learn a lot about me too. After class the head of department says I've done a good job and doesn't mention the fact that I have not followed the guidelines at all. In fact I think she had a thoroughly enjoyable time even joining in with some questions of her own. It may sound like I was playing around and in truth I was, but for 1.5 hours I had 30 students asking and answering questions on many subjects in English and doing it enthusiastically. It is a fantastic icebreaker and it set the tone for all my following lessons.
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:) Paul you are totally High Class , A+ on that first assignment.
Now class.....dismissed 8)
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sounds interesting Paul you will have to let us in on what happened unless of course they are
deporting you lol!!!! then fill us in later hahaha
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:o You are a Man that wears many different HATS; Teacher, Inspector, Covort under garment agent....A course set to adventure and soon you will have material enough to weave a good late night TV drama. I am always amased at the interesting pickle you get plucked into. Keep up the good Yarn as soon I know the directors Hat will beckon you 8) &.. ACTION
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you were the mysterious man who has all the money
and i was joking about the deportation
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"I was joking about the deportation" I know Ted,
One thing he did say was that the PSB do "inspections" of the schools and if their not up to "standard" then they will not be "allowed" to employ foreign teachers. I think we understand what's being said here! I just underestimated the power they actually have.
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I've been looking for a way to make my lessons more interesting and grab my students attention. I've discovered that there is a wealth of free "power point" presentations on the net for English teachers. They do vary in quality but they have a lot of potential. I'm not really a techie sort and I don't even have power point on my lap top but I found "Open Office" it's free and has a facility to import power point and to create your own. It's fantastic and if I can learn to use it in a day then anyone can. I've downloaded some great interactive games too,that should liven up the dullest of lessons.
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If the classroom is dull, then you can liven it up by teaching them the "Saftey Dance" song... oops thats right you do have a hat so wrong group :o
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That damn hat, will I never live it down :'( Still, a lesson on hats, could be a good idea Rhonald :) That's the beauty of teaching English here all you need is a hook to hang the lesson on then you could move it on to geography or culture or in any direction you choose! Now where is that damn hat!
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Well who would of believed it, I've been a teacher here for 1 year and it's time to renew my contract already. The universities " Foreign teacher liaison officer"(that would be one of the few staff here that can speak passable English!) contacted me last week and asked if I intended to stay for another year. I told him I was considering it but had a few concerns and that I would talk to him latter about them. The next step was to call my manager ( That would be my wife) and tell her what was happening. She immediately sprang into action and called the school and then drove up to have a face to face meeting!
Within an hour I had a raise in salary and a guarantee of my teaching hours never exceeding 9 hours a week and full medical insurance! Plus we were taken out for a very nice meal that evening all paid for by the university. Latter at home I asked her what she had said and she told me that it was basically a list of how good a teacher I was, how they were lucky to have me, how I could easily find work at another school, you can imagine the rest. They rolled over quite easily she said, with a wicked grin!
So it's off to the hospital on Monday morning for my medical,then I will leave the rest to the University to sort out. It should take about a week to get my new Foreign experts book and then with that they will get me my new residents permit valid until this time next year.
It's been a steep learning curve but a very enjoyable one. I have made many new friends in the teaching staff and I consider the students to be my friends too. On the whole they have been a joy to teach and have given me an incite into how they view China and there place in it. I am still surprised by there attitudes to things and I think China can be proud of the values these students have.
It has also shown me that Chinese teachers have a much harder time than we do. There salaries are a third of mine and there work load substantially greater. For every lesson they do they must prepare a lesson plan in full, write it out and submit it to the office for approval. Failure to do so will incur a substantial fine and an unfavorable entry into their school records. Foreign teachers have no such requirement and are free of any interference. In one year apart from my very first lesson no one has monitored my teaching at all. I can recommend teaching as an enjoyable and rewarding way of living here in China......Lets see if that changes over the coming year!
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Paul i'm curious, what was your background before this? Were you a teacher before you went to China? Alan
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I did a small amount of teaching in India and Cambodia years ago,but nothing as formal as I'm doing now. I think a lot of the time here they just want a foreign teacher on the staff to make the school look good. Your a great selling point after all! From what I have been told the private language schools are very easy to teach at, almost just conversational English where you choose a topic and chat with the students for 45 minuets. Of course the hours are longer than state schools and the holidays shorter, ha I think you can guess where my priorities lie!!!
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i know the salary for an English teache in EF of gz is about 12000 yuan/month if they need you have a degree and used to be a teacher because the EF asked a student to pay about 18000yuan/year.
you will have 8000yuan as an English teacher of the middle school with a free house in gz if you have a degree. you would better get work visa before you come here.
you will get over 10000yuan/month as an English teacher in the college or university in gz.
sara
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Paul
This subject of teaching English in China contines to be a talking point between Ming and myself.
I am sure you are as aware as I am of the Chinese Woman's philosophy..."slowly dripping water will eventually wear away a piece of Granite " !!!!
Ming has not made any forceful demands on me in this area, but I know that if she had her preference, I should come to live in China with her.
