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Teaching in a Chinese university is interesting, positive and very rewarding. It is a Chinese government requirement that a specific visa be obtained before teaching can be commenced in a Chinese University or government school. Approval for this visa can be time consuming but once received, you can commence applying for positions. Although I applied for a teaching position in Wuhan University, due my “Z” visa being delayed Wuhan university organised a teaching position for me in nearby Xiaogan University (pronounced Shogun). Once the director of the Xiaogan university reviewed my previous background in banking, he was able to fill a long-term vacancy in their economics studies. Part of my responsibilities at Xiaogan University was to review any previous notes, handouts and available textbooks. When I reviewed their approved textbooks, I found them to be not current and unsuitable for teaching economics in English to the standard necessary to ensure the students were not disadvantaged by attending a smaller university. I approached the Xiaogan University director with a plan to obtain English year 12 school textbooks directly from Australia, enabling the students to study from current and informative English texts on economics. The director agreed my suggested textbooks would be a good standard for teaching both 2nd and 3rd year Chinese economics students using English. I found many of the students to be very motivated and very keen to learn economics. After mentioning this to the university director he explained many of these students were fully supported by the Chinese government and are keen to take advantage of the opportunity. As some came from poorer families I found only a few students were not particularly motivated to learn, however their reluctance to learn was quickly addressed by explaining the opportunity available to them if they succeeded in the course. The students were really keen to experience English and so 2 to 3 times a week I would hold informal English classes in my apartment within the university, which was open for any of my class students. After class we would attend a local restaurant for dinner and continue our English conversations. Being able to interact with my students was a fantastic experience for me as I was able to learn more about their lives, families, and their experiences of living in China. Likewise they were able to learn considerable information about what was happening in the Western world, much which was not easily obtained due to heavy censorship by the Chinese government. Every Sunday morning the university would hold an ‘English Corner’ that was available for the local residents of Xiaogan so they could learn and improve their English. As a native English speaker, I enjoyed the opportunity to participate in these informal English classes, meet the local people and learn more about their lives, families and experiences. They were also keen to learn about the western world, so it was a positive for both myself, my students who attended, and the local people. Another part of my responsibilities at the university was to set and mark the students’ examinations for promotion to the next class level. I was really satisfied that my lessons had been effective in being able to both teach my students economics and raise their level of English understanding. After my contract was completed, I was offered a new contract for the following year at Xiaogan university, however I declined their offer as I wished to see more of China. With my excellent reference from the university I was able to obtain a position teaching Business English for local business people in Panyu, near to Guangzhou city in Guangdong province in China. I would highly recommend teaching at a university or government school in China to anybody keen to explore and experience the real China, as there are many advantages and very few disadvantages. The people are very friendly and keen to learn, not only about the English language, but also to know about the teacher, their western way of life and the world in general.
