the ABC/CBC experience

[kcj-china]

Who here is American/Canadian-born Chinese and has lived in China?

I have been told that ABC/CBCs are less welcome than gwei lao for ESL teaching.

I am a native English speaker and know some Cantonese.

[imron]

In general it does seem that many ethnic Chinese find it more difficult to find work teaching English compared to those of European descent (including non-native English speakers). There are several posts on the forums discussing such issues and I'm sure if you used the search function you would come across them.

As an aside, you might also wish to reconsider usage of the term gwei lao in such a carefree manner. It's not a particularly polite way to refer to people of European descent, and there are plenty of us here on the forums.

Edited March 13, 2009 at 04:19 PM by imron
changed to be less confrontational.

[kdavid]

It's certainly not impossible to find work, as many ABCs do. However, they're generally on the bottom of the totem pole for hireable teachers, and in many cases they're under Africans and Phillipinos (sp?).

This is largely because the Chinese are very untrusting of each other, and don't believe that ABCs are "real" foreign teachers simply because they do not look the part. Africans and others are at least very foreign-looking.

[Xiwang]

If you're of Asian appearance, you won't be stopped on the subway and asked if you would be interested in a job teaching English or, as happened to one of my classmates, asked to come in for a job interview with CCTV. However, the jobs are there.

[WilsonFong]

I've applied for about 20 English-teaching jobs here in Guangzhou over the past few weeks and I only managed to score one interview...and that was because the interviewer was a British Chinese who was sympathetic with my situation. Now I'm making 35rmb/hour (less than minimum wage back in my home country of Canada) teaching adults elementary-level English, trying to make ends meet (I'm basically broke but I want to stay here for another month or so so I can take the HSK before going home).

My advice to you is if you want to try the whole TESL thing you'd be better off in Japan or Korea. If you want to come here to study you might want to save some money before coming here.

[calibre2001]

I think your value as a ESL teacher would increase by quite abit if you are fluent in both chinese and english. That may offset the appearance factor, since you would be able to explain some of the finer aspects of English to students in their mother tongue which should in theory speed up their learning.

[BrandeX]

Wilson, I'd recommend you keep looking around. The average rate for a local chinese teacher of English is 50rmb an hour in GZ. One of my friends is a local guy who is doing a recruiting biz, he might be able to help you out. I have met another guy who is a CBC that has worked with him before, hes currently a teacher in a Uni here. His website is www.teachingd.com he might be able to hook you up with a better job.

[WilsonFong]

Thanks for the link BrandeX. I'll give it a shot, but I pretty much have my mind set on going home. If I find something decent though I might decide to stay.

[teaforme]

I haven't taught English, but I can comment on being an ABC in China. I've lived in Beijing and I'm currently in Guangzhou.

The good part: You're less likely to get stopped or harassed for your appearance. In many ways it's quite freeing being able to blend into the crowd and just go about your life.

The negative: Dealing with skepticism that you're a person of Chinese ethnicity with Western citizenship. I've found that the people who are most skeptical are not local Chinese, but actually foreigners living in China. I've had my American citizenship and my English language skills questioned countless times by Americans, Canadians, and Europeans. (Foreigners of other nationalities have never given me any grief about being an ABC).

I had more comments from local Chinese about being an ABC while living in Beijing. The comments were mostly along the lines of "Your Chinese sucks". It was honestly very frustrating to deal with, as I know my Chinese still has a long way to go, and I had to grow a thick skin and brush it off. In Guangzhou it's been a non-issue. I attribute this to the fact that Guangdong Province has historically been an area of outward migration. Lots of overseas Chinese, especially those in America, Canada, and Australia, have roots in this part of the world. As a result, people understand that there are Chinese who live outside of China, and are fluent in multiple languages and cultures.

[ScottG]

I have a young friend from the US who could not get a reasonable job teaching English in Beijing. I think that you should expect a big problem here.

He did however end up working quite happily for the symphony.

[flameproof]

Now I'm making 35rmb/hour (less than minimum wage back in my home country of Canada) teaching adults elementary-level English,

Wouldn't you do better if you aim at local jobs? A local job would make you probably outstanding and you may get more $$ is you play that card.