Interview with Matt
An Interview with Matt (an American English Teacher in China)
By the Liberal Arts Dude
This is a Q&A with Matt, an American college graduate who is currently teaching English in China. He is not a Liberal Arts major (his major was Math). However, I thought many of the readers of this blog might be interested in what he has to say because he is doing something that has become quite popular in recent years for American college grads (many of them Liberal Arts majors). That is, to go overseas and teach English in a foreign country.
In the interview, Matt provides many insights into the nuts and bolts of his process of applying for his position, his day to day life as an English teacher, and wraps it up with some practical advice for anyone interested in following in his footsteps. I decided on a Q&A format to make it easier on Matt to answer my questions. I have preserved his answers pretty much in the same format as how he emailed them to me so you are getting everything pretty much as Matt wrote them.
Without further adieu here’s the Q&A!
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What was your college major and what year did you graduate?
I received my B.S. in Applied Computational Mathematics in 2004.
What were you doing as a job before you were teaching English in China? For how long did you do that?
I worked as a temp and a part-time math teacher for a month or so while applying for permanent jobs, mostly administrative positions. I ended up getting hired as the administrative assistant in the Publications department of a DC university. I worked there for 6 months while applying for my position as a teacher in China.
How did you decide on teaching English in China?
I wanted to have the opportunity to live in a foreign country, not simply travelling as a tourist but experiencing the actual life. China specifically interests me because of it's growing international importance as the economy develops. Teaching English was mainly a convenient vehicle to start working internationally.
When did you first hear about the opportunity?
A friend's mother had a newspaper article or bulletin about a company that sends volunteer teachers to various countries throughout the world.
What motivated you to apply?
It was a decision based on the circumstances of the relationship I was in at the time. I did not want to be confined to an office pushing papers around. Certainly part of the motivation was based on the difficulty of finding 'good' work in the DC area, by 'good' I mean an entry-level position that utilized my degree.
Was this a decision you have been considering for a while or something that just came up and you decided to go for it?
The idea started shortly before I graduated college, and about a year after the idea was born, I began the application.
How long was the process from you applying to when you actually were accepted and then actually getting on a plane to go to China?
The deadline for the application was April 1st. I received notice of acceptance a month later. On August 1st I boarded the plane to China. So since I mailed my application the very last day, it was a four month process, the majority of which was spent waiting.
What types of procedural requirements did you have to fulfill (visa, health exams, legal documents, etc.)?
We were sent copious amounts of information and prep paper work to fill out and read over. We did have to have a physical before we left and were left responsible for finding out which vaccinations we needed and for getting that done. The visas were part of the last stage. We mailed our passports in to the head office, they took them as a group to the Chinese embassy, and they mailed them back to us with a temporary visa in place. Once in China the resident visa was issued. It was the usual mountain of paperwork, photocopies, and mailings.
What requirements/experiences did you have which helped you in getting hired? Did you have previous teaching experience, certification, foreign language skills, for example?
It's funny, because there really weren't many requirements. A bachelor's degree (in anything) was necessary, and you had to be a native English speaker. I had plenty of experience working as a volunteer and a tutor in college, but never in a group setting. We did have to get 15 hours of ESL teaching (to a group) as a requirement. This was easy for me in such a big city as DC, but I can't imagine how you'd manage if you were living in rural Oklahoma. I had no certification and limited foreign language skills (nothing at all in Chinese).
Was there a lot of competition for the teaching jobs? Is getting accepted difficult?
I asked my director this question during our orientation. The way I understand it is they accepted almost everyone who applied, barring those who stated on the application that they had a strong interest in teaching the Chinese about God. My perception is that through my company or any other, getting accepted to teach English in China is not difficult at all. The demand still far exceeds the supply.
What type of company or organization employs you?
I am employed by an American company affiliated with one of the most esteemed universities in the US. They are a non-profit NGO who place 'volunteer' teachers in a handful of developing countries.
Are you there on a contractual basis? For how long is the contract? Can you renew after it runs out?
I have a contract both with the school where I teach and with the American company that placed me. As is the case with many aspects of Chinese bureaucracy, it's still confusing to me. My contract is for one year, and I can renew again and get preferred placement.
Can you describe a typical day as an English teacher in China? How many hours do you work?
The first semester I was here, I taught 16 classes every week, each one being 45 minutes long. I had eight different classes, so I saw each of them twice. So 16 lessons and time enough for two lesson plans. Each day I would work around 4 hours on average.
Who are your students? Are they mostly proficient in English or completely new to it?
My students are the equivalent of 7th graders in the U.S. Their English skill levels vary wildly, from not even understanding 'hello' all the way to conversational. It is difficult to craft a lesson that is effective because of this, but the challenge can be interesting too.
Do you teach speaking English or writing as well?
