Sometimes I have had trouble with the class monitors wanting to be boss and take over the teaching plan. Other times, you get someone who's father is a big boss and they think they are the big boss because their english is good (so they think) Mostly now, because I have experience I either ignore them, if they don't do any work, I give them a poor mark or fail them...if you do this though keep records and make sure you have told the head teacher etc
Don't get personal with anyone or hold a grudge...your here to teach not stress.
I've had a girl that cried a lot but in the end she came good, with the help of her Head Teacher, we joined heads and got her to gain confidence.
The main thing is to get to know your students and to get them to trust you.
I have stopped at the one University for over 3 1/2 years, so most know me, it has helped me get the experience you need to work in China.
Just don't expect too much from your students and take some things with a grain of salt!!

I and all the teachers I know have had the opposite experience when working with the Chinese schools. Rather than TAs who try to take over, we either have no TAs in our classes or the TAs we do have want no part in our class. They sit there grading their papers and getting them to translate something or make students be quiet is like asking them for their first born child. Their attitude is simple: it's not my class.

Apart from that, when teaching at our private English center I find that my students are all spoiled and paying a bunch of money to remain stupid. Many have terrible English but the teachers aren't allowed to fail them so they glide through the school. Many of them also behave terribly, although I've found the parents rarely view it that way or care. During one presentation lesson one kid crawled all over the floor while I was teaching, snatched things from other students and wouldn't stop talking and screaming while I was teaching. At the end his father bragging-ly told the TA that his son is obviously doing very well and is the most active student in the class.

When I taught in China three years ago I was volunteering while doing a study program. I worked with students who were the children of poor migrant workers who were going into the city every day for work but weren't actual residents of Nanjing and therefore didn't have access to Nanjing's schools for their children. Instead they had a poor little school outside the city with dirt floors and no windows and their "English teachers" literally didn't speak a word of English. We volunteered several times of week doing English lessons with the kids to help them prepare for their middle school entrance exam. It was easily the most rewarding experience of my life. Nowhere on earth have I seen children as well-behaved, grateful and all around appreciative of every little bit of knowledge you could offer them. The same "country" southerners that the rest of the big city Chinese look down on were the only people I have encountered between both stays in China that gave me something positive to say about the people here.

Unfortunately, my students now are the polar opposites of that.

I teach at a college, all of my students are of two different majors that have to take oral English. There are one or two students in every class who talk to me, the rest remain silent unless I specifically ask them to answer me. I was given a horrendous "Business English" book that is completely useless. The only teaching advice I was given was "get them to talk to you." So far I have been floundering, but hopefully I will figure out what I'm doing. My biggest problem is time management at this point, sometimes I run out of stuff to do when a class is especially fast. Since we had class this weekend, I didn't feel like doing much, so I asked them how their holiday was, speaking to each student. Then we went outside and played tag and seemed to have a lot of fun with it.

I have two part time jobs. The first I got is at some sort of training center, where I "teach" young children. Actually, I just play games with them and ask them to read giant flashcards. I know they are just using me as a foreigner, but the kids are cute, I don't have to prepare, and the pay is good. The second part time job is teaching children grades 3-5. I basically review what the teacher taught them last class, and then we play some games. Because of these two jobs, I only have one night off a week and no mornings off at all. I don't feel like doing this forever, so I'll drop one of them eventually. The children are totally noisy and crazy. The college students are too quiet. Either way I'm still struggling to figure out what I'm doing.

I've been at a College for 2 years, and have had very few problems at all. As a matter of fact, no one from the administration has every asked to see a lesson plan, has never been to my classes, or has ever asked me what I am doing. For all they know, we could be making paper airplanes.

The levels of English vary from poor (some) to moderate (most) to good (a few), but of course, being Chinese, the kids are really shy and reserved. Part of what I have ended up teaching is creative and motivational thinking in order to get the students to open up and explore other areas of knowledge that will aid them with being successful in life. In other words, how to get "one up" on the competition. The students, as a whole, are really fun to teach, and depending on the class (the Freshmen are the best) are excited to have an oppurtunity to learn.

The Sophomores seem to develop a little bit of an attitude when they return, mainly becaue I think they have decided by that time what they want to do, and if English doesn't fit into their plans, then they have no intention of learning it. But...they still have to pass my class, so most of them come, however reluctently.

All in all, it has been a lot of fun and educational, not only for them, but for me.

I had a rough time working with a private comoany.  Was told to teach abd not worry about the Z visa, they would eventually start the porcess after the teaching started.  I was hospitalized for a few days during which time i was fired.  My attorney told me their attorney told him the contract was ilegal so we did not have a standing in court.  I was told to lie to the PSB because my school did not have permission to hire foreigners.  Other teachers hired by this company who worked at another school in Shanghai were also told the same.  They hired one teacher without a contract, another was told to continue teaching even thought he was told by the Foreign Expert Bureau he did not qualify as a teacher.
U dont want to mention namees, but they use the same acronym as a professional golfing association in the USA.