I know someone who has worked there for about a year and a half.

There are four campuses in Shanghai so if you can specify which one, I may be able to find out more relevant information.

In general, my friend who works there is happy and reports that the kids are pretty good, the administration is generally supportive, and the other teachers are generally satisfied.

I believe their school year is quite long compared to some other intl schools in Shanghai. Fewer vacation days overall. I don't know how the salary compares but my friend was satisfied, albeit vague.

I think it would be an all right place to work. Everyone has to start somewhere. You could definitely do worse.

I'm fairly new to Shanghai myself and it's a fun, modern city with a lot of conveniences.

Let me know if you have specific questions.

Agreed--if it's July and you are still looking for a job for the coming year, you need access to as many jobs as possible. I would echo the recommendation to use TIE, and post your resume. You will be contacted by lots of schools that have not posted any official openings on the website. Plus TIE has got to be one of the cheapest, easiest recruitment websites around.

My impression of Search is that it is very much tailored to the candidate with experience who has all of his/her ducks in a row and is looking for a job 8-10 months in advance. That's not a bad thing--that's typically what the better schools want as well. However, at this point, you are not really in that category. You are just looking for exposure to as many openings as you can find so that you will have a better chance of attracting the attention of a good school looking to fill an unexpected last-minute vacancy. With your credentials and experience, everyone is going to want you. Your competition at this point is all other teachers who have not been snapped up already--teachers with limited experience, lukewarm recommendations, or some other glaring "defect" in the eyes of the better schools who usually have the luxury of being picky.

Get your resume out there and see what offers come rolling in. Let schools know that you have options so they will present their best offer. The hiring process is much faster because there are fewer competitive candidates and they know they can't wait until the next fair to see who else is out there.

I have taught Asian ELL students for years but not specifically an entire class of Chinese students. So I will share what I've learned and hopefully some of it will be helpful. Sorry in advance for the length of my response--I wanted to explain myself thoroughly and give you some ideas of what to take into consideration. You asked about the most difficult aspects--in my opinion, the most difficult part of any classroom is being able to differentiate content specifically and successfully to students of all different levels, and this is especially true in a classroom of students learning a language.

I will say that many Asian students excel at subjects like math and science--subjects where there is only one correct response and there is a specific, formulaic way to arrive at the correct response. Learning a language is totally different. There are many ways to communicate whatever one is trying to say, and there is no "right" way, no formula to follow (aside from the complicated rules of spelling and grammar). Learning a language is very creative, and the process is more like becoming a good artist or a skilled athlete--you practice bits and pieces over and over and over until you find your groove. So you are going to need to get these kids comfortable practicing their English, and that means comfortable making mistakes without the fear of shame or embarrassment.

You don’t mention what age group/level you will be teaching, and that makes a big difference with ELL. Young elementary students will need to master speaking and listening first, and they will need a decent vocabulary base (both academic vocabulary as well as informal everyday basic-communication vocabulary). Older/more advanced students will need to have a decent understanding of grammar and the ability to express themselves (again, both informally and academically) in writing. Writing skills are more difficult to teach and typically take a lot more practice to master, because the vocabulary needs to be more precise in order to communicate shades of meaning.

The struggle is not going to be “managing” students, it is going to be getting the shy ones to come out of their shell and participate when they might feel uncomfortable at best and deathly afraid of humiliation at worst. With Asian students in particular, you're going to have to overcome a strong cultural aversion to losing face just to get them to raise their hands, much less carry on a conversation voluntarily (although the younger they are, the easier it will be to get them to interact). Use activities that rely on peer interaction and practice doing whatever the targeted skill is (Speaking? Comprehension? Writing?) whenever possible. Find ways to make sure all students can be successful and feel safe, even if their skill level is very low. Try to find ways to make it fun and interesting.

Typical Asian teaching style relies on lecture and rote memorization, but nobody is going to learn to speak (or read, or write) if you’re the only one doing all the talking, or if all they do is memorize word lists and take tests. And when you do talk, make sure you explain things in the simplest way possible. Demonstrate exactly what they need to do for each activity and assignment—don’t just tell them and then assume everyone understands. Have a student (not the most advanced) explain back what they are supposed to do so you know what/how much they understood. Use visuals whenever possible and write down a list of simple steps for them to follow. To my surprise, one of my best classes ever was having older elementary school kids write poetry about their favorite season. It worked because the framework for poetry is very forgiving and unstructured (and there aren't a lot of preconceived ideas about what makes a poem "good" or "bad"). First I showed a lot of examples, we brainstormed appropriate vocabulary words that might be useful, and then we wrote a simple poem or two together as a class. It was something that students of ALL levels could do successfully and be excited to share with their friends.

Finally, the “article” you linked to was not so much an article as a huge list of links to other articles detailing why grades are bad and should not be used. To be honest, I didn’t bother to read them. The whole purpose behind assessment, which by the way encompasses a huge variety of methods, is to measure and evaluate progress toward a goal. Assessments and grades can be very helpful, although that doesn't have to mean formal written tests or worksheets masquerading as exams. A good teacher collects and uses assessment data, formally AND informally, to guide instruction on a daily basis. For ELL students, this means you are going to need to listen to them speak, read what they write, etc., every single day. Look for areas where many students struggle and plan your lessons accordingly. Nobody knows how to use irregular past tense correctly? Find a game or do an activity where they have to learn to do so. Make it interesting enough that everyone will want to do it (ie, preferably not another boring worksheet) and students will get some form of interaction and/or feedback. Middle school students can carry on a conversation and write basic sentences but have no idea how to construct a paragraph or compose a persuasive essay? Find something that speaks to them—have them try to convince or persuade parents to let them have more free time, more allowance, greater freedom, etc.—something that is a naturally motivating topic. Have students edit each other’s essays and do writer’s workshops, but make sure you SHOW them how to do this, give “good” and “bad” examples so they will know how to evaluate work properly. Don't assume they are going to show up to class already knowing how to edit, evaluate content, or be respectful and polite in their feedback.

Good luck! Don't get too frustrated by failure--just keep trying until you find what works, and try to have fun doing it. You'll get there. :)

Well, it's nice that the consensus is unanimous. It made my decision that much easier. :)

Thanks everyone. Shanghai it is!

Thanks--I appreciate both of your responses although I have to say I was expecting to hear the opposite--that China is horribly polluted and that Egypt, although politically unstable, is the way to go. Anyway, I will certainly take your advice into consideration. Sometimes it's tough to make a decision, especially when you realize that you don't know so much more than you do know. But I suppose that's part of the adventure and charm of traveling to new places.

Awhile ago I was interviewing for a position teaching grade 4 at a small school in a small town in my home country. The students, staff, and admin were all roughly 98% caucasian, as am I. I was asked how I would respond to a parent's accusation of racism.

I really had a hard time answering as I couldn't imagine a grade 4 classroom in a small town in the middle of nowhere as being bastion of racism. Parents or other community members? Yes. Ultra-liberal, open-minded me, who has been exposed to all kinds of lifestyles all over the world? Haha. No.

I guess that question wasn't so much 'tough' as it was odd and seemingly out-of-place.

Just wanted to say thanks to the OP for providing detailed information. I found it quite helpful! :)

I've traveled a lot and have lived abroad for several years but have not been to either of these cities. I have two offers that are pretty similar aside from location--Cairo, Egypt and Shanghai, China.

I'm looking for input--both positives and negatives--from people who have lived and worked in these areas to take into consideration. If you have lived in either (or preferably both) of these places, what did you like most? What did you like least? Anything I should know? Looking for whatever advice you wish to share.

This will be my first official job teaching at an international school and I am not really sure what specific questions I should be asking. I have an idea in my mind what it might be like to live in these cities--but never even having visited, not sure how realistic my "ideas" are.

A bit more about me: I'm single, female, mid-30s, not looking for a relationship. I like to go out and explore the local area but am also fine at home reading or watching movies--can be a bit of an introvert, not at all into the bar scene, equally comfortable making friends with expats and/or locals.

Thanks in advance. :)

I'm sure you were trying to be helpful, but asking someone to do a search for ichiro turns up thousands of unrelated posts *by* Ichiro (most of which have been deleted) and precious few regarding a particular style of CV. Is there a specific thread that might help to narrow the topic to which you might refer the n00bs?

And Eden's ichiro really did stand out. It was extremely impressive because it was in the shape of a cowboy boot.

I would have to agree with you--even though my time teaching ESL "doesn't count", I still think it can be viewed as an asset. If nothing else, it shows that I am comfortable working abroad and that I can find my way around a classroom whether I speak the same language as my students or not.

I do enjoy teaching ESL a lot. My only real issue with it is that there wasn't any real chance for promotion or other ways to increase my professional standing, at least in the particular situation that I was in. Perhaps it's because I'm getting older and am still (happily) single, but I didn't want to be in the same place ten years down the road, and then look back and feel like I should have tried harder to make a "real" career for myself (and I don't want to imply that ESL isn't a "real" career, because it is--it's just that the public elementary schools of Korea are not ever going to be a wise long-term career choice for most non-Korean westerners). But as far as the overall satisfaction goes, it was the best job I've ever had. It was 100-proof awesome sauce.

I felt that if I transitioned over to non-ESL/regular classroom teaching that I would have better options in the future, and still be able to find work abroad OR in the US (should I ever want to return long-term). Perhaps if the path to getting a MA TESOL had been as accessible and clear-cut for me as getting a M.Ed., I might have chosen to stay in ESL. But those were my own personal circumstances, and they wouldn't necessarily apply to anyone else.

Yeah, I would definitely agree that ESL experience can be viewed as an asset in many situations, even if it doesn't translate directly to a bump on the salary scale.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. :)

Thanks teacherguy, it's nice to hear your story. I'm definitely planning on attending the UNI fair, and if I don't get any offers, at least I will come away having a much better idea of what to expect and how to go about getting an offer that I want.

I think the idea of possibly doing a paid internship is also a road worth exploring. My only hesitation is that money is tight this semester and I would have to find a way to scrape together an extra $225 to find out my options through Search. But I'm sure it would pay off in the end and be another good way of getting to where I want to be.

Sevarem, thanks so much for sharing your experience. It gives me hope! I agree, I might be surprised if I just get myself prepared and give it a reasonable shot. I don't mind being at a less-than-stellar location, as long as the students have a decent attitude and the administration is at least somewhat supportive.

Thanks for mentioning that you wouldn't go back to ESL, too. It's not my first choice, but I know that I can do it, do it well, and enjoy it, and it will pay the bills if I can't find anything else appealing. Mainly I just don't want to go back to that, only to find down the road that I've locked myself into either ESL forever or moving back to the US for two to three years.

It's just good to know that people have been able to find something decent without two full years of experience in a US school setting. Sometimes it's easier to move ahead with your plans when you know that other people have followed a non-cookie-cutter path and been successful too.

I know living in other countries isn't always a day at the beach, but I miss being abroad more than I thought I would.

Thanks! I really appreciate and enjoy hearing everyone's perspective!

I see your point. I hadn't considered it from that perspective.

Well, I guess I will go to one of the fairs and see what I can find out from talking with people who do the hiring about what my better options might be.

If nothing else, at least I will have some time to work on making myself a more attractive candidate. If I'll be teaching in the US, I might be able to add an endorsement.

I appreciate your insight.

Thanks for taking the time to consider my situation, PsyGuy.

I was also thinking about applying with ADEC in the UAE after I finish school and get my teaching certificate. I realize this is more ESL experience, but the salary is attractive, and perhaps I would be able to move on to a solid second-tier international school in the Middle East when I'm done.

To be honest, I don't really care that much if I teach in an ESL environment or in an international school, even though I realize the two are really quite different. I do eventually want to move to an international school, because I need to work where I can have a future, so I will be able to retire before age 70. In the beginning of an international school career, though, I'm not sure if this would essentially be a step backwards, and if it is, what repercussions I would see from going back to ESL temporarily (for another 2 years) to pay off the student loans. The difference in salary between ADEC and a local school district in the US is going to be about $10,000-15,000 more *per year* with ADEC, and that doesn't even include the free housing and health insurance.

Thoughts? Does this seem feasible? Or would I just have to move back home again and get more experience in a school in the US since ESL doesn't count?

Thanks for your input.

Yeah, I am proud of the work that I did, because I think that it made me a much better teacher and far more confident in my abilities than I would have been otherwise. I realize that it won't count, and while that's too bad, at least I loved my job, grew a lot professionally, and made enough money to support myself. So it wasn't a total waste.

I guess maybe I wasn't very clear about a couple of things. I am in the US now, working in a (title 1) public elementary school--I've already been placed and I've already started working with the students.

Technically it is one semester of "internship" and one semester of student teaching. I go into the school 3 days per week this semester and since I've had experience teaching and our students are overall shockingly far below grade level, I have been team teaching and leading small groups. Because most of the other students in the program have little or no experience working in a classroom, they will use the first semester to observe and gradually "get comfortable." The second semester I will be student teaching full-time. I'm not sure how much different "full-time" will be from what I'm currently doing (it's now the 3rd week of school), or what I will be doing by October. I'm assuming that it will essentially be a full year of student teaching.

You raised an interesting idea that I hadn't thought of. Maybe a school would take me on as an "internship" teacher or a paraprofessional with a lower salary to start until I have completed a few years of experience. Hmm. Not a bad option--worth exploring, anyway.

I was thinking about attending the UNI fair because it's somewhat close and my expenses would be minimal, compared to attending the other fairs. Perhaps I could go and just kind of feel out the schools and get an idea of what my prospective job offers might look like, either way. If I get an offer, great, and if not, I'm sure I'll be able to find something in my home state that will allow me to get a couple of years of experience before I try again.

I guess I just had high hopes to leave this small(-minded) town behind me ASAP, but perhaps it would be better to wait it out until I have proof that I am a wonderful, competent teacher and therefore solid job offer(s). And of course it would be nice to have a few years to enjoy being at home with family.

Thanks for your response, teacherguy. That was helpful. It's good to know what others have experienced, and to get an idea of what schools are looking for, and why. It's also nice to know that it is possible to work your way up.

Anyone else? I tried to make a poll with all kinds of wittily-phrased options, so that I could get more feedback, but apparently any polls with more than zero options are not allowed.