"teaching" in China

[catherine p]

Hi,

I could seriously use some advice.
I am in a Chinese University and my classes are second and third year students.

I am here more as entertainment for the second years and not allowed to 'teach' and it is driving me crazy.
The students are lazy, won't talk at all and will walk out of the room.

singing and dancing is not my style, as I was told to expect to have a serious, motivated group.
Got my CELTA before arriving, and was told my students would be Intermediate/Upper Intermediate.
No course books available at all except those brought with me, but have been discouraged from using them, as they would 'put off' the students from English, a subject they are required to take.

Any advice??

thanks

[emsr2d2]

Are you tied to a contract with that university? If not, I would say walk out and find a better job. However, I have a sneaking suspicion it's not that simple in China!

Have you requested a meeting with the head of department or whoever is in charge or who you report to?
Did you get the position through the company you did the CELTA with? If so, I would certainly take it up with them as it's clear the job is not as advertised.

Are there any students in the class who apper at all engaged? If there are, I would concentrate on them, if necessary ignoring the ones who mess around and leave the room. If it's a required subject, it's not surprising that they don't all want to be there.

I'd ignore the advice about the textbooks but if you only have one it will be difficult to use anyway. Can you download and print exercises from the net and hand them out to those who are interested?

If absolutely none of them want to learn and the university doesn't care then I suspect you're in for a rather long and boring year. At least you're getting paid!

I hope the situation improves for you.

[bhaisahab]

I'm curious as to why, if you are at a Chinese university, you give Chile as your current location in your profile.

[catherine p]

"Chile" was probably accidental !

[catherine p]

Thanks for feedback.
I've requested meeting with the head of my department, but he is avoiding me.
The rest of the staff are not interested, or won't talk to me. The vibes are that I 'entertain' the students, as foreigners here are more 'window dressing' for the parents rather than being seen as teachers.

Working in China, your visa is tied to your contract, so moving is quite difficult, short of inventing a reason to return to home country.

I don't want to give up too soon, but i forsee an uphill struggle.

Have begun using course books I brought, aiming at the mid-level speakers, but the lower level speakers are totally tuned out. Students in Chinese Universities are less mature than in Western countries, so you are dealing with what are essentially 13-15 year olds, rather than 21-22 year old adults being responsible for themselves.

[charliedeut]

"Chile" was probably accidental !

You can always edit your profile (Chile and China are nieghboring countries ... in the list there )