Chinese TEFL: State v Private
Posted: 08 Apr 2021, 10:28
No one is disputing TEFL scams exit in all countries, but they’re particularly active in China because of demand. They operate in the private sector because they can bypass education requirements as they’re a business.
"The myth about foreign teachers reflects some parents' superficial understanding about English learning. These who haven't received proper training can only provide simple conversation skills, not systematic language education." Xiong Binqi, vice president of 21st Century Education Research Institute, Global Times.
State v Private
In a state school you’ll be surrounded by other teachers, the indigenous teachers will be fully qualified, the director will most probably have a Ph.D. in education and the school will be supervised by the education authority. There will be rules and regulations, both your lesson content and performance will be monitored and it will be run professionally. If your teaching is not up to a professional standard, you’re out, no matter how popular you are with your students.
In the private business sector the ‘teacher’ will be the often described ‘performing monkey’ whose job it is to keep the students (customers) happy and the director will probably have an MBA. Unhappy students leaving means a loss in revenue and if you can’t keep the production line supply line moving and turning over a profit, you’re also out. Nothing wrong with that so far if that’s your preferred choice of employment and you’re qualified, unfortunately, most are not.
"In 2015, all the foreign teachers at a Hangzhou branch of Disney English, a Disney subsidiary that teaches English, disappeared overnight after a police raid, local newspaper Metropolitan Express reported. It said that the reason for their disappearance was that none of them were qualified." (en.people.cn).
"Wang Yushi, an official from SAFEA, told media that there were 400,000 foreigners working in China's education industry in 2017, but only one third of them are qualified." (en.people.cn).
Note that Mr. Yushi didn’t refer to schools in the above quote, but referred to the ‘education industry.’ Within this ‘industry’ you won’t find many teachers because it’s not about education, it’s about profit. Yet you will find many employees with fake degrees, those working on the wrong visa, foreigners whose native tongue isn’t even English and of course the, ‘I’m better than you, I want 30/40% more than everyone else and spend my w/ends partying’ minority. Music to a scammers ears.
"They baited and switched me on a job placement in 2017. The owner Ian said I could get a full-time job that paid $3,800 a month with a free furnished apartment with air-fare reimbursement if I completed his TEFL course ($599 at the time) and a fake diploma from him for another $500 which I negotiated down to $300. Since I would be making $3,800 AFTER TAXES it sounded like a great deal … Guess what … I was taken directly to a jail way out in the boonies where I met about 60 other foreigners with similar problems." (eslinsider). Oh the irony of working illegally with false documents and complaining of being scammed!
"David came to China unaware that he was working illegally on an F visa, and that he was unqualified to work at his originally assigned school because he lacked a college degree." (Panda Teachers). Duh!
Scammed or deported, or scammed first and then deported, or pay to get yourself out of probable deportation the scammers led you into, the business sector is the go to place for the unqualified, gullible and greedy. Some having been scammed multiple times still haven’t realized that without them the scammers wouldn’t exist, as they head off to anonymous web pages promoting the same fantasies that got them scammed in the first place. These anonymous pages will be crawling with scammers. No one is going to set up a huge spammy link farm to help you for free. You might not initially see the scam, but be assured it’s there waiting for you.
"If you are in Beijing or Shanghai, we can introduce you to the lawyer once you send us a copy of your complete unedited contract by electronic scan to legal[at]ChinaForeignTeachersUnion.org and he will charge you a f;lat 10,000 yuan fee to nullify your contract without loss of pay, nor visa." (ESLwatch reviews for CFTU).
To summarize
1. Although the business sector pays higher than government schools, the actual teaching and what’s politely termed ‘extra activities’ will be reflected in that salary with 45 to 50 hours per week not uncommon. Additionally, a minimum of freebies in your contract such as free accommodation, utilities or a food allowance will mean that you’re often required to pay for those out of your salary.
2. No one is going to pay you ¥50000 a month and everybody else half that for your TEFL certificate. That individualism and competitiveness will be seen as a character defect in a communist country.
3. There are larger institutions you can approach directly that will have the expertise to get you a work permit. You will not however succeed in a DIY approach that cuts out recruiters and claim the commission for yourself. That will go in the director’s pocket, not yours.
4. Scams require the agreement of both parties. If you choose the allure of high salaries and think teachers have a party animal lifestyle in the private sector, don’t later complain you got scammed. You got scammed because they knew what you were and wouldn’t last long in any job.
5. There are of course bone fide language centres, but they won’t be paying fantasy salaries. Stay clear of anonymous spam link sites that promise you they’ve got it all worked out for you and decide which you prefer; a lower paid job than the business sector, but with a manageable workload containing professionalism and security? Or higher hours, more pay and the chance of being scammed.