I am sure that my only rational source of employment would be teaching, although I could afford to live OK on my investments, I think I would go stir crazy if I did not have some meaningful work to do.
I am English by birth, and my spoken and theoretical English is excellent. I have both English language and Literature at English GCE "A " Level. So I "speaka da lingo" and also have a full understanding of the classical grammar and syntax.
My "real" qualifications are a Bachelor in Organic Chemistry and an MBA, I lecture part time at a local University as an Associate Professor of Business Management.....this I do for fun, not for a career !!!
I dont want to work 100 hours a week for beer money, but I wonder if there could be any sort of "fit" between me and my qualifications within the Chinese Education system
Got any comments ???
Cheers...David
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David, feel free to shoot me down for pedantry, but your English is only almost perfect. You still persist in writing "your" for "you're". I say this as I am trying to teach my wife the difference at the moment. So many people, including teachers!, do this, I will probably have to roll over some day soon and give up, as it finds its way into the dictionary. Sorry, I need to take my medication now.
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Interesting David, I've been going through the same thoughts. I know I could live in China and have enough to provide me with a decent income, so I wouldn't really have to work there. At the same time, I think I'd go stir crazy if I wasn't working. So would I go there and teach? Can I use my business degree and experience to enable me to do earn a good income without being able to speak the language?
It may not be an issue as my girlfriend would prefer to move to Canada. We both have young kids, we've talked about it and we both think raising the kids in Canada is probably the best route. On the other hand, sometimes I think my 9 year old would gain a lot by spending a year or more in China, what a great experience that could be for her. After all, she is half chinese :)
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David , with those Qual's it would be a walk in the park for you , but on the serious side somewhere in the back of my brain ha ha , I can remember uni's having a program with tutors earning very big yuan teaching business management english which would be a shoe that fits , at 10 to 15 hours a week plus many , many perks , regards Sujuan and Robert .
ps; don't tell though otherwise it will open a pandoras box .
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OK Philip....nothing/nobody is perfect...mea culpa !!!!
But being as I am a pedant (!!!!!) I went back over a couple of hundred of my posts and I am dammed if I can find where I have wrongly used "your/you're ?? As I understand it, "your" is the possessive pronoun for both singular and plural, whilst "you're" is a modern usage bastardisation of "you are"...please point me in the right direction...my English teacher would roll in his grave to know I made such a mistake ;D ;D
I did find a couple of other mistakes...to my eternal embarrassment, but not that particuar "crime" ;D ;D
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Hi David, you wrote "I am sure your are as aware as I am..." in your previous post, instead of you're (as in you are) as aware as I am. The only time you should use your is as a possessive, as in "your house" Spell checks will not notice this. Here endeth the lesson. ;D
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Philip
You are right...my mistake...OMG !!! Back to the drawing Board ;D ;D ;D...should have typed "you are aware....the 'r' crept in due to lack of attention !!!
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David with the qualifications you have you could easily find work teaching here. My original plan was to find a school that would give me all the paperwork I required to work legally with the fewest hours possible. That way I thought I could take on lucrative private teaching work with no fear of a knock on the door by the police. Well that was the plan! I now work for an average of 6 hours per week, hardly a punishing schedule and have found other things to do as well!
It is entirely possible that you could find a job teaching here with very few hours without too much trouble at all. The fact that you are not desperate to find gainful employment defiantly plays in your favor. If the conditions are not suited to your requirements you can happily turn them down until the right opportunity presents itself. It is a huge market and we are in short supply,especially in the "smaller" cities.
As for grammar......if you teach older students they will have had that drilled into them for several year and are experts at it, so no worries there. What they do need more than anything else is someone who can speak the language clearly. I have met on more than one occasion Chinese English teachers that I have had real problems understanding. You can imagine the sort of mangled English their students have been taught!
One thing I have noticed is that some schools will want you to stay on the premises even if you only have a couple of lessons that day. This is worth bearing in mind when you are looking at prospective schools, along with age and class size of course. I find it immensely interesting spending time with my students and very fulfilling too. They are hard working,open and honest a real joy to be around.
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Guys,
Forgive me but it's more than just the "your" and "you're" issue that exists here. The number of mis-used words here drive me nuts... but until now I have kept quiet because I have been seeing the same thing happen in other forums...
Imagine how surprised and afraid after I read a news article about teachers getting disciplined for failing students who used "SMS Speak" in their english essays. Apparently the parents complained about the failing marks. When the teachers showed them the essays, the response from the parents was still "How dare you fail my child"...
Ah well...sorry for the (short) vent, but I had to get that off my chest...
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This morning was a very good morning indeed! My medical check up was clear and I was issued my 'Certificate of Health' ( a little gold book) With that my new 'Foreign Experts Certificate' ( a little blue book) was issued and the nice people at the local PSB gave me a residents permit valid for 1 year. So that is me sorted out until January 2012. No more paperwork until then, I am a happy camper and so is Ming zhi!!! This afternoon I have to supervise a mid term speaking exam for my students and then the Chinese new year holidays begin,6 weeks off. Happy days!
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Congratulations Paul, you do sound very happy.
Enjoy the New Year celebration, you have even more to celebrate now.
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Foreign Experts Certificate = blue book?
From other sources I was under the impression the certification issued to teachers were one of either A) Foreign Teachers Certificate, a little Green book for those without advanced degrees, (i.e. Masters and above), issued to the basic in-class teachers with the white face and a pulse, holding either a BA or a high school diploma, or even just a passport from one of the 7 key anglosphere countries. B) Foreign Experts Certificate, a Red booklet for those who are truly experts, with MA or Ph.D or a whole lot of years of practical careers experience in their chosen field.
I know of the Green book and the Red book, your Blue book is a new one to me... Any details to share on obtaining the Blue book?
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http://www.safea.gov.cn/english/ (http://www.safea.gov.cn/english/)
Ha ha,
Yes the Red book is now officially the Blue book. I was totally unaware that there was a green book for teachers too!.
I know they use to issue a green book that was actually your Residents Permit but that has been replaced with a sticker in your passport now.
If the school you intend to work for is not SAFEA licenced to employ foreigners there is another route that bypasses the whole, Z visa - Medical Check - Foreign Experts Certificate - Residence Permit route. That is to get an "Alien Employment License" issued by the labour ministry as apposed to the Experts cert that is issued by SAFEA. This by all accounts is a laminated card!
Foreign Expert Certificate consists of two types: economy and culture/education.To get a ' Blue Book' this is the official line;-
Foreign Expert Certificate (Economy) is issued to foreign experts employed in industrial or commercial enterprises or institutions, who work in the fields of economy, technology, management and training; while Foreign Expert Certificate (Culture/Education) is for those employed in that of education, media, publication, culture, art, hygiene and sports.
Application for the Foreign Expert Certificate shall be submitted by the host organization of the foreign expert to the corresponding supervising government departments. The organization intending to employ a foreign expert is allowed to do so only after having observed the related regulations, having met the employment qualifications and having been authorized by the State Foreign Expert Bureau.
Procedures and Requirements
The host organization should apply to the Foreign Affairs Office for the Foreign Expert Certificate after being approved by the corresponding supervising government agency or district/county foreign affairs office.
The following items should be provided: Application of the host organization; Contract of employment, appointment decision of the Board of Directors or letter of appointment; Resume of the foreign expert; Certificates of education and employment qualifications of the expert; Copies of data pages of the expert?ˉs passport and employment visa; Duly-completed Foreign Expert Certificate Application Form; Two 2-inch recent photographs; Letter of Approval by the Municipal Education Commission or related supervising agencies; Health Certificate for experts.
Then it's the Residence Permit....
Foreign experts are teachers who hold advanced degrees and have received an “Expert Certificate” from the National Expert Bureau of Foreign Affairs. The Foreign Expert Resident Permit should be obtained from the teacher’s local Public Security Bureau with the help of the employer. The Foreign Expert Resident Permit requires the following documents.
- Valid passport and visa;
- Originals and copies of “Expert Certificate” issued by the National Expert Bureau of Foreign Affairs Office of the Municipal Government;
- Original “Health Certification” submitted by Beijing Exit & Entry Inspection & Quarantine Bureau;
-Two recent, two-inch, bareheaded, full-faced photos (either black and white or in color);
The official seal of the unit (their employer) on a filled-out “Application Form for Visa, Residence Permit,” along with one recent, two inch, bareheaded, full-faced photo.
This all sounds very official to me and is a long way away from my own experience.
I had to supply ;-
My original degree certificate in Engineering,
A full CV
2 letters of recommendation ( previous employers or friends is OK)
My teaching certificate (any one is good and is why any prospective teach should do a course as without it----No experts cert!!!)
'Proof' that I had been teaching sometime in the past 2 years ( get creative here! Volunteer work in your home country is good!)
Pictures.
The good news is the school will do all this for you and 'help you' to complete the application form correctly. It really is not as hard as it sounds! Every school that has a licence to employ foreigners has a guy/woman who's job it is to get you/school all the paperwork you require. They have contacts in the relevant office's to help them do this.
On a side note yesterday evening was our official end of year dinner for the teaching staff. Great food, good company and lots of toasting! My abiding memory of the evening was the Dean of the University opening bottles of beer with his teeth!
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Paul , enjoy your well earned holidays , just as a side note my now stepdaughter SunYao [ she is 16+ ] having completed a year at secondary school here in Melbourne is departing this weekend to return to her International School in Shenyang as she finds our teaching out here poor , what she was taught? this year she learned 3 years ago at her Chinese school , and as she is bloody smart in maths , sciences etc , she wanted to go back to advance , but she will visit us and we will also visit her , and as things stand she will be coming back for uni , and the funny thing is what was being paid to the State education system here per year will more than pay for 2 years of living in , in Shenyang .
As she has not only my better half's family in Shenyang to visit also her dad and his family will also keep an eye on her and as her visa still has 2plus years to run she can return at any time , regards Sujuan and Robert .