Ponderings on the chicken or egg world of TEFL

I truly love my job, and I work for an extremely professional outfit where I can honestly say that what I describe below does not happen. However, for a large part of the rest of the TEFL world there is a darker side lurking under the veneered surface. This dark side hides a few monsters feeding on themselves, forever intertwined, accusing each other of being the chicken, the other being the egg.

As a qualified career-teacher, I have my doubts about some practices in this industry. Although I can see the TEFL business continuing for many a year I am not convinced of the morality of an unregulated private role player in the educational sector as it currently manifests itself in many countries all over the world. If I had the power, I would definitely regulate it far more. Guess I am old-school when it comes to education ....

The one monster in this mix is the natural desire of young people to travel, yet cannot afford this. They therefore accept a job offering a return flight, "easy" hours, and sometimes even accommodation. This will allow them time to travel and earn a living. Problem is, due to their age and restlessness; they often accept this job offer without the slightest of intention of seeing out the full term of their contract.

Another factor is the unwillingness (for whatever reasons) of local authorities to set strict guidelines for this industry. Maybe it is due to the thirst for English which will make one's country more competitive, I do not know.

Then, obviously, there is the prime motivation of the "owners". Money. Not education, not standards, not stability, but money. Pure and simple.

All these have merged into an industry where too often your passport from an English speaking country is the only qualification needed; your immediate availability the only experience required.

One has to be available immediately due to the high turn-over of teachers. If not, and despite better qualifications / more experience, you will not land the job.  So, if you are a Westerner and hold the right passport and can get a ticket out here faster than then the next, better qualified person, you have the job!

Another, separate monster is the widespread belief in this business that only First Language speakers can teach English. That is why the “correct” passport is the prime qualification. The result is sometimes that a First Language Speaker (FLS) who previously delivered mail in England stands more of a chance to land a job than a French Canadian with a Masters Degree in Linguistics and 5 years' experience of teaching English as a Second Language.

This has led to the term widely used amongst Foreign Teachers (FTs): performing monkeys - and sadly, a term from locals directed at us, LBH, aka Losers Back Home.

Over all, these owners miss the point that most FLSs do NOT know a second language, and as such have no idea as to how a foreign language speaker acquires a second language or, even worse, will have no empathy with the struggles a student faces when studying a new language.

The result is sometimes terrible, with some of these inexperienced or un(der)qualified teachers openly disparaging students, viewing them as "stupid" - missing the fact that they are actually working with a lawyer or a doctor or an A+ student who simply does not YET have the vocabulary with which to express his brilliant ideas.

Sadly money has become the prime motive. Not the student.

Yes, we are indeed lucky to be here. it is one the most interesting places on the planet to live and work. As it is culturally so far removed from our own Eurocentric experience, you can imagine that we learn a heck of a lot on an almost daily basis.

As to a remark re my photos elsewhere. I see my photos more as an attempt at commenting on the sociology of modern China as experienced by us in this wonderful country - a view of the goodness / normality of life here, even if it is sometimes culturally foreign to us. And this is the point I am making - there is absolutely NOTHING sinister about what we see, experience and live daily. That might be why you see it as snapshots - which they are really, just images documenting real life in China. Normal, every day life.

Photojournalism to me implies something newsworthy. To be honest, average daily life in China is very mundane and just that: life, with a dollop of hard work. No riots, no egocentric politicians amassing fortunes (and those who do are executed), no crowd controls, no silly drug-abusing wanna-be stars and heiresses, no PC maniacs trying to bend the world to their small views and making news out of nothing at all.

Maybe that is the cause of what some see as a lack of photo journalism from China. And that is part of the inherent foreignness of this country and what causes so much misunderstanding.

Like a good friend of mine said a week or two ago, he hopes that when people come here for the Games next year, that they come without preconceptions coloured and flavoured by a one-sided Western Media; that they rather arrive here, willing to widen their own blinkers somewhat and go back home with a more balanced view of this dynamic civilization.