6. Remember: Scammers operate exclusively in the private sector for good reason and the best way to avoid them is not to join in.
State or private, the choice is yours.
"The myth about foreign teachers reflects some parents' superficial understanding about English learning. These who haven't received proper training can only provide simple conversation skills, not systematic language education." Xiong Binqi, vice president of 21st Century Education Research Institute, Global Times.
State v Private
In a state school you’ll be surrounded by other teachers, the indigenous teachers will be fully qualified, the director will most probably have a Ph.D. in education and the school will be supervised by the education authority. There will be rules and regulations, both your lesson content and performance will be monitored and it will be run professionally. If your teaching is not up to a professional standard, you’re out, no matter how popular you are with your students.
In the private business sector the ‘teacher’ will be the often described ‘performing monkey’ whose job it is to keep the students (customers) happy and the director will probably have an MBA. Unhappy students leaving means a loss in revenue and if you can’t keep the production line supply line moving and turning over a profit, you’re also out. Nothing wrong with that so far if that’s your preferred choice of employment and you’re qualified, unfortunately, most are not.
"In 2015, all the foreign teachers at a Hangzhou branch of Disney English, a Disney subsidiary that teaches English, disappeared overnight after a police raid, local newspaper Metropolitan Express reported. It said that the reason for their disappearance was that none of them were qualified." (en.people.cn).
"Wang Yushi, an official from SAFEA, told media that there were 400,000 foreigners working in China's education industry in 2017, but only one third of them are qualified." (en.people.cn).
Note that Mr. Yushi didn’t refer to schools in the above quote, but referred to the ‘education industry.’ Within this ‘industry’ you won’t find many teachers because it’s not about education, it’s about profit. Yet you will find many employees with fake degrees, those working on the wrong visa, foreigners whose native tongue isn’t even English and of course the, ‘I’m better than you, I want 30/40% more than everyone else and spend my w/ends partying’ minority. Music to a scammers ears.
"They baited and switched me on a job placement in 2017. The owner Ian said I could get a full-time job that paid $3,800 a month with a free furnished apartment with air-fare reimbursement if I completed his TEFL course ($599 at the time) and a fake diploma from him for another $500 which I negotiated down to $300. Since I would be making $3,800 AFTER TAXES it sounded like a great deal … Guess what … I was taken directly to a jail way out in the boonies where I met about 60 other foreigners with similar problems." (eslinsider). Oh the irony of working illegally with false documents and complaining of being scammed!
"David came to China unaware that he was working illegally on an F visa, and that he was unqualified to work at his originally assigned school because he lacked a college degree." (Panda Teachers). Duh!
Scammed or deported, or scammed first and then deported, or pay to get yourself out of probable deportation the scammers led you into, the business sector is the go to place for the unqualified, gullible and greedy. Some having been scammed multiple times still haven’t realized that without them the scammers wouldn’t exist, as they head off to anonymous web pages promoting the same fantasies that got them scammed in the first place. These anonymous pages will be crawling with scammers. No one is going to set up a huge spammy link farm to help you for free. You might not initially see the scam, but be assured it’s there waiting for you.
"If you are in Beijing or Shanghai, we can introduce you to the lawyer once you send us a copy of your complete unedited contract by electronic scan to legal[at]ChinaForeignTeachersUnion.org and he will charge you a f;lat 10,000 yuan fee to nullify your contract without loss of pay, nor visa." (ESLwatch reviews for CFTU).
To summarize
1. Although the business sector pays higher than government schools, the actual teaching and what’s politely termed ‘extra activities’ will be reflected in that salary with 45 to 50 hours per week not uncommon. Additionally, a minimum of freebies in your contract such as free accommodation, utilities or a food allowance will mean that you’re often required to pay for those out of your salary.
2. No one is going to pay you ¥50000 a month and everybody else half that for your TEFL certificate. That individualism and competitiveness will be seen as a character defect in a communist country.
3. There are larger institutions you can approach directly that will have the expertise to get you a work permit. You will not however succeed in a DIY approach that cuts out recruiters and claim the commission for yourself. That will go in the director’s pocket, not yours.
4. Scams require the agreement of both parties. If you choose the allure of high salaries and think teachers have a party animal lifestyle in the private sector, don’t later complain you got scammed. You got scammed because they knew what you were and wouldn’t last long in any job.
5. There are of course bone fide language centres, but they won’t be paying fantasy salaries. Stay clear of anonymous spam link sites that promise you they’ve got it all worked out for you and decide which you prefer; a lower paid job than the business sector, but with a manageable workload containing professionalism and security? Or higher hours, more pay and the chance of being scammed.
6. Remember: Scammers operate exclusively in the private sector for good reason and the best way to avoid them is not to join in.
State or private, the choice is yours.