Esl Jobs In Beijing offers a great opportunity for those interested in travel and education. Opportunity. It is your responsibility to help make a difference in the lives of your students, but you may be the greatest beneficiary of this experience. It’s easy to say that teaching ESL in Beijing has changed my life, but how exactly has it?
Becoming more patient and flexible
In Chinese schools, planning sometimes seems almost non-existent. Decisions are often made spontaneously, so you have to be flexible and adapt to change.
When decisions are made in language schools, teachers are often left out of the loop. Progress is piecemeal, so problems and issues need to be addressed one by one, often repeatedly, when solving problems or seeking answers.
As a result of this often frustrating work environment, I have become more patient and resourceful. For example, when a class changes, no one tells the teacher. Vacation and workday changes are sometimes not known until the last minute. Team building plans are notified only the day before. The list goes on and on, but so does my newfound patience!
How to navigate cultural differences
When I taught ESL in China, I learned how to be sensitive to the cultural backgrounds of others. Here, the freedom to talk about your parents, your manager, the government, or anyone in authority is not encouraged like it is in the West. As a teacher, you quickly learn to keep your mouth shut about sensitive topics.
For example, I once mentioned a news story about Tibet in class and my students were very unimpressed with me. I and some other leaders were invited into the dean’s office, and they all wanted to know what I had said. Needless to say, as foreign guests in China, we should be cautious about talking about controversial topics, especially in front of our students.
Interpersonal skills have improved
While teaching ESL in China, I developed my interpersonal skills in many ways. I have learned a great deal from interacting with a large number of children and adult learners, being observed and receiving criticism in the classroom in order to assertively And a sensitive way of giving feedback to learners, meeting parents, dealing with complaints, and being accountable to a large group of people.
Working with Chinese people on a daily basis has also helped me to improve my confidence. When I first came to China, I was shy and insecure. The Chinese are very sensitive to image and status, so they tend to flatter each other. They like to maintain a safe and non-threatening atmosphere and don’t like to call each other out directly. Working in this very secure environment, rather than the “banter” we are used to in China, helped me to come out of my shell.
Not all education is created equal
I learned a lot about education that I probably would have taken for granted if I hadn’t come to China to teach ESL! The. I now know how important critical thinking and creativity are. Giving time and space for creativity helps develop problem-solving skills, which many Chinese seem to lack, and here The education system has also been criticized for not developing this capacity.
For me, teaching for understanding rather than knowledge has also become the cornerstone of a solid education. In my opinion, memory alone does not develop thinking skills. It may help in some areas, such as mathematics, which the Chinese are certainly good at, but in areas where there are no formulas to follow, it does not Bring success. Mere knowledge is not power.