Qualification of English language teachers come under scrutiny

Suggestions are being made that there is a growing demand for English-language teachers in China, regardless of their experience, reports the Beijing News.

The report comes amid analysis which shows the English training market for K-12 students in China is expected to increase anywhere from 10% to 30% in the upcoming five years, according to a report of Zhongtai Securities.

Jhