Advice for Kris_kck@yahoo.com
Trip Start
Jun 17, 2005
1
21
Trip End
May 15, 2006
San Jose,
California,
United States
Thursday, April 20, 2006
I tried a couple times to send the following response to your email address. It was returned as undeliverable. Anyways, below is the original message I sent. I hope you get this:
I am more than happy to answer any questions you may have. As for myself, I am a full time middle school math teacher. I originally plan to teach for one year but opted out of it for a variety of reasons.
The months are usually done by semesters beginning in Sept and ending in Dec. Then from Jan. to about May I believe. Don't quote me on this info. This is just what I know. But things differ I assume.
Finding a teaching job is fairly easy however being of Asian decent is actually a disadvantage. Some schools don't like to have Asians teaching English especially in Shanghai from what I know. I found my position via the Internet. It's quite easy, check out daves esl cafe or teachingabroad.com. Those are good resources.
Your experience in China will partly depend on what type of teaching assignment, what city you teach in, what type of institution you teach for, and what your personality is like.
I taught in Chengdu a major city however I taught at a public school with very little support for their foreign teachers. Basically it was babysitting. If you get a job at a language institution the class room sizes are a lot smaller and easier to teach in. The kids are a lot more motivated because they are paying for the classes.
Culturally it was tough because I don't speak Chinese and meeting people gets boring as my level of Chinese couldn't get me past simple conversations.
Tell me what city you plan to teach at and what are some of your expectations from this experience. My personal suggestion is to take your time and if you end up commiting to a school sign up for the least amount of time, most likely 6 months. That gives you more room to negotiate your salary, accommodations, and teaching hours. Feel free to contact me for any other questions. I'd like to make sure you make the most optimal choice.
Regards,
Paul
