Perplexed by these thoughts which bring us here today to wonder why exactly is there such negativity against them? It's natural for individuals working under the assumption of 'English Language Teacher' or any other label affixed thereto, in this case mostly American English teachers - but what seems more than just a simple reason however we have come across one conclusion on which many agree. In an interview with Dr Wang from Shanghai Municipal Education Bureau when asked **"What do you think is the primary cause for such negative perceptions towards these foreign national instructors?"** she replied:
"We all know that English teachers in China are often unprepared or lack proper training to tackle their class size effectively, thus leading people astranting them."
For example let us see what Dr Zhang says: “The majority of those who come here have no alternative but teach because they cannot find work within the home market where such talent goes largely unreognized - as English teachers from China do so much better than Americans can at times and if teaching were more about then mere conversation between two persons sitting on opposite side tables – I think we would all be having these kinds of discussions right now, wouldn’t it?"
On a quest for answers to why they are treated unfairly Dr Wang’s colleague Mr. Zhang mentioned an interesting observation: “I see many Chinese students go into Language classes and come out speaking better English than their counterparts in America - but then upon return home; no matter who or what is said about this skillset, there still remains a great deal of disdain."
Dr Lee from the Shanghai Education Bureau had these words to offer when asked how she perceived her experiences with Western instructors: “I find that many teachers are lacking fluency and can't even utter coherent sentences due largely in part by improper certification or training; as such teaching English becomes an exercise - if it wasn’t for a couple of thousand US-educated folks out here."
On the contrary Dr. Xu from Beijing Foreign Studies University feels quite optimistic, “We’re not talking anymore about unskilled work but rather those who don't necessarily know how they're doing what we call ‘English’ when asked why do believe China needs this kind to provide our international English speakers an opportunity.”
And so as it turns out - many teachers just happened upon their opportunities by accident and never truly require them selves nor even need too. “As Dr Wu from the Capital’s Language Training Program concluded:”In reality, we mostly lack not only real but also unreal expectations."
Dr Wang's words however did strike a chord with me when she was asked about this issue -“I am afraid that teaching English and being an expat is often just seen as something you do until better employment comes up down the line somewhere else".
It’s easy to imagine why some might view them in such light, but Dr. Li from Fudan University thinks otherwise “In my experience I have found these people - if at all possible (and quite frankly many are very well-respected within their communities) – don a completely different role; there is no difference between this group and another."
Dr Wang explained that "the notion of 'LBH' was basically an empty label which carried absolutely zero weight nor truth behind it" as Dr Xu touched upon moments prior - “When I myself took my placement test, only to pass in the end with flying colors mind you; teaching English had become a bit dull – at least initially."
As Dr Wu so aptly phrased "In this way one can take notice when asked about expats fresh off of boats: 'you see that sort right away from day one and we cannot actually expect very much different as they are what make up the larger group'.
Dr. Xu’s view is similar to his peers - “When I myself took my placement test, only to pass in end with flying colors – mind you; teaching English had become a bit dull initially".
**English teachers who have recently taken their footstep into China should be cognizant of these warnings and understand that the term 'LBH', for Loser Back Home has nothing directly linking them - however much confusion there may already exist on this matter.**
At last Dr Zhang puts things in perspective “This is not so with LBH; a label used to describe those who teach English as if they were ‘stumbling into something’ only because their own countries could find no use for these teachers, or at least - such was the thought behind it".
In closing we may come across numerous teaching instances which reveal that 'English teacher in China' is indeed an expert with a very high level of technical abilities but even so; nothing can be surer than this: **that
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