Messages by Donald

You should be going for the experience and the adventure. If money is at the top of your list. Then don't go. Your question should be "will I have enough to get home?"

Just you, your sense of humor and adventure

I have talked to a few forieign teachers over the past four years. I have to agree with Kiran. It appears some places can do different things. I was living in China for a few years because my wife is Chinese. Renewing the tourist visa here was never a problem. Then I got bored and decided to go teaching. It wasn't a big deal, except for the trip to Hong Kong. This country doesn't operate to well on fixed laws. I also agree with Anthony. Don't try to work on a tourist visa. Many people do get away with it and some are deported when they get caught. But I don't think you'll here much from the people who get deported.

I have a question regarding life and/or medical insurance. Some schools offer these bebefits, others don't. Is there an administrative reason for this. Is a foreigner better off to obtain this insurance him/herself? I would be interseted to hear from those who are foreign teachers in mainland China.

Thanks
Don

The schools here will definitely try to keep the best people. Your compensation package in the first year might be low, but it gets better as you gain more experience and learn how to adapt to, rather than change, the education system here overnight. Like any business, the schools here will weed out those who cannot adapt, and/or work.

Hello Denis
I teach College students in an English emersion environment and I am the only foreigner in the village. (Near Yibin, Sichuan) My greatest difficulty is keeping the interest of many of the students because those students don't understand alot of the English language. More so for my Business english students. If you do not have a bilingual assistant this might cause you some grief. I have not taught high school students, but thought I would let you know there are other teachers here who are teaching in places where there are no other foreign English speakers for kms around. I agree that you make extensive use of multi media. My two cents worth is that you must never enter the babysitting role. The best move you made was to ask for advice. Ross has a good point but beware of appearing to show favoritism.

Yeah, That's a Canadian Question. Do you really want to give up your Cdn. Citizenship Jim? Check out the CIC website at cic.gc.ca You will be able to get the correct information concerning your views right from the people who decide. I am from Edmonton. I am currently teaching in Yibin in Sichuan Province, PRC.

Do you plan on extending your contract, or will you go find work with another company. I've notice most of the job postings are for teaching pre-school, kindergarten, and primary kids. I find teaching young adults in areas away from coastal China to be interesting. They are interested because there is little opportunity to use their English skills. Also foreigners are scarcer than in cosmopolitan cities like Beijing and Shanghai. The pay is less and the emenities may not be what they are in the larger coastal cities. The problems that are encountered are different than with children.

Ha HA, An American accent? Which one? The Texan drawl, or the Yonkers one, or Maybe the Southern Bell accent.? Even Canadians have an accent. People from B.C. (a province in Canada ) sometimes have a rough time understanding someone from NewfoundLand (another province 5,000 km away). Then there's the guy from Quebec who sounds Parisian. Maybe you should find out which part of your accent is making things difficult and try to make that part less noticable. About expendable; everyone is (including Americans). So don't worry about it. Why did you choose to teach kids? I find that it is hard to keep the attention of children over a period of time. Discipline seems to be another problem.

Hello Nicholas; you can call me Don if you like. Sorry about taking so long to reply.

This is my third semester teaching in China. I am teaching Business English this semester. My first Semester was teaching Oral English and Listening. My students are 19 to 21. How did it go with your complaining adults? I have been in China for 27 months over the past 4 years. My wife is from Beihai, Guangxi. So I live in both China and Canada.