China

[farleft]

Hello,

It's been a long time since I last posted on RevLeft.

As I posted over a year ago I went to China to teach English.

I have now left China so I can now access sites like RevLeft.

If anyone has any questions about China, Chinese people, teaching English (TEFL/TESL) please feel free to ask.

I travelled to and from China without flying.

FarLeft

P.S. It's good to be back! :)

[TheGodlessUtopian]

What would you call the political atmosphere in China? What were some of the issues the locales faced there?

[Void]

Chinese communist party ! yes ! today capitalism, communism tomorrow !

[Hivemind]

What's it like to teach English in a different country? What's your standard of living during the stay? What kind of training do you need to do to be able to teach English abroad?

[tir1944]

The Chinese government bans people from accessing Revleft?:rolleyes:
BTW what are you impressions from there?

[Ocean Seal]

I travelled to and from China without flying.

Why? It sounds more painful and probably more expensive?

[Nox]

Hello,

It's been a long time since I last posted on RevLeft.

As I posted over a year ago I went to China to teach English.

I have now left China so I can now access sites like RevLeft.

If anyone has any questions about China, Chinese people, teaching English (TEFL/TESL) please feel free to ask.

I travelled to and from China without flying.

FarLeft

P.S. It's good to be back! :)

How did you learn Mandarin and how do you reccommend I learn Mandarin?

And what are Chinese schools like?

What is the wage? (I am aware of china's currency devaluation so you can tell me the real amount)

[farleft]

TheGodlessUtopian

Tough one, of course the terms of our employment limited what could be discussed, the first contract an academic year in a relatively poor town people moaned at being poor while QQing (QQ is a Chinese version on MSN) on their iphone.
There seems to be an almost non-existent comradeship, it's every person for themselves.
Maybe some of you read in the news a few weeks ago about a 2 year old girl who was hit by a small vehicle and 18 people walked by, saw and did nothing, she was then hit by another car and was killed. My students didn't seem shocked, they said that people don't want to help because they will get sued (seemingly their money is more important than the life of a human). What is common in China is when someone goes to help someone else that person accused them of causing the problem and the police make them pay the "victim" money. No evidence is required. It's a common trick carried out especially by old men pretending to be hit by a car, they then sit in the road and wait for a policeman to turn up.

Hivemind

Teaching English in a foreign country is an amazing experience, getting to work alongside other Chinese teachers and talking to Chinese students about their lives, hopes and dreams is a wonderful and at times sad experience but one I would recommend to anyone.
The standard of living is great for the foreigner, we get paid much more than the Chinese teachers and work much less hours. Sometimes the pay doesn't sound a lot when you look for ESL/EFL jobs but the actual disposable income is far greater than the average joe would get in the UK.
In China you don't need any training, China has a massive demand for native English teachers and a huge shortage of native English teachers. Most countries require you to have a degree and a TEFL/TESOL certificate.
I am on my way to Ankara, Turkey where I will also teach English.

tir1944

My impressions in the year and a half are mixed, I have taught in both private and public schools teaching students from 16 years old up to 50's.
Classroom sizes are up to 75 students in a class for the public school.
The Chinese people are both incredibly welcoming, friendly and generous as well as selfish and petty.
Most cities are polluted to the point that people where face masks, Chinese people constantly spit and smoke everywhere, including in their children's faces. Hygiene is almost non-existent, most people don't wash their hands after going to the toilet, parents hold their children up so they can urinate in public sinks, I have even seen shit in urinals.
For many goods there are no set/fixed prices so haggling is part of everyday life and people (especially foreigners but also locals) get ripped off.

RedBrother

I have a fear of flying from my last flight, like a panic attack.
To get to China I went from the UK to Germany by coach, another coach from Germany to Latvia, a train from Latvia to Moscow the Trans-Siberian railway to Vladivostok and a train to Harbin (China).
Coming back, Beijing to Moscow (Trans-Mongolian) Moscow to Riga (Latvia) train, Riga to Frankfurt coach, Frankfurt to Istanbul coach, Istanbul to Ankara by train.
It may seem a pain in the bum but I like the journey, I get to stop off at places, see new things and meet new people.
From the UK to China cost about 1000 British pounds which included 2 nights in Riga, a night in Moscow and a night in Vladivostok.
Coming back was cheaper, Beijing to Moscow (5 nights on the train) via Ulan Bator cost 400 British pounds.

[farleft]

How did you learn Mandarin and how do you reccommend I learn Mandarin?

And what are Chinese schools like?

What is the wage? (I am aware of china's currency devaluation so you can tell me the real amount)

I only know basic Mandarin from what I have picked up while being here. It is not needed to teach English. In fact the company I worked for said that speaking Chinese was a disadvantage because they wanted to force the students to use English and when a teacher knows Mandarin they use it to explain the English word, instead of using other English words to explain the new English word.

Schools have big classes but the students are friendly, welcoming and curious, with the right attitude and personality the job is easy and rewarding.

If you have no experience, no degree and no TEFL/TESOL certificate you will work about 10 hours per week and get paid about 400 British pounds, your apartment is free and bills are included so all you need to pay for is food and drink, a large beer in a restaurant will cost you about 40 pence and a bus journey will cost you 10 pence (to put things into perspective).

The point is you get a lot of disposable income, free time and importantly you gain teaching experience which will help you massively in the future, not just for earning more money but to help you get jobs where the standard is higher, the experience goes a long way.

[Nox]

I only know basic Mandarin from what I have picked up while being here. It is not needed to teach English. In fact the company I worked for said that speaking Chinese was a disadvantage because they wanted to force the students to use English and when a teacher knows Mandarin they use it to explain the English word, instead of using other English words to explain the new English word.

Schools have big classes but the students are friendly, welcoming and curious, with the right attitude and personality the job is easy and rewarding.

If you have no experience, no degree and no TEFL/TESOL certificate you will work about 10 hours per week and get paid about 400 British pounds, your apartment is free and bills are included so all you need to pay for is food and drink, a large beer in a restaurant will cost you about 40 pence and a bus journey will cost you 10 pence (to put things into perspective).

The point is you get a lot of disposable income, free time and importantly you gain teaching experience which will help you massively in the future, not just for earning more money but to help you get jobs where the standard is higher, the experience goes a long way.

I am very, very interested in doing that, in fact I have been for a while :)

Which company did you work for, if you don't mind me asking? (you can pm it if you don't want it to be public)

You're saying I will get 400 pounds a week which is like 2000 pounds considering the currency devaluation, plus my basic necessities will be free!? Wow.

[farleft]

400 pounds a month for 10 hours per week.

I will PM you the companies details.

[Red Rabbit]

Would you mind PMing me the details as well? That sounds like a really fun experience, I wouldn't mind looking into it myself.

EDIT: Oh, is it a UK only company?

[farleft]

I will PM you now.

No, it's not a UK company, they are a Chinese company employing teachers from all English speaking countries.
The intake of teaching when I was there 2010 there were Australians, New Zealanders, South Africans, British, Americans and a European (who spoke perfect English).