back to the land of the big chicken

So I've been back in China for nearly a month now. It's been a lot easier getting settled this time around, mostly because this school really seems to know what it's doing. I had really done my homework this time around prior to coming back, and had pretty high restrictions and desires if I did return. I have realized that I haven’t spent much time in this blog identifying the main cooperation that I’ve been spending more than two years of my life working for, so I’ll spend this post at least getting into some of the fine details of what is behind the school I work for. I am still working for EF: English First, which for those of you who aren't familiar with the franchise, it's a language school development process that is originally based in the States and the UK. In English speaking countries, however, it's known as Education First. There are locations posted around various English speaking, and non-English speaking countries. However, that being said, English First is the biggest language school franchise in China, with over 60 different locations. It's a private language school, which means that the students that come pay for classes, which can either be a one-to-one, or a group class. These classes are done in addition to their school classes, or if they are adults, in their free time (or for work, depending on their job) Whichever option the student chooses, will then have various different tests to then place them into the appropriate level. This encompasses a computer test, as well as an Oral placement test, as Chinese students tend to have a better written knowledge of English rather than speaking ability, or rules that they can use on paper don't transfer to what they have as an ability to verbally produce, as Chinese students learn by rote memory. The one to one classes can be tailored to individual students, and are often students that are preparing to go abroad for some kind of schooling and need help practicing their English, or with test taking practice with TOFEL or IELTS, which I’ll have to get into in another blog at some point, but are basically English proficiency tests for universities in English speaking countries for non-native speakers. That being said, with the over 60 locations in China, there is a certain hierarchy to the franchise madness that is EF in China. Shanghai is the headquarter office and getting a job at this location can be highly competitive. You need pretty much a rave reference, know an “insider”, have pretty solid credentials, or have been in the EF system for a certain number of years. As a result, they are in charge of how things are run through the rest of China curriculum and standard wise. They are the most up to date on technology in the classrooms, and have very high standards for what their students can produce. Management here is elite, and those who are usually in such a position have been with EF for a number of years; in addition to probably having spent at least 5-10 years living and working in China. Training for the teachers is top notch, and they expect a high level of professionalism. They also run training seminars for the other locations in the country a few times a year. They also run training seminars for the managers and senior teachers from around China at the school The next step below Shanghai/headquarters is what is known as a franchise school. These directly report back to Shanghai. If Shanghai says, we are using a new book for 5 year olds, a franchise school has 30 days to get that book, implement it in new classes, and train teachers on how to properly use the book in classes. The franchise schools in China for EF are Guangzhou (the mainland China side of Hong Kong), Hong Kong, Beijing, Tianjin, Taiyuan, Chongqing (southwest China, where some of Mao’s headquarters were), Shenzhen, and Xi’an, which is where I am. Management is usually also higher end at these schools, also people that have been with the location for a number of years. There isn’t much turnover for management, and teachers tend to stay longer at a franchise school or Shanghai, then the lower ranking schools. This doesn’t mean that some people come and go after their first year contract, nor does it mean at the lower ranked schools that there aren’t people who stay long term. But you certainly can learn a lot about a school that has more than one or two people stay for 5+ years. Typically, if a teacher wants to work at a franchise school, they must put the time at the lowest of the low of the EF ranking system: The EF Branch schools. These are the schools that are scattered around the country, and while they are supposed to follow the stipulations of what Shanghai says, they don’t always do. This also means that there is less of a regular check from Shanghai, and if we refer back to the same book change, a branch school will usually have about 18 months to change it, and there’s no guarantee that they will change it, let alone train you on the change, which leaves a teacher to their own devices a lot of times, and there is no guarantee that there will be foreign management at a branch school either. There is usually a higher turnover rate at a branch school, because the rules aren’t consistent, there may not be the proper management, and you typically get screwed over far more at a branch school than you ever would in the other two schools. However, the downside is typically if you are looking to stay long term in China, or with the global system that is EF, you have to do your time at a branch school. This means usually 2 years. If you want a management position, it typically helps if you put your time in for more than a year at the same location. That’s not to say that people won’t switch around, because like all office dynamics you may not get along with your fellow teachers, or your management team. With a private school like EF they will have to have both Chinese and foreign management. The Chinese management is in charge of hiring the Chinese staff, and foreign staff is expected to hire the foreigners, however, it is still ultimately up to the Chinese staff to make the final selection of the foreign staff. Each location is going to have an owner (Chinese) and a center manager (Chinese). There are those who work at the front whom sell the courses to the prospective students (Chinese) and then there is the Program assistant, who is also Chinese but will work in the classroom with foreigners. The foreign management is the director of studies (DoS), who works in conjunction with the center manager, and oversees the foreign staff and the course development. Shanghai and franchise schools will have an assistant DoS, who does the scheduling. The DoS and ADoS will also teach, but will typically have a lighter course load so they can also observe teachers and provide training in things that teachers need to develop (not always offered at branch schools). All schools will have a senior teacher, who is next in command, who has typically been at the same school for at least a year/18 months… their lesson plans have succeeded beyond the typical new to the field system and can provide assistance in the office for classroom management and ideas, and can assist with things when the dos or ados are busy. So that’s the rundown of the system that I gave 19 months two before leaving China, and have thrown myself back into for the next year at least. The Shenyang and HohHot branches of EF that I worked for were branch schools, and now I’m at a franchise school. Shenyang was certainly the most poorly run one of the three that I’ve spent my time at, mostly because they didn’t have any of the foreign management whatsoever. They had a group of teachers that had been there for 5+ years, that never worked more than 20 hours a week, as they were typically heavily favored and the Chinese staff was all related some way or another… Teachers were heavily favored, and those that were decent teachers were worked to the bone with 60+ hours a week. It all seemed manageable until I went elsewhere with decent management. They were actually so far behind on updates and having the system that all the other schools did have, they were actually stripped of the EF name at one point. This school had the highest turnover rate out of all the schools I’ve worked at. Like all poorly managed offices, once the contract was up, 95% didn’t stay. The 5% that did was that group that had been heavily favored and never expected to do much more than their lazy asses wanted to do. Some even cut contracts, which is also never good for a school. HohHot wasn’t as bad management wise, the city itself was just your average small town in China, which is like living in small town America, but it was on the outskirts of the desert, grasslands, and mountains, so the weather was a constant curveball. The Chinese management was screwed up, and while I was there, I thought the management was decent, however, since I’ve left, and worked for a properly run school, the DoS was more someone you wanted to pal around with rather than actually work for. The teacher who had originally been DoS had been far better with ideas and management style then the guy who was in charge. Since I left this branch school back in November, there has been a mass exodus, and they are on their 4th Dos since I had been hired in May 2011, which is never good, when there’s that much change, but it’s mostly due to the frustrating Chinese staff there. They did have people that had been there for awhile, but most of them left around the same time I did in November, and those that came to replace us, all left within 3 months as well. Xi’an has certainly the best EF that I have worked for at this point. There are 4 school locations in the city, and each has its own set of management. We get regular training and feedback. There are some class differences, and small differences in just how things are run, but it’s certainly a lot easier working for this school and the fact that they have a 97% teacher retention rate for a second contract, is a huge deal, and the fact that they have a 90% rate for teachers who have been there for 3+ years is even better. It means that they’ve managed to make things work. I’ll try to do a less formal post of more of my thoughts and experiences working at Xi’an later this week or next week. I will also try to include some highlights from the recent weeks of being here as well.