Beware the Pitfalls of Teaching English

[Charlie]

I came across an article on Vice yesterday about English teachers in China being exploited. Thinking it was relevant for people looking for English teaching jobs through this website, I posted it in the Hiring English Teachers in Chengdu thread. But @WoodWERD made a good suggestion, to create a separate thread to raise awareness.

Here’s a link to the article: The Chinese ESL-Industrial Complex: How English Teachers in China Are Lied to and Exploited

What really hit home for me is that this article is about Chengdu specifically.

If you’re seeking work as an English teacher in China, take precautions to protect yourself. If you witness or are victim of an act of lying or betrayal from an English school, post information here so that others can be aware.

[Miro630]

May be I am missing something but the Chengdu part is more referring to illegal work of these teachers. I am from EU country and these issues are taken very seriously there.

I fully understand that many teachers are quite young but all of them should be highly educated. Even taking into consideration the language barrier I think it’s reasonable to expect that these people are aware of the basic requirements for working in foreign country.

I assume they should know when they are working illegally and they should be also aware of all the possible consequences of such act.

The demand for qualified English teachers in China looks to be quite enormous so I do not think that accepting of semi-legal or illegal ways are enforced by lack of opportunities.

I would more dare to say that it’s mainly on the account of negligence or irresponsible behavior.

What I want to say that it’s everybody’s personal decision to participate in the semi-legal/illegal activity but the person should not be surprised when confronted with the consequences.

I mean that it’s of course bad if the institution/company hires illegal workers but it’s equally ‘naive’ (intentionally avoiding the word ‘dumb’) to accept it.

Honestly in my country these teachers would all deported within short time with stamp in their passport, preventing them to enter Schengen territory for really long time. I find Chinese authorities behavior as very natural …

[Rick in China]

@Miro

I think you need to keep in mind that not all teachers who are deceived/lied to are illegal workers. Of course those who do work illegally need to take responsibility for that risk, but that article also demonstrates deception and lies intentionally perpetrated against people who legitimately qualify for a work permit and/or accept an offer which they’re legitimately qualified for in a legal sense then get f’d.

[squirrel suit]

In the US we call the people who work to make a profit by bringing into the country to work illegally under false pretenses “Coyotes”. Here the term seems to be “Education Agency”

[muell]

I don’t think this is surprising for anyone who knows a bit about the ESL industry in China (or any other second/third world country I’d guess).  Still an interesting read!

@Miro: If you read the whole article there’s that one case where the school faked this guy’s degrees to apply for a work visa on his behalf and didn’t even tell him. Authorities found out and he got in trouble, even though he had no idea what was going on. So there are definitely cases where people get f**ked over by schools and job agencies unknowingly.

That said, I agree that most people who come over here to teach know mostly when they are breaking the law working illegaly and just dont care. Part of the reason is that no one cared in the past and I feel like word of mouth amongst many expats is still that it’s no big deal working on an F or L visa. Don’t we expats all know someone who’s working here illegaly? I’m also from Europe and find the outrage in the expat community every time police do crack down hilarious. Same thing with tighter rules for the visa application process that they introduced last year – people are still bitching about it. What do you expect? That Chinese authorities keep all gates open so the country gets flooded with more and more illegals?

[Rick in China]

@muell

I agree completely. As the country grows in economic power and job opportunities continue to grow in stature and abundance, more and more people will try to come in illegally and take up opportunities. It’s a risk many are willing to take, and good on it – but if you take the risk, you’ve not much a leg to stand on when shit doesn’t go your way.

One thing, though. There is a plight of workers who have been wronged by employers in many countries, including the US and I’m sure some European countries. Just because someone is here illegally doesn’t mean they ‘deserve’ to get fucked by their employers. If there is a contract in place and these employers profit off of their illegal employees, the problem is, the fines are too small to discourage them from just continuing on the same path. The solution here isn’t so much a crackdown on the illegal foreigners as the illegal employers and it seems, the agencies who encourage skirting the rules for their own benefit at the detriment of both the employers and employees.

[WoodWERD]

I’m with Miro630. The fact that people are still getting screwed by agencies kind of amazes me. Even the smallest amount of research would lead you to countless horror stories of those that have gone down that road before. I hate to generalize, but the article focuses on those who don’t meet the basic Visa requirements, which tells me that there’s still a lot of naievete/desperation/recklessness/opportunism/etc in people making the jump. I can certainly understand some of that to an extent, but to be totally unaware of the situation you’re in is just…

I think it’s far less common to hear of qualified people getting shafted. So yeah, if you choose to work with an agency/recruiter you should be skyping (not just emailing) multiple teachers with current placements who can vouch for them.

[Rick in China]

@WoodWERD

I think we’re on the same page, but, the article demonstrates some people who do get shafted because of the normalcy of “get people here immediately” when opportunities don’t even exist..it seems the article has several people who aren’t actually legally supposed to be here and probably knew it, some who may have not known the situation and questioned it but were encouraged to come anyways — and some who were totally or more than qualified but still got screwed. I think it’s naive to read the article with all the “hearsay” from teachers who have been screwed and assume the people who are complaining about the deceptions are all innocent and “oh poor me, they told me….” of course, but there are also those who are qualified but caught in the cross-hairs of local deceptive practices that are so common here. Some people abroad may be wanting to come here, apply for jobs, get told one thing, arrive – and get deported – because just like everything else in the country strictness and adherence to what is actually a fully legitimate practice in any modern country is still evolving here grows in force as the country develops, and it’s a gray area where there is both sympathy for those who are fucked in the process and a “you had it coming” feeling for any objective analyst.

What I learn from this is: I should really go and get an actual drivers license in China. Chengdu will very quickly stop the previous practice of “dude, just go and get one, ask your coworkers..”.. which has been the normalcy of the past.

[Maz]

That is quite an informative and sobering article. Thank you for pointing us in its direction, Charlie.

Unfortunately, this practice of shortcutting and paper-work dodging is too common and worldwide. I tend to scream fire then run fast if necessary at the sight of any red flag regarding my employer’s conduct. So far, all is well in Chengdu with my agent.

Ask many questions, check and verify before signing anything.
Look out for incosistencies and hesitations of a potential employer during interviews and negotiations.

It’s a mad cold world out there. Take care ~

[Author]

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