Chris is an American man who came to study Chinese history in Zhengzhou City, Henan Province. He is respected as an "English Language Expert" by the local people and teaches English in five language schools there. He is from a small village at the foot of the American Rocky Mountains and has a strong accent that does cause some problems for his students who can’t understand why there are differences in pronunciation. He earns $30 for each 45 minutes that he teaches.

Charlie is an Irishman who has lived and worked in China for many years. He has been an English teacher with several organizations and has experience of the foreign teacher market here.

“The Chinese are often too trusting of the foreign language teachers. Almost anyone who has an English name can teach English in China and earn a good salary,” Charlie says. At least eighty percent of his foreign friends have had experience of teaching English.

What are the rates of pay for teaching in China? Charlie says that for those that train company employees, it is possible to earn as much as 300 – 400 yuan per hour, while teaching in Beijing training companies will get about 150 per hour. Teaching privately will earn somewhat less at 100 yuan per hour. Those who do college lecturing can earn two to three thousand a month, they have part-time jobs as well. On average, a foreign teacher can earn more than 10,000 yuan a month for working only two hours a day.

Parson is a British man who came to Beijing last October and is a lecturer in a university. He confessed that it was hard to get a job in a British University but he was glad that his job here was enjoyable and well paid. He is happy here and sends emails home, telling about his life in China.

Although China has been recruiting foreign experts for some time now, something that continues to puzzle Charlie is how English speakers, whose native language is not English, get work here. Benin, a young man from West Africa, works for an English language training organization started by one of his friends here. Charlie knows others who are not native

English speakers but who work in the sector.

Blondes are very popular in China and it is said that being blonde might get you employed.

Making light of it, Charlie says, laughing, “A blonde might put it in their resume when looking for work here and it is true that many organizations give it priority. They seldom care if you are native speaker or if you have training experience.”

The language market is attractive to foreigners for its comparatively high salary, and for its relatively low demands. While foreign visitors to China will sometimes take advantage of it, employers here are also able to profit from minimal education qualifications and experience by paying less. Charlie says that while some very well-known teachers here have more than one job, it does have to be asked how well they can do their job if they are over burdened.

Foreign language teaching in China is a very important part of the educational infrastructure but because the sector is unregulated, individuals without necessary qualifications can be hired and take advantage of the situation. While the basic requirements of qualifications and experience; being a native speaker and a TEFL/TESL qualification holder go someway to making standards in the sector, these should be backed by state regulations.

(China.org.cn translated by Li Liangdu, March 7, 2003)