Things have changed for me.

Greetings fellow language mongers.

It has been a very long road and in retrospect, 8 years is not a short time in China.
Originally, after about 6 months here I felt that being a language trainer/teacher, I thought i was making some difference in people's lives and that had a strange, warm feeling that brought me satisfaction.  That is gone.

Why? Well, I do not believe I am unique in the sense of being a laowai.
Allow me to bore you a moment here.

For about 2 years now, I have gotten the clear vision(deluded?) that the market and business of English is a bit immoral. And bear with me here please.

The way I see this is the schools and system and students all have some problems which will be literally astronomical to change.

What am I saying?

Well, for example, schools will do just about anything to get your ass in the door, take your money, and then not deliver what they promise. Then, they will only give you a bit of what you really need, just enough to help you achieve some minor goals and then you are done.  Thus, up to the student to continue on the road of fluency.

yes, the students probably do not do any other studying after finishing whatever course they take, and thus, their money, time, energy is wasted. Until the next round of:
I have a job interview etc etc
I want to take a trip to ....
I have an exam....

Thus the cycle continues.

I believe that this is really phucked up because in my mind, a language is naturally accumulative and requires years to learn it. However, I believe the average Chinese person has studied English for more than 10 years...

Why do they need to study it anymore? If I had studied Chinese for 10 years, I do not think I would be required to go to another school.

But the nature of the business keeps them in this cycle of keep coming back mindset.

Sure, there are no native speakers all around them to practice with. however, the answer is very simple.

Speak to Chinese people around you in English. Why not? Other nations do this!

Maybe I am a marked man because I would like to change this.

If i had my own way, the business would have its doors closed within 10 years and there would actually be a 2nd language in China. As I think it should be.

Call me kooky or just plan stupid. Mei guan xi.

The main concern is this.

If i am right, and wish to change it. That is a mountain higher than any.
Thus, I may be pissing off many schools. Well that's just too bad isn't it?

I would never open a school because of all the red tape and fu bai money I would have to dish out. Not to mention all the b.s foreigners already have to deal with.


In my opinion, we are not really needed here. Sorry to say that and put us all out of work.

I guess that Chinese people lose face if they speak English to each other.

That looks like an impossible task to overcome.

but honestly, ESL means English as a Second Language.

But, I think what we are doing here is not ESL. Maybe some of you.

I consider myself "rent o' laowai".

Pay me to have someone to speak to in English and keep the cycle going.

And not to mention all the red tape and headaches, and fu bai, that we need to go through.

how they rip us off on salaries, keeping them in housing: recruiters.

I think its time for laowai in China to unite and put recruiters out of business because they do a shitty job anyway and we could do a much better job of administration, promotion, development and operation than any of those so called schools.


Just a thought....


Unity in Numbers.


I would like to also create a day in China called "Foreign Teachers week"

Where all of us across the country take time off and go phuck off in what ever way we like.


last food for thought.


if it were not for us, would they be prospering so well?

Imagine a nation wide Laowai teachers strike!!!

They would lose much.

They should be giving us more respect and stop jerking off the students and their families and companies. They make a shit load of money off of us and we make squat.
150-200 rmb or a bit more an hour?

they are pulling much more than that.

^ You're "Rent-O-Lao Wai" business idea is a good one. I've joked before of setting up a photo booth where Chinese people could take their picture with me, and conjectured I'd make a lot more money that way (especially if I had different attire to wear to suit their various needs).

I think you're cynicism about English schools is well founded. The training centers I worked at were 85% business and 15% school. One thing they'd try to do is put students in a lower level than they should be in so that they'd be in the system longer and pay more money. I also think they don't really care about the quality of teaching, because most training centers offer no raises or incentives for experienced and capable teachers to stay on. They seem to prefer to cycle through green recruits, exploiting their naivete as best as possible before they wise up, and then spitting them out to make way for newcomers.

On the other hand, while I really can't stand the corrupt element that training centers are riddled with, I still think it's a pretty good idea if it were done correctly. Chinese students study English in a rote fashion and don't get much opportunity to speak/listen. This isn't always the teacher's fault, as it's practically impossible to have a really successful oral English class with 40 or more students. The training center can offer smaller classes with modern teaching methods and native speakers. Additionally, we Lao Wai may stress more creativity than they get in other schools, and students will also have more opportunities to build their confidence speaking to others and getting up in front of a group.

So, I hope your plan to get rid of English schools isn't successful, though I wouldn't mind if some hundreds of them were closed and their leaders spent some quality time behind bars for their crimes of theft (my last boss ripped me off of far more money than a poor person would be jailed for if they'd stolen it outright).

Lastly, I think my uni classes are good and the students are getting something out of it, as am I. Which reminds me, I really should get to working on my lesson plans.

yea I guess I have been around a bit too long. I agree that they want fresh off the plane laowai. This does give them the chance to re-do their scams again.

I do not know about Uni jobs because I do not have a degree and never tried to get in there. However, if I could land one of those types of jobs I would be happy to at least try it. However, i wonder if i would come across the same stuff.

Having worked only full time in public schools and part time in language mills I can say that I generally love the University classes.
I don't know about other Uni teachers but I use materials that are up to date and get a chance to hang out and learn from fellow teachers (Chinese teachers) that have masters and Phds from western countries for the most part. The system isn't perfect and could use a lot of improvement in grading and assessment but it's not as broken as some make it out to be.
Language mills on the other hand I do take as broken from the experience I have had of them and yes they do charge the students a shit load and give the the ft crumbs, but honestly this is your deal as an employee in ANY company not just the esl industry. Owners always take a lions share and dole out a pittance in comparison to employees.

Don't shoot me, but technically, what many of us are teaching here is EFL, English as a Foreign Language.  That basically means teaching English to students who get little to no exposure to English in their everyday lives.  There is a subtle but distinct difference between that and ESL, English as a Second Language (that you actually use/need regularly).

On the other hand, I pretty much agree with you, most of the English teaching industry here (and elsewhere) is a big waste of time.  Anybody who REALLY wants or needs to learn a language, especially with the Internet and what not, will do it with or without my pasty laowai ass helping them along.

And as for us lot getting ripped off, that's what Raoul's is for!

EFL/ESL

thanks for the clarification. I probably was just writing without thinking...again.

Yea of course bosses will take bigger pieces of the pie. this doesn't bother me.
what bothers me is that here in china
1. The consensus is, do not speak English to your fellow Chinese man because you will lose face
2. The schools promote this idea and keep them in the dark about it.

I really hate to watch people pay oodles of dough for something that which they can learn themselves. however, who can change this?

1. The consensus is, do not speak English to your fellow Chinese man because you will lose face

I'm not entirely sure this is accurate. i feel like they have assimilated quite a bit of english and use it amongst themselves on a daily basis. (And this is just from overhearing people in my little boonie town.)

I especially like sneaking up on kids who are practicing english (loudly shouting) "Hello my name is XX, how are you?" and saying "fine thanks you. And you?" You get can some pretty awesome shocked faces!

I'm not talking about full conversations though. I think the average high school/college kid doesn't know enough english to have conversations with each other. And sure, you can argue that after 10 years they should. but I took 8 years of language in my middle school and high school and I don't ever think I was able to carry on a conversation with anyone. We just conjugated verbs and learned new vocab words, but never really learned how to put them all together. 

Also, I think many of them won't speak english with each other because they just don't care so much about english. Even with my english major students. I've talked to many of them about this. They don't care/don't like english and are just doing it because their parents made them. I kind of can't blame them when they cut class and don't do very well (just like they can't blame when when I give them a low grade!)

Anyway, my philosophy is that I am not an English Teacher, that I am teaching IN English. There is a big difference.

good perspective.
teaching IN english

Also, I think many of them won't speak english with each other because they just don't care so much about english. Even with my english major students. I've talked to many of them about this. They don't care/don't like english and are just doing it because their parents made them.

This is a big issue in English Language Teaching - it's almost always assumed in  lot of the theory and textbooks that you are teaching students with a fairly healthy degree of motivation and interest.

Teaching and learning can and should be fun, but lack of any real motivation beyond 'my parents forced me to do this' or 'I gotta pass this exam' is tough and one of the biggest problems a language teacher has to face. 

Yes I believe that once they pass the exam, get the job or the visa, we are pretty much left in the dust. I guess there is jack we can do about that.

That is pretty bad actually. In my mind, if I were to have to do it, then I would try my best to enjoy it. At least then the time spent there would be fun and entertaining as well as educational.

I sometimes wonder if the schools really play up on this or not. It seems to be the true case, get them in, give them little, reach their short term goals, and get them out and set up for round 2 or round 3.

it is discouraging as a trainer(not a teacher). Because i would like to see the market change.

Maybe i shouldn't do that. i may end up with someone looking down at me(big dong bei guy) telling me that I must stop doing it or be thoroughly crushed.


I never saw a place like China where it really is one for me and none for all.

I take the little joys in life.
Like helping a student get a scholarship to study in NZ who would never get a chance to study outside of China because his family is from a poor province.
Teaching heavy metal lyrics and themes to my little budding jongguoren head banger  as well as discovering new music through her and giving her new tunes every week to listen to.
For the students that don't care I tell them to get out or treat them like furniture, if they want to show some interest then great, otherwise they are a desk in my eyes.
I take my time in classes getting to know my students and introduce them to new things and get them reading and writing and expressing themselves. I try to show them a world outside the well and let them take it from there.

metal is good as long as you don't work at a government run school.

So I don't think slayer or metallica should be employed. I tend to lay away from metal but hit them with rock songs from the 70's but nothign political.

metal is good as long as you don't work at a government run school.

Oh, you'd be surprised at what you can get away with even at a gov't school! (And speaking of politics, yes I even got away with talking about the noob pr1ze winner with three classes over a span of days and never got a talkin' to.)

And I think I have a very similar attitude to jpd01 for teaching. Only I teach them bjork, and Rolling Stones instead of metal  (Sympathy for the devil is a GREAT song for oral class. It's like a history lesson and a mystery all in one--just don't tell them the title and ask them who is the singer of the song is. Barely anyone got the devil, most guessed god or death, but I did get some excellent answers such as a wizard, time, freedom, and a time traveling historian.)

my last job was about 50% good students who had a purpose in learning and 50% college or high school leavers who didn't care. enjoying 50% of your job is pretty good, specially when you're on about double a middle class salary here

i always explained to the bad students that i got paid whatever so i wasn't going to make them work hard

I did feel contempt sometimes, but even tho i was in a revolving door style language place, I still helped a lot of people imo

I will use more music with the courses this year. Because I really hope to grab their attention a bit more. At least if i can spark some interest in music, they will enjoy themselves and be actually doing some work