Have an interview tomorrow regarding an english teaching job in China

[Giuseppe_S]

And Iam a little worried, I have no teaching experience what so ever, and the level of english i'll be teaching (should i be successful in my interview) will be basic/beginners english aimed at primary/middle school.
The thing is I am really nervous i'm not too sure what to expect and feel like backing off as like most people i fear the unknown.
Like I said I have no teaching experience what so ever, the city i will be teaching should I get the job is called Zhejiang.
Any help would be appreciated.

Regards

Giuseppe

[Kansuke]

1) Stop being such a wuss.

2) Work on your own English before presuming to teach others.

3) If you have a college degree and a pulse chances are pretty good you'll get the job.

[Drake]

I'm afraid I have to agree with Kansuke on this one.

[taai gihk yahn]

if you have no pedagogical experience, you are in for one heck of a ride, lol...

and teaching English is NOTHING like speaking it - for example, do you know what a "gerund" is? how about the "past-perfect" tense? use of active versus passive voice in writing? I'm guessing none of the above...yet all germaine to teaching grammar and usage...

ok, so you are teaching grade students and maybe this stuff won't come up, but the point is that without any formal training, you are woefully underqualified; for example, how to structure a lesson plan, generate assignments, grade work, deal w/different learning types, deal with CHINESE students and their cultural context...

that said, if you are a self-starter and autodidact type, get your sh1t together, prep for a few months before you go (e.g. - get some books / look around online for course materials), do some homework on basic pedagogical skills, read up on Chinese social mores, learn a little Mandarin, you might be able to pull it off;

if all else fails, just bear in mind the following lines about teaching qualificationsfrom John Barthes', "The SOT-WEED FACTOR":


"Unhappy day!" laughed Ebenezer. "I've no skill in any craft or trade
whatever. I cannot even play Flow My Tears on the guitar. I can do noth-
ing/'

"Then 'tis plain you'll be a teacher, like myself."

"'Sheart! Twould be the blind leading the blind!"

"Aye,* smiled Burlingame. "Who better grasps the trials of sightlessness
than he whose eyes are gone?"

"But what teach? I know something of many things, and enough of
naught."

"I'faith, then the field is open, and you may graze where you list."

"Teach a thing I know naught of?" exclaimed Ebenezer.

"And raise thy fee for't," replied Burlingame, "inasmuch as 'tis no chore
to teach what you know, but to teach what you know naught of requires a
certain application. Choose a thing you'd greatly like to learn, and straight-
way proclaim yourself professor oft."



good luck...

[David Jamieson]

Why did you apply for a job you are grossly unqualified for?

You have made a poor decision.

Probably better that you back out now before you ruin someone else's chances at success with your clearly poorly thought out plan of how to get to china for nothing.

Yeesh, apply for something you can do.

*edit*... even if you are an autodidact as TGY indicates, you should already have everything in place and you admit you don't.

[GeneChing]

I've had a few friends teach English in China. Each one had a very different experience. Some had a great time - they found the job quite simple and really enjoyed their stay in China. One friend had a horrible experience. He got suckered into this really nasty contract and was basically a prisoner, stuck at this crappy school. Unable to speak Chinese, they took him for a ride. So be careful.

As for Zhejiang, I mentioned it a little in an old e-zine article I wrote: eXtreme Kungfu Qigong: Hard Qigong and Water Lei Tai Fights in China's Amazing New Tournament (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=471). BTW, MartialArtsMart.com is offering a DVD of another extreme qigong tournament as a premium gift right now (for a limited time) (http://www.martialartsmart.com/freegift.html). ;)

I'd also read Mark Saltzman's Iron & Silk.

[Kansuke]

Why did you apply for a job you are grossly unqualified for?

You have made a poor decision.

Probably better that you back out now before you ruin someone else's chances at success with your clearly poorly thought out plan of how to get to china for nothing.

Yeesh, apply for something you can do.



I thought you wanted people to travel and become enlightened?

[Lee Chiang Po]

I have a friend, he can't speak English any better than I can, but he took a job in Korea teaching English. I don't think he even owns a high school diploma. He taught for several years until his contract ran out, married a local girl and started his own school to teach English. He didn't have to do much as far as lesson plans or whatever. Most of that was done for him and it turned out to be mostly book work on his part. It was laid out for him and he then carried it out.
I have taken teaching jobs where I had no experience, and they only gave me 2 weeks to cram for teaching the course. I just went by the book and all went well. They are not going to just point at the class and say go and get them.

[Syn7]

if you have no pedagogical experience, you are in for one heck of a ride, lol...

and teaching English is NOTHING like speaking it - for example, do you know what a "gerund" is? how about the "past-perfect" tense? use of active versus passive voice in writing? I'm guessing none of the above...yet all germaine to teaching grammar and usage...

yeah forsure... BUT if you are a smart, somewhat educated person with a healthy fear of failure and the job you are taking has a strict lesson plan and all you have to do is robot the info aloud and mark pre-made quizes while the class watches the daily english video before they do the book work that you push them through, kind of thang, well, i think it could be done without experience or training...

i dont know how true it is, but i heard its not that hard to get work as an english teacher in alot of places all over the world... i mean, i know so many people who've f u c k e d off for a year or three to teach in peru or thailand or korea... its not something i wish to persue, but it sounds like it could be fun if you had a passion for it and you were really good at it...





so when do you find out???

[Syn7]

he didn't have to do much as far as lesson plans or whatever. Most of that was done for him and it turned out to be mostly book work on his part. It was laid out for him and he then carried it out.
I just went by the book and all went well. They are not going to just point at the class and say go and get them.

WORD!!!!!!!:rolleyes::D what he said...

[Kansuke]

yeah forsure... BUT if you are a smart, somewhat educated person with a healthy fear of failure and the job you are taking has a strict lesson plan and all you have to do is robot the info aloud and mark pre-made quizes while the class watches the daily english video before they do the book work that you push them through, kind of thang, well, i think it could be done without experience or training...


Hell, if he were intelligent and resourceful he could show up not knowing anyone or speaking a word of Chinese, with no teaching experience, and no lesson plan beyond some poorly written textbook and figure out how to survive, thrive, and even teach rather well assuming he had the aptitude for it in the first place.

[David Jamieson]

lol. You guys seem to be working yourself down the standards ladders and sticking your toes into the water of what you deem acceptable.

If I was a chinese person and I knew that the teacher didn't know anything really other than to be a native speaker of the language, I would take a pas on the class.

But I think I understand why some of you might think it's ok to do stuff like this.
I however have respect for the teaching profession and the processes involved in being a good teacher. Flying by the seat of your pants is acceptable at times, but not from the onset.

But, I guess if you are ok with being sub standard and giving sub standard lessons to people who need more than that, then so be it.

Laughable.

I'm going to study language with someone who doesn't understand teh rudimentary machinations of teaching, the language they are teaching and how the language is constructed.

Beauty. You get to learn too! To the detriment of the students. Whatever eh? At least you got your cheapy trip to China and you got to check out the Chinese sweeties and eat some road side dumplings! Worldly!

lol, I'm taking the opposed stance. :)

[Kansuke]

If I was a chinese person and I knew that the teacher didn't know anything really other than to be a native speaker of the language, I would take a pas on the class.



Depending on the circumstances, you probably wouldn't.

[Kansuke]

I however have respect for the teaching profession and the processes involved in being a good teacher.



Even though you are apparently not entirely familiar with it.

[David Jamieson]

while I can only guess at your remarks, I'm going to write them off as your typically narrow minded and spiteful barbs.

Just a reminder for you that you need not respond to me though as I have you on ignore.

Feel free to shout at the air though if you like.

Just a friendly reminder. :)

[Kansuke]

Ignoring doesn't make you any less wrong.

[David Jamieson]

^ lol I guess maybe you don't get it? :p

[MasterKiller]

5...4...3...2...

[GeneChing]

Many Chinese study English already in the PRC. Unfortunately, it's more like Chinglish, because they tend to study under PRC teachers that are non-native speakers of English. Many of those PRC English teachers actually have rather horrid command of English. So often, what these schools are looking for is a native English speaker to 'correct' the English that has already been learned. Any native speaker with a little patience can do that. Typically, the lesson plan is already laid out and all the English teacher needs to do is review it and correct pronunciation and such.

I remember when I was learning Spanish in Junior High. My teacher made a point to break away from the textbooks because it was so academic that it often used technical terms that no one really used. As an example, that teacher cited "carbonated beverage" instead of "soda".

Note that this may be shifting in China now as things are changing so rapidly. So to get back to my earlier post, be sure you know what your getting into.

[Kansuke]

Yeah, 20 years ago or so even the pulse requirement was pretty flexible!

[Kansuke]

^ lol I guess maybe you don't get it?


Funny, I don't feel ignored with all these responses.

[David Jamieson]

Many Chinese study English already in the PRC. Unfortunately, it's more like Chinglish, because they tend to study under PRC teachers that are non-native speakers of English. Many of those PRC English teachers actually have rather horrid command of English. So often, what these schools are looking for is a native English speaker to 'correct' the English that has already been learned. Any native speaker with a little patience can do that. Typically, the lesson plan is already laid out and all the English teacher needs to do is review it and correct pronunciation and such.

I remember when I was learning Spanish in Junior High. My teacher made a point to break away from the textbooks because it was so academic that it often used technical terms that no one really used. As an example, that teacher cited "carbonated beverage" instead of "soda".

Note that this may be shifting in China now as things are changing so rapidly. So to get back to my earlier post, be sure you know what your getting into.


really? so some mushmouth can go correct english then? I mean, you did say "anybody".

Lol, you're a writer and you probably take for granted your knowledge of the english language.

Nowadays there are some many people that just blurt out contractions and abbreviations and acronyms that often the older generation has no idea what language it is they are speaking.

I believe we learn by doing. If you throw a relatively well spoken native speaker into a conversational practice group, there would be benefit.

But to actually teach without any pre-study (not necessarily credentials although those are indicative of education that is specific), well, in my opinion that's reckless.

I'd like to see eminem, p-diddy and 50 cent give english lessons to chinese kids. lol what a tragic nightmare that would end up being. lol :p

[GeneChing]

Like I said, things are changing so rapidly in the PRC that it's difficult to tell what the situation is now. But as for any mushmouth, they weren't always so picky a decade ago. That being said, I still have to cope with a lot of Chinglish, even coming from freelance contributors who have been living here in America for years. Even eminem could improve upon that. ;)

But back OT, Giuseppe_S, how did the interview go?

[Syn7]

its not like you have to teach them how to be writers and public speakers... i thought the goal for most of them was to learn conversational english to get by in an english speaking country or for business... i dont think just anyone should be teaching but somebody who is intelligent and well spoken should do just fine... esspecially if they are following lesson plans...

[Syn7]

Like I said, things are changing so rapidly in the PRC that it's difficult to tell what the situation is now. But as for any mushmouth, they weren't always so picky a decade ago. That being said, I still have to cope with a lot of Chinglish, even coming from freelance contributors who have been living here in America for years. Even eminem could improve upon that. ;)

But back OT, Giuseppe_S, how did the interview go?

so what trends are you noticing in the PRC??? like whats changing so fast..? im always interested in other points of view... ive never been there myself, but i ask this question alot, in one way or another...;)

[Kansuke]

they weren't always so picky a decade ago.




To say the least.

[taai gihk yahn]

but I guess that when I think of a "teacher", I think about someone who has internalized the lessons that they are teaching, for the main purpose of being able to deal with situations encountered that are outside of the expected lesson plan; that's where all that pedagogy stuff and supervised teaching comes in; personally, I wouldn't refer to anyone walking others by rote through a lesson plan a teacher - an instructor? maybe; a prompter? even better; but a teacher is a professional, and IMPO the title should be afforded the respect consummate with that;

that said, I can understand the interest in having a "native" speaker of a language as a resource to "bring alive" the nuances that a non-native speaker just can't get from a textbook; however, there are many possible pitfalls here

for example, to quote the late, great Professor Henry Higgins,

"Set a good example to people, who's English, is painful to your ears.
The Scotch and the Irish leave you close to tears!
There are even places where English completely disappears,
Why, in America they haven't spoken it for years."

Furthermore, as far as being able to "set a good example", Higgins relays what another teacher of phonetics says about Eliza:

"Her English is too good," he said
"Which clearly indicates that she is foreign;
Whereas others are instructed in their native language
English people aren' "

point here is that being a "native" speaker may give one a leg up on certain informal aspects of the language (cadence, inflection, sarcasm), it doesn't necessarily mean that you can explain what you are doing to someone else, or that you personally are a good example of the general standard!

so hopefully the level has improved over time...

[Drake]

Whose, man... whose...

[SoCo KungFu]

This is the same thing they do in lots of Asian countries and really one of the prime sources of employment for former GI's living in Japan when I was there. All you have to basically be able to do is speak. Its just conversational English that they were looking for really. You weren't considered to be of the status that a teacher would hold and you didn't get paid much above minimum wage.