More from Mr. Chips in China: Julius Takacs

Julius Takacs, a 2006 graduate of the MAW, is now working as an ESL teacher in China. This essay describes some of his teaching experiences. For his initial impressions on teaching English abroad, read his first essay.

I left China for Budapest June 27 for the CELTA course, which began July 2. This gave me a few days to get acclimated to my new environment and reacquaint myself with Budapest. It had been fourteen years since my last visit so I was curious to see the changes. I was not disappointed on the contrary I was surprised. Many of the beautiful nineteenth buildings had been restored to their full grandeur, the subway lines were under reconstruction, the main tramlines were equipped with new
modern trams, and shops and streets were bustling. Above all I loved the feel of the city. The people appeared more relaxed and less stressed. Shops opened 9:00AM and promptly closed at 6:00PM. Many stores were either closed on Saturdays or only open for a half a day. Most establishments were closed on Sundays giving weekends a leisurely feel. Foremost, I took delight in seeing blue skies, which are a rarity in this part of China.

The CELTA course was grueling and I was more than elated when it was over on July 27, the day Mariana arrived. She too fell in love with the city. Budapest had a palpable feel that several of my CELTA classmates also felt. About five of the eighteen graduates decided to seek employment some with success. Overall, We had a very diverse group of people. Interestingly, a few were American political refugees who felt that they no longer wanted to live in the States. The irony was not lost on me. My parents fled Budapest fifty years ago to seek a better life in the United States and now Americans are seeking a better life in
Budapest.

After two months in Europe I dreaded returning to China. I enjoyed living in a foreign country where I could speak thelanguage, interact with people freely, have a higher standard of living, and share a common world view. I now understand why after several years of living abroad you had decided to return. China is still a fascinating place but it wears on you. It has somehow become a love-hate relationship, one minute you love it the next you hate it. I am trying to learn Chinese but some reason I lack strong motivation. I met several expatriates who were fluent in Mandarin, which encouraged me to learn the language, but for
me Chinese is difficult because of its lack of cognates, not to mention the tones.

Teaching too has become a love hate-relationship. The deference I was afforded during my first week here is but a long faded memory. Students sleep in class, chatter among themselves, play games on their cell phones, and adamantly refuse to participate. Mind you that these are nineteen to twenty-two-year-olds. Furthermore, their English language skills, despite the fact that allegedly they all had at least six year of English-three in middle and three in high school, are dismal at best.
Some cannot even articulate a simple English sentence yet the school insists that they are pre-intermediate level. The students I teach are in a computer programming curricula. In addition to my class, they have three additional English language classes all taught by Chinese English teachers. Students have three computer and four English language classes. They are taking more classes in English than in their major area of study. The class that I teach is a non-credit course meant only to prepare them for the ILETS exam. This furthers their total lack of motivation for my class. My Chinese colleagues experience the same phenomena.

Yesterday, two Chinese colleagues and I were discussing this issue. One said, "Their parents have a lot of money" (I heard this previously from several other sources). China's new moneyed class can now buy privileges that were once granted based on merit or having the right political connection-a college diploma. China's tertiary education system is a four-tier system. The first tier is the most competitive on par with our ivory league schools. Second tier schools are the large state universities ranked accordingly. Third are the three-year technical schools similar to our community college system (universities are four years and technical schools are three years), and finally, the fourth tier schools are the private institutions. Admission to these institutions is contingent upon national test scores taken the last year in high school similar to our ACT examinations. Unlike the United
States, admission is solely based on the test score. Only those who have achieved the highest results are eligible for coveted institutions such as Beijing University. Zhangzhou Institute of Technology is a third tier institution of higher learning but my students are not ZIT students but rather BCIT (British Columbia Institute of Technology).

Zhangzhou Institute of Technology formed a joint partnership with British Columbia Institute of Technology less than two years ago. They offer a Western style education with a marketing pitch that graduates can, provided they meet all academic, financial, and governmental requirements, continue studies their for a baccalaureate in Canada. Should they desire not to they will get not one but two diplomas after three years, one from ZIT and the other from BCIT. Neither institution is granting these students the degrees that they normally award. Instead, both schools have instituted special diplomas for this curriculum. So, the bulk of the students are low on test scores but high on financial resources. Education as an institution has joined the free
market. This is the fourth tier. The spoiled brats of China's nouveau riche can now buy their diplomas but they must show up for attendance is mandatory. This bring to mind a line from Plato's Republic:

Enforced bodily labors do the body no harm, but enforced learning does
not stay within the soul [536e].

This is not characteristic all of the BCIT students for some are genuinely hard working and pleasant. Two days ago on Mid-Autumn Day about seven of them showed up at my door bringing me "moon cakes", a holiday tradition. The group of us sat down and chatted for quite some time about school, leisure activities, interests, etc. Some of them expressed that some students are too shy to speak in class. I think that this may have something to do with the Chinese notion of saving face.
They do not want to be wrong in front of their peers.

I would like to do corporate training somewhere in Europe. Occasionally I see postings for that on TEFL.com. I am also considering of working at a private language school in Hungary, Spain, or Italy. The pay at these places is pretty low so I am not certain. The recruitment of EFL teachers is pitched as an extended working holiday. Consider this from the last issue of the TEFL.com newsletter:

"We all know that teachers are undervalued and underpaid. For many, the attraction of ELT is the chance to travel and experience new cultures, meeting different people along the way. This incentive makes people willing to accept low pay and often rather poor conditions. On the other side of the coin..."

Look at any job ad for EFL teaching and they say more about about the scenery, locale, the culture, places to see and visit nearby than the position itself. It is almost as if they are advertising a paid vacation rather than a position.

Speaking of positions, BCIT has several vaccancies mostly for high school teachers. There are a couple of college positions. BCIT, despite my lambasting, is a good company. The pay is a bit above average, their Beijing office has a super staff who will resolve any issue you may have with your school, payroll, wiring money home, getting a good price on a plane ticket, or anything within reason. I have met most of the Chinese and Anglo staff and they are truly nice people.