Dear All In February 2014 I posted that I am a newly qualified TESOL teacher and I am keen to gain employment! I was 34 now 35 with a wealth of work experience predominately as a Recruitment Consultant / Account Manager. I have travelled and love meeting people and really wanted to make a difference. I was successful in finding employment and have been working in China for the last 4 months. I am now writing this post as I am looking for help, advice or a new opportunity. My time in China has been an experience but I have to be honest as a western blonde woman I have found living in Nanjing extremely hard, stressful and isolating. This has not been made easier by my employer who has changed the contract on acouple of occasions, working hours changed - admittedly only by 2 hours extra a week so I cannot really complain at that one. I was on the understanding that as a first year teacher we did not have any paid annual leave ( we all have to start somewhere) so this was acceptable for one year, on the understanding that we are able to take unpaid leave - having given 5 months notice - my request to return to the UK to be a friend bridesmaid was declined as apparently it is company policy not to give any holiday to first year teachers. The public holidays - we are given the majority of them, but we make up the days at a later date. In effect, there is no time off. I have never heard this before, but of course being a new teacher I am unaware if this is standard practise. In regards to payment- it is on time but always short paid and the communication is fractured when trying to resolve these issues. These are still waiting to be resolved. I have been teaching 2-9 year olds. They are great, when I get to teach my full lesson. My classes are usually 35 or 40 mins but rarely do I teach for that time. The Chinese teachers are often running behind schedule so I start my class late and then the Chinese teachers want to finish on time which means that you need to finish early in order for them to finish their reward system. I have asked for feedback on my lessons as I want to learn and improve- this has still not happened. As the first English teacher at they have had at the centre they have struggled with my accent and asked me to try and Americanise it- I have since heard that this does happen, but felt being English was a negative when teaching English! Crazy! I have been extremely unhappy with the whole situation and quite unwell. I found a doctor ( we were told if we were sick, then the school would help us) myself and was signed off work. While being off work, I realised that China is an experience but not a lifestyle choice for myself and was ready to hand in my notice. On returning to work today, the school has terminated my contract for being unwell. Being in a foreign country, on your own, when you dont know the language I am unsure what my options are. I enjoyed my TESOL course so much and feel I would be a great asset to a school/ college or university and I am hoping that someone has had a similar experience to me and has chosen maybe the wrong country, wrong school and is able to see potential in myself. I do not want this to put off potential employers but just to be honest and frank about my experience. I hope to be a great teacher and do not want this experience to stop that opportunity.
Posted on: Sun, 05 Oct 2014 08:13:41 +0000