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Q: Just have to share.... it's about words and sentences...
From another forum I'm on...
OP:
"Hi, everyone.
I'm XYZ, the headmaster of (someplace I've never heard of). Very nice to meet all of you here. I'm finding some foreign teachers to teach in my school. If you want to get the job, you can contact me as soon as possible. Then, we can talk about the details"
Reply: "What should the foreign teachers teach?"
OP: "Teach pupils and middle school students the Cambridge English. It's about some words and sentenses."
This is Chinese education.....!
8 years 46 weeks ago in Teaching & Learning - China
This is why i tell every Chinese person who will listen that it's so easy to make money here (if you're Chinese or have a Chinese partner). All you have to do is have your $%&#! together to a reasonable degree. The bar is so low here, any type of organized business with good service will rise above the crap.
coineineagh:
that is, if you have relatives with enough connections to allow ypu to do business. if not, you'll be shaken down by bribe-takers, unscrupulous landlords, next-door copycat competition and compensation-seekers. perhaps this place is enterprise-poor because it's not such a fertile place for opportunities.
xinyuren:
There are opportunities galore. The secret is to be low key. Sure, if you are too successful, too quickly, people will come a'knockin'. But if you are low profile and not greedy about it, you can make a very comfortable living. I have done this twice (with a gf and with my wife) with no connections and no guanxi. Although, I realize a portion of our initial success was because I am a foreigner, but my ex-gf is still thriving without me. I only occasionally give her consultations.
You know it's a bad deal when they refuse to give you the details up front.
RachelDiD:
I used to think they were delibrately trying to screw with me. Then, I realized that they actually have no idea what the details are. They haven't put in the effort to piece that much together, and they never will.
Shining_brow:
I was thinking...they just don't have a clue!
Cambridge English... it's just words and sentences....
icnif77:
It must be name of the English course popular among Chinese. It's not content chosen.
RachelDiD:
It wouldn't even be that embarrassing, except that it isn't even that hard to build a decent esl business model here. Just a small amount of thinking and planning.
icnif77:
It's easy for you, but for them is fairly tricky.
It's the same as you would go to CSL venture.
'Chinese as Second Language'
Shining_brow:
I disagree Icnif... Even though I know nothing about, say, Czech, I do know that a basic curriculum will depend on student level, on the intended usage of the language, and could develop a curriculum based on that! Academic phrases, vs vocabulary and style used in, eg, banking or "going to a restaurant".
When you're talking about doing exam preparation, there should be SOME idea of what you're pretending to teach!!!
RachelDiD:
Shining Brow is correct. One does not need to have a huge grasp of a language to know how to teach it--just assume that students will learn it like any other language. Pick a concentration, pick a curriculum that is graded according to your students' level (which you know, because you, clever you, used a diagnostic test on them). This is exactly why Chinese can't even run a factory without at least one foreigner present to make sure that they don't botch everything--they are too greedy, lazy, and short-sighted to do anything right. Most worthless people ever.
icnif77:
None idea on mine. 'Make them ready for IELTS exam!'
I suggested book, we should study. We don't have it. I even told Head: 'buy one & copy rest'.
It's longer story. Public school, which intends to became associated with Alberta Uni. First two subjects I was teaching were Career Studies and CALM. CALM is book for Uni students, who want to became subject teachers. None of my kids wants to be a teacher. Career Studies will be discontinued in next semester, and it's 'not that important' as per Head, so I just replaced it with Oral English.
German FT is teaching Canadian History in English. He had few classes with Precalculus too, but it was discontinued. Only one student plans to study in Canada.
I researched Internet on IELTS, and I'm giving them some 4 quizes weekly. We look through the quizes with correct answers after they're done, and explanations of 'why'. They should read quizes with correct A as HW.
You'll argue, that's not right or whatever.
I'm not an IELTS or Math teacher, and I didn't apply for it. I'm thinking, it would be nice experience for IELTS teacher to pass the exam first, but I never did. I don't have a clue, how is at IELTS exams, except what I gathered from Internet. I have loads of IELTS/TOEFL quizzes, which I must complete first, so I get correct As.
Contract I signed has provision 'FT will teach curriculum by Alberta's Uni.......'. That's it. I applied for Oral English teaching position. While waiting in my home for Z docs., I became Precalculus teacher, and such.
That's actually more specific than the usual lazy businessman with rmb signs in his eyes. I once had this conversation with some idiots who wanted me to teach IELTs for them:
Me: What is your curriculum?
Them: No curriculum.
Me: What do you want me to teach?
Them: English.
Me: Grammar, Pronunciation, Writing, Reading, Vocabulary, Selected Readings on the Epic of Beowulf, what?
Them: All of English.
Me: Great! We are starting with Beowulf.
Them: I agree. You will supply the materials.
Me: For 200/hr? Forget it. You are just a bunch of idiots who bought some office space and decided to call it a school. I am not embarrassing myself by dealing with you.
Them: Waaaaahhh! You make me lose my face...
Chinese just want money for nothing. They start businesses that then do zilch to build them up (first order of business is to give themselves some ridiculous title, and then declare their school the best in China). They are too cheap to pay for decent materials that would pay for themselves 10 times over within a short period of time. And they cannot believe that Westerners constantly put them to shame, seemingly easily. Even Chinese businessmen don't like doing business with other Chinese businessmen.
Lord_hanson:
This pretty much sums up over half of the English Schools in China.
RachelDiD:
Haha, I pretty much summed up 90% of the business ventures in China, period. These people couldn't help but embarrass themselves if they actually tried.
icnif77:
I hope you understand now, where does requirement for Native English Teacher come from.
Only after seeing your Native passport, they are sure you're teaching proper English.
RachelDiD:
That doesn't always work, though. I speak more than one language. I once taught a class in Spanish because the bastard I worked for didn't pay me on time (Chinese businessmen...). No one knew.
icnif77:
Your Native passport can give them assurance, because their low English level. Every English School in EU has the same requirement, however 'leaders' at EU Schools all speak English. Other thing, in EU requirement 'Native English Teacher' is in Law books, same as in Taiwan, Japan, Russia, S.Korea, and others.
In China, Native English Teacher isn't requirement for WP. I'm not sure, is it a whim of SAFEA in diff. Provinces, but for comparison with other countries I as Non can't get WP in Japan or Russia.
Eorthisio:
Never accept to work full time for a place that has no serious curriculum. If part time never accept less than 300 per 1 hour if they provide the material, 400 per 1 hour if you provide the material, and I mean 1 real hour, not one class of 1h30.
Best remain to find your own students and you can set up a room to teach in your apartment, 10-15 students each time, 100RMB each, 1000-1500RMB per 1h30 class, enjoy the cash flow, work only a few hours per week, time for personal development and hobbies. Don't worry no one will cause you troubles for it, the cops couldn't care less, let alone the government, you don't break any law by doing so, except maybe that you aren't paying any tax for that income.
Finding students is easy using Wechat, Baidu forums and other local tools. Who needs training centers? If you want to make real money in China it's better to let the local parasites out of the deal, you know who I am talking about, you teach a class, do all the work and the center manager earns 80=90% of the profits for sitting in an office, they don't even remember your name, you are just "laowai" in most cases.
RachelDiD:
I would go further and say, never work full time for a Chinese person. Always work for public schools and unis that give few hours and holidays. Have a little gumption, plan your own lessons, and, yes, recruit your own students.
Chinese employers are just greedy roaches...that is why they are always desperate for new teachers. I used to kill time by seeing what I could do in interviews here and still he hires (swear, eat candy, drink beer).
sorrel:
LOL
the number of times prospective employers have told me:
"just make them love English" when i asked that they intended curriculum was.
It's probably some Chinese, who received money from Gov. for his real estate property/farm, and ventured into ESL with the new school.
His English title is 'Headmaster' translated from 'leader' in Chinese.
'Wall' came down fairly recently, so you have to cut them some slack.
This is why i tell every Chinese person who will listen that it's so easy to make money here (if you're Chinese or have a Chinese partner). All you have to do is have your $%&#! together to a reasonable degree. The bar is so low here, any type of organized business with good service will rise above the crap.
coineineagh:
that is, if you have relatives with enough connections to allow ypu to do business. if not, you'll be shaken down by bribe-takers, unscrupulous landlords, next-door copycat competition and compensation-seekers. perhaps this place is enterprise-poor because it's not such a fertile place for opportunities.
xinyuren:
There are opportunities galore. The secret is to be low key. Sure, if you are too successful, too quickly, people will come a'knockin'. But if you are low profile and not greedy about it, you can make a very comfortable living. I have done this twice (with a gf and with my wife) with no connections and no guanxi. Although, I realize a portion of our initial success was because I am a foreigner, but my ex-gf is still thriving without me. I only occasionally give her consultations.
