Thursday, July 5, 2001
Foreign teachers fuel economic boom
china.scmp.com
RAYMOND LI
After years of resistance, China is finally discovering that it needs skilled foreign workers to fuel its rapid economic acceleration.
Decades ago, only a few hardy ''foreign experts'' found teaching posts at mainland universities, or worked for state-run media organisations. Now, however, mainland high schools and even kindergartens are recruiting native English speaking staff to give the youngest genenerations a head start.
Singapore's Tyndale Educational Group has recruited about 50 native English speakers over the past five years to teach at its joint venture schools in four Chinese cities.
In Beijing, Tyndale has teamed up with the High School 179 and a vocational school to provide English language lessons and vocational training courses.
Zhang Jianbo, who heads Tyndale's Beijing office, says the firm recruits native speakers from Anglophone countries and provides textbooks to students. ''We are basically looking for someone with a bachelor's or a master's degree and preferably a little teaching background in their own countries,'' he said.
Tyndale has to get approval from the State Foreign Experts Bureau and Beijing's foreign affairs office for a work visa to be issued.
At Beijing High School 179, five foreigners teach about 180 students in six classes. Shahzazar Karimzadi, an Iranian-born British citizen, said he had come to China to understand its history and to witness a country in transition.
Mr Karimzadi faced limited job opportunities in Britain because he was a fresh graduate. ''But as soon as I handed in my doctoral thesis, I jumped at the teaching job in China,'' Mr Karimzadi said.
Mr Karimzadi said that seeing China and being a part of the transition was a great experience. ''You experience the dynamics and excitement as well as the sadness when you see homeless people on the street, he said, adding that he expected some kind of culture shock before coming, but not quite as much as he actually got.''
Lisa Wallace, who is also teaching at High School 179, said that she was still trying to overcome the culture shock. ''It is nothing significant really, just the small and trivial things like the way people look at you when blow your nose and the stares from the local people.''
Mr Karimzadi said that generally the attention he received was benign, but did become overwhelming sometimes. He found it difficult to adjust to some of the ways of his students, such as eating whenever they please.
He also noticed the prevalence of cheating, from small street vendors short-changing him to some of his students cheating in their exams.
''People in every country cheat in some way,'' he said, ''but the problems are getting prominent in China. It seems to have become part of the culture.'' Mr Karimzadi and Ms Wallace's school provides foreign teachers with a package including a return airfare, accommodation, and a monthly salary of 3,000 yuan.
''The living conditions are excellent,'' Ms Wallace said, ''but the 3,000 yuan salary barely covers my expenses.''
The teachers expressed some dissatisfaction with Tyndale. Ms Wallace said she would leave when her contract ended in July because she did not expect to get the pay-rise she had requested. Mr Karimzadi did not expect to be paid the same amount in China that he would receive in Britain, but said he still thought teachers were underpaid. |
