ESL Teaching - Popular

seeingredinchina.com — I've already received a handful of emails from blog readers asking for advice on finding work in China, and my wife received 2 from friends just in the last week. As teaching in China becomes more popular, so does tricking foreigners into working at awful schools. Today I'd like to give job hunters a few tips for finding a reputable school in China.

Why do you want to teach?

seeingredinchina.com — It was the right room alright. I stood outside of a locked door, behind which my schedule told me I should have begun class ten minutes earlier. I had no choice but to wait there where my co-teacher had shown me, alternating between examining my class schedule, the number above the door, and wondering if it was all a big elaborate game to mess with my mind.

shanghainovice.com — It’s summer in Shanghai and that means mornings and evenings of Children’s shows. Are you afraid? If you’re an English teacher you should be! Hannah Montana is taking over the English classroom!

www.lostlaowai.com — Dear Chinese student, If you're reading this, you have already decided to seek higher education in an English-speaking country. Congratulations! Going abroad takes a lot of courage, and I'm sure you'll do very well. Before you go, though, I'd like to send you a modest list of things to remember...

blogs.wsj.com — Mandarin lessons may be the trend in the West, but the push in China is to study English.
Now, two language-teaching companies have given China poor marks for its English abilities. China, according to two separate studies published recently, is distinguishing itself for the number of people studying, not for their skill levels.

www.lostlaowai.com — From the post: "Recently a Kunming language school I have taught at in the past asked me to recommend a foreign English teacher. As it happened, an American friend of mine was looking for extra work. He's in his mid-30s, speaks some Chinese, has years of experience, and even has a proper ESL teaching certificate. It seemed like a perfect match. There was just one problem.

www.danwei.org — This piece on Danwei answers an interesting question: Learning English has never been more popular in China, so why are so many English language schools going out of business?

lossofmind.com — This morning I was informed, with ten minutes notice, that I would be giving a brief lecture on the differences between Chinese and American culture to students preparing to study abroad. I was told to make America sound attractive. Being completely caught off-guard by the request I mangaged to elucidate the following in a tongue-in-cheek manner to a totally unreceptive audience.

www.echinacities.com — I saw a movie years ago called La Ciudad. A series of vignettes about Hispanic immigrants in the US. In one, a new arrival goes home with a girl and in the morning wants to be sweet and go buy breakfast. Coming out of the store he looks up at the identical Robert Moses built NY projects and realizes he'll never find his way back and the girl with think he ran.

www.lostlaowai.com — This in-depth post gives some excellent advice for anyone considering teaching ESL in China - and, in particular, at Chinese universities. Tam gives prospective teachers a large list (broken into categories) of questions you should be asking when considering employment.