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I've been teaching English many years to global students e.g. China, Vietnam, Nepal, India, Korea, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Uzbekistan, Myanmar, France, Belgium, Turkey, Japan etc. Unfortunately (no exaggeration) I've found the Chinese students to be the worst students I've ever taught --- period. I've tried ESL worksheets to match their levels, Chinese/English textbooks, numerous topics to try and kindle their interest, using what little Chinese I know to build a bridge, speaking Japanese to explain grammatical points (I'm fluent and their level is quite high) But all they want to do is play Mahjong on their smartphones, sleep and ignore everything I try. Aside from their complete lack of interest in any kind of study they are rude, obnoxious, vulgar and have absolutely no respect for the teachers --- regardless of who it is. Ask them any kind of question linked to learning, try to gently engage them, and they'll purposely ignore you with their heads stuck in their app games and simply refuse to answer. Basically they're telling me to ***k off. Probably less than 1% will study and it's always women. The best analogy is that they act like prison inmates. I guess this is what a Communist education system produces? Any tips re: teaching English to the Chinese?

My experience is the opposite. I have always found Chinese students to be respectful and hard working.The difficulty I have had is trying to get them to think outside the box a little, but that is another issue. Who are your students and what is your role in the school? Do you have any scope to develop lessons or do you have to follow a set text or syllabus?

morimori wrote: ↑Wed Jan 27, 2021 11:02 am I've been teaching English many years to global students e.g. China, Vietnam, Nepal, India, Korea, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Uzbekistan, Myanmar, France, Belgium, Turkey, Japan etc. Unfortunately (no exaggeration) I've found the Chinese students to be the worst students I've ever taught period. I've tried ESL worksheets to match their levels, Chinese/English textbooks, numerous topics to try and kindle their interest, using what little Chinese I know to build a bridge, speaking Japanese to explain grammatical points (I'm fluent and their level is quite high) But all they want to do is play Mahjong on their smartphones, sleep and ignore everything I try. Aside from their complete lack of interest in any kind of study they are rude, obnoxious, vulgar and have absolutely no respect for the teachers regardless of who it is. Ask them any kind of question linked to learning, try to gently engage them, and they'll purposely ignore you with their heads stuck in their app games and simply refuse to answer. Basically they're telling me to ***k off. Probably less than 1% will study and it's always women. The best analogy is that they act like prison inmates. I guess this is what a Communist education system produces? Any tips re: teaching English to the Chinese?

You must be fluent in english; have excellent communication and interpersonal skills; be creative and energetic; and be passionate about teaching students english.

I can feel your frustration teaching them English. However as an educator this is our challenge. Yup this is a big challenge that you are facing at the moment. I think maybe you can ask a chinese speaking teacher (who can translate to you)to give them a questionnaire about their perception in English. I think you may want to know what is on their mind about English itself? Maybe it can be a good start for you to find the problem and then try to solve their problem by teaching English according to their interest and so on. Hope this helps.

cheers!
Mehraj
Malaysia

If you want to make a complaint, please give more details about the incident. Only one case like that with blurred fact and apparent bias is very weak to prove that Chinese students are difficult to teach. Without telling us what, when, where, who and how, it reads like a fictional account, at least it can hardly convince me. I notice you used the word "communist", which exposes your contempt to some degree of the country where you expect to make big money without taking pains.

According to my 3 years teaching experience in China, the students are very curious and enthusiastic to learn English and highly respecting teachers. The respect of the teacher is part of their tradition.

I think maybe your discourse is a little aggressive and subjective. Most Chinese students learned how to respect their teacher since their childhood. I want to know which level or type of the school you are teaching in. To be a professional teacher, we need to try our best to communicate with our students. I think teaching skill is not the only one we need in our career. Anyway, maybe you can consider to change another teaching environment to feel how Chinese students are. Wish you can enjoy your teaching career in China.

China now has a great demand for foreign English teachers , and there is a demand for teachers of different levels. If you want to teach English in China, you can choose educational institutions, public schools or international schools.

But now mostly Chinese schools are appointing only native English speakers.So less chance for non native English teachers. a kind of ignorant discrimination and underestimating ability of non native English speaking teachers in China.

Actually there is also huge demand for non-native English speakers. However, if you are not "native speaker" and you want to be a teacher in China, you have to be specialize in a specific major such as math, physics or chemistry, since you can not teach Enlgish.

Hi, I understand your how you feel and I feel sorry about your experience.
I think the worst thing is that when you try your best to help them, they cannot understand your patience, love, and care about them. They even show no respect towards you, which is quite a pity!
However, teaching in China is not always like this. Students in different schools and different regions are quite different. Teaching indeed can be an exhausted job since you have to be one hundred percent patient and you must be well-prepared for your lesson. Furthermore, you must always be 100% emotionally and mentally present for students, even if you are not feeling well.
However, you are likely to feel a immense sense of achievement by building rapport with students and helping them to be proficient at the target subject.

Hello, I feel so sorry about your experience but I think this group of Chinese students you meet is not commonly seen in China because most Chinese students I've ever encountered respect their teachers and adhere to the class rules strictly. One of my friends who is now teaching English in Beijing often talks with me about how she loves her students because they are all willing to accept the western style of English teaching and attempt to adapt to it generally. Maybe you could try to transfer to another teaching position in, for example, the international program of a public school.

Sorry for your bad experience, but maybe it to some extend depend on where do you teach. In many good International schools that have been fully authenticated, students are eager to learn and are very respectful. If you find it hard to identify such schools by yourself, you can turn to an agency, just be sure to choose carefully and note that it should not charge you for the service, only from schools.

Sorry to hear your experience, but I think it is not a commonly seen phenomenon in China because most Chinese students respect their teachers.

I think it's more of an exception in education, maybe you're in a special group when I was picking up essay samples on gun control for my Chinese teacher in Hong Kong, he answered my requests with patience and consideration. I do not think that the Chinese are so unwilling to learn, rather it was an exception out of a thousand

I have no experience teaching students from China, but I have spoken to them several times, and I can say with confidence that they are attentive and polite people. I'd say you're just out of luck. In addition, it is important to be aware of cultural differences and become knowledgeable by reading about chinese culture to be better prepared. Understanding these differences can help you tailor your teaching methods to their needs and avoid conflict situations. It's also important to remember that every student is different and may have different learning styles and preferences, so important to be flexible and adaptable in your teaching methods to accommodate all students, including those from China.

I think it’s a great way to teach how certain sounds and words are pronounced in a language. Using what your student is familiar with to make her learn new stuff is a great way to teach, and this also applies to learning in general.

Chinese students have a different attitude when it comes to learning, but the demands can be tough.

The biggest hurdle is trying to correct their grammar, as in their native tongue, the structure is reversed.

Interesting to find out about your experience.