My class is entirely oral English. They have a Chinese teacher who teaches them the finer points, such as grammar and writing, but with me they get practice speaking, and listening to the accent and inflection of a native speaker.
What is the salary range a person with your level of experience can expect teaching English in China?
I think it depends on where you want to go. The bigger cities will pay more, but will be more competitive. Outside of a big city you can make around $700 a month. It sounds low, but usually teachers are provided with a furnished apartment and computer and so there are no bills. The cost of living is also much cheaper, enabling you to save almost all of your money, but even if you saved all of it, it still would only be $700 a month. In the big cities you can do much better, especially in places like Taiwan and Hong Kong. With a year of experience, I should be able to find a better pay rate next year but I'm only on the brink of starting my search.
Are you paid in foreign currency or in US dollars?
I am paid in Chinese yuan, directly deposited into my Bank of China account. You can convert your money into US dollars if you want, but if it is a large sum there may be paperwork involved. Wiring money into a US account is not easy, but possible.
How far does that amount go in terms of meeting your ongoing expenses?
I am lucky enough to not have any outstanding debts at home. My program is volunteer, so my salary is considerably less than quoted above. I could save some of it if I really needed to, but it wouldn't amount to anything once I converted it back to US dollars at the end of the year. In that sense you have a certain freedom, because there's no point in saving it so you can spend more and not worry so much about it. I have heard of a couple who were both teaching in Hong Kong and they saved enough money in one year to pay off all of their college loans, so again in the big cities you can really do well.
How do you find teaching in China? What are your biggest challenges and pitfalls? What are the most rewarding aspects of your experience?
I left these three questions together to sort of answer them all at once. China is a fascinating country. The mentality of the people is in some ways very similar to the US, but the education system is different. The students are generally taught by rote memorization and dictation. Their classrooms are not interactive. So when I come in and want to leave time for questions or have them do some creative exercises, it usually doesn't go well. They are not used to being creative in class, and it's difficult for them to switch. Also you get the feeling sometimes that having a foreign teacher at the school is a matter of prestige, in the sense that the results of your teaching are not as important as the fact that you are associated with the school. In other words, it looks very good for the school to be employing several foreign teachers, but what they do is not so important. These are the challenges. There are no grades for my class, so there is no incentive for the children. On the rewarding side, now that the children have gotten used to my attitude in the classroom and the activities, they are much quicker to engage and respond. They are getting better at using creativity and expressing themselves. Students that could not speak a word of English have started to become interested and they are trying very hard. So that's what you want to accomplish. You want to see the students using the things you are trying to teach them, and you want to give them confidence too, because speaking a foreign language in front of a classroom of your peers at that age is not easy.
You mentioned in your previous email that you have also done a bit of traveling: Nepal, Tibet, India, Bangladesh, other parts of China, etc. How does your teaching schedule permit you to travel?
China's holiday system works like this: everyone in the entire country has their holiday at the same time. So for a week in May, a week in October, and about ten days in January/February, everyone is off. Teachers in general have a bit longer during the winter break, based on when exams are done and when the school year resumes. Foreign teachers such as myself end up with an even longer break, because the school had me administer my exams before the 'official' exams began. So once I was done it was ok for me to travel.
What aspects of the overseas English teaching experience you would most like to warn/inform/advise other people who may be interested in doing what you are doing? What types of things can they do to prepare themselves for such an adventure?
I think the big question is motive. You don't come to teach in China for the money, you do it for the experience. And a lot of people use teaching as a convenient way to live and travel in another country, instead of a passion for teaching. For those with volunteer aspirations, China is maybe not the best country in the world. They are a developing nation, but they are much further along than a lot of places. The way the education system is run, they want the foreign teachers in the good schools and none in the poor rural schools. The reasoning is that the poor rural students will be farmers, they won't advance, so why teach them English? It is a little difficult to understand from my perspective. I would suggest that anyone coming to China should try to learn as much Chinese as they possibly can beforehand. Even in the big cities it can be difficult to find someone who speaks understandable English.
Are there any other things you would like to add that I haven’t touched upon?
The only thing that comes to mind is a last reminder. If you make the decision to teach overseas, anywhere, then you also end up sacrificing certain things at home. When it is time to go home, you will be dealing with finding a place to live, getting a job, reconnecting with family and friends, and possibly losing touch with the people you shared your experience with. Even one year sounds like a long time, but you spend about half of that just getting used to your new surroundings, then the next half panicking about what you're going to do when the year is up. On the other hand, you can end up with the satisfaction that you have contributed to the global education community, you have done something that a lot of people are not interested in doing, and that is in high demand. In short, you have helped.
Many thanks for answering my questions!
Copyright 2006
posted by Liberal Arts Dude at 1:59 PM
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