ESL Lesson Plan

Dear Michelle,

Please remove the following information from your website about teaching jobs in China. It is misleading at best, and totally incorrect at worst.
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Lax Teaching Requirements...

If you dream of going to a foreign world, but you don't have a lot of experience, you might consider China. Still one of the spots that has a hunger for teachers that can't be quenched, it's possible to find a job in China with simply a university degree and a tourist visa. (It will be converted to a Z visa if you accept a teaching position.)
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My comments:

The majority of schools in China today require experienced teachers with ESL training and a proven teaching background. And more and more provinces will not allow individual schools and English teaching organizations to convert a tourist visa into a Z visa. It is in fact illegal to do so, as the Z visas are “bought” instead of applied for properly. The schools that do operate that way are the very ones you warn about as potentially preying on unsuspecting foreigners.

To imply the you can go to China and enjoy yourself while not being held accountable due to “lax teaching requirements” is patronizing towards the Chinese educational system and disrespectful of our Chinese students who await the arrival of conscientious and well trained Englisy teachers who wish to serve there in a responsible way.

These statements are a black mark on an otherwise wonderful website. Shame on you.

Ruthie Gammons
International Consultant
847-733-3508

Keep sending the newsletters, Michelle. Appreciate the updates - as they're informative...make me nostalgic, as part of me longs and is still overseas.

Ian

Dear Michelle
I sent an email earlier, but I have just logged on to the blog site for the first time and I thought I would back it up with one here.
My newsletters are coming through with all the HTML encoding showing. Could you please change my format to text only. Thanks in anticipation. I'll now have a gander at your site.
Regards
Duncan Cole

This was an excellent news letter. My printer has been running hot and I will use lots of the ideas here. Now that I have been teaching for a few weeks of this year I am getting a feel for what works etc, and I intend to use lots of these ideas. Thanks.

Christine

I don't think teaching is a very complicated thing. Teaching makes me young. I just love what I'm doing. It's so challenging and everyday is a new day for me. My students are my life-blood and without them my life would end, too. Believe me for I have been in this profession for almost 28 years.

I have been teaching in Beijing, China for over four years. It is my experience that only a few schools offer 'Z" visas. I only know of three private school in Beijing allowed to give "Z" visas. True, universities and colleges can give the visa.

Nile

Hey, great blog. I just happened to stumble on to it while looking around the
web.

Check out our new public site for the World ESL Society at
http://www.eslsociety.com and keep up
the great work!