Live & Learn

Soon after Amy Johnson graduated with a degree in education, she left Louisiana to teach English in a small town in Harbin, in Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. It seemed like a good way to use her degree, live in a foreign country and make a living at the same time.

Her motivation to settle in China was simple: live in a rich culture with an ancient history and strong economy. But while the 24-year-old's degree gave her an edge in the classroom, this isn't necessarily the case for the endless stream of foreigners flocking to China as English teachers.

"I think it's probably the easiest job for a foreigner to get, especially since everyone in Beijing is trying to learn English with the Olympics coming," said Johnson, who now teaches at Telford Bilingual and International Kindergarten in Beijing. "Even if I quit my job today, I think I could find another job at the end of the day."

The wide availability of jobs across China usually means that anyone - even those without teaching experience, training or a degree in a related field - could find a school or recruiter to make them an offer. Consequently, some foreign language experts and observers believe the industry is in critical need of government intervention to impose a minimum standard for foreign English teachers. The goal, they say, is to revamp the qualification process so that foreigners aren't hired solely because they're native English speakers.

However, the government is now encouraging everyone from taxi drivers to government officials to take English lessons in preparation for the estimated 500,000 foreigners expected to arrive in Beijing for next year's Olympic Games. But such official nudging isn't necessary to push the millions of Chinese students now paying exorbitant fees to learn English, usually in hopes of winning high-paying jobs with international firms.

There are no reliable statistics, but some published reports put the number of foreign teachers across China in the thousands. Most come from the United States, Canada, Britain and Australia.

Critics say most teachers are dedicated, career-oriented and experienced, but the growing industry could become disreputable unless it's standardized. And English teachers have become the subject of hot debate on websites and blogs and among college instructors and Chinese students.

"They come to China for something else, not to teach," said Niu Qiang, a visiting professor of the English Department at Changchun University in Jilin Province, who has written about the lack of standards for foreign teachers. "We should rule out or scrutinize those unqualified teachers."

So, what do they come for, if it's not for teaching?

Niu said teachers are often too young and inexperienced, or they're retirees looking for an easy time in China. And she also dislikes the reputations of many male foreign teachers outside of the classroom.

"They're not influencing young people in a good way - especially in Shanghai and Beijing," she said. "They have very loose lifestyles with females all the time. They frequently change girlfriends, and it's not good for China, socially."

At the same time, Niu said that schools in China aren't yet in a position to pick and choose among applicants, because there's such a huge demand. Teachers could find jobs in a variety of private and public schools from the elementary to college levels.

Experience is not always a requirement, but most ask for a bachelor's degree and offer higher salaries to experienced teachers.

In addition, those who sit through a short-term Teaching English as a Second Language (TEFL) course can demand higher wages, while the best-paid work at international schools in major cities.

Many job websites list dozens of positions across the country. They include pitches such as this from a Nanning school: "You must be available immediately (yesterday is better!)." The job offered 4,500 to 5,500 yuan ($584-714) a month and "a generous travel allowance" along with "balmy tropical setting".

Yang Changju, director of the cultural and educational experts department at the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs, said that the administration is working with the Ministry of Education to develop a qualification system for foreign language teachers in China to better regulate the market. No timetable was available.

Yang also said the qualification standard may vary from region to region, because China is so large, and demand varies from region to region.

Sara Moss, 24, who graduated with an English degree in the United States, came to China to teach after learning about job opportunities from two friends.

Her current job differs from her experience in Hubei, where she worked for the Three Gorges University in Yichang for two years. As an English major, she felt adequately prepared to teach in China, but she realized soon after she arrived that ESL instructional training would have been useful.

"I kind of regret not doing it, because I think it's kind of helpful to know how to teach ESL before you come here," she said. "It's not something where you just walk into a class and start teaching."

She has learned to improvise with her students to keep things interesting and enjoys her job.

Stories about unqualified teachers who got jobs solely because they were native English speakers haven't eluded her. At her first job, a foreign colleague was fired, because he used class time to chat with students, didn't prepare materials, started class late and dismissed students an hour early, she said.

"I've met plenty of those people who are terrible teachers," Moss said. "If you're teaching at a university, you get a free place to stay and a free air ticket. And now, the universities are realizing that just because you speak English doesn't mean you can teach."

Angelina's ESL Caf, a large private recruiting company with offices in several cities including Houston, Texas, has about 500 schools across the country as clients, said founder Isabelle Ji and manager Tom Tang. The company gets about 100 e-mails a day from foreigners looking for jobs and offers positions to about 500 a year.

"Many Chinese schools need foreign teachers every year, and since most foreigners work six months or a year, many schools need new teachers every year," Tang said. "If I am a headmaster, every year I have to get foreign teachers."

Wu Qing, the vice-dean at the School of English and International Studies at Beijing Foreign Studies University, said it's only a matter of time before the process is standardized.

However, she felt that the main problem today is that too many Chinese are being pushed to learn English for one kind of qualification or another, including taxi drivers and very young students. She believes this trend should be reexamined. She said there's a need to learn English, but it should be done in the proper setting and context.

"It's a kind of a waste of resources," she said, adding that her own university goes beyond pushing students just to cram. "It's not language alone; we also stress culture, and we need to understand the values of the English-speaking community in order to understand the culture."

The booming market has attracted its share of shady characters who use the exploding demand to lure foreigners to China only to win fees from schools.

The US embassy has heard from many teachers who arrived in China only to encounter problems with employers involving payment and other benefits.

"Many Americans have enjoyed their teaching experiences in China; others have encountered significant problems," the embassy said on its website. "Unfortunately, some American citizens travel to China under a contract with promises of a good salary, bonuses and other perks only to find themselves in difficult situations, often lacking funds to return to the United States."

For Johnson, her first job provided some unexpected bumps along the way that she wasn't ready to handle in Harbin.

"I was told by the company that they would be providing materials, but they didn't, and they also said they would be providing training, but they didn't. So, we were kind of lied to," she said.

But a separate incident provided the last straw.

Her landlord entered her apartment when she was on vacation and reported to her boss that some things were damaged or broken. Her boss, without consulting her or hearing her side of the story, deducted about $200 from her salary. That scared her away from the school.

"We left, because he didn't talk to us about it, he just gave him (the landlord) the money. We felt it was not right," she said. "When you live here long enough, you learn some bad things can happen. You're careful to look out for those things. You kind of always have to be on your toes and pay attention to things."

Zhu Zhe contributed to the story

(China Daily 06/06/2007 page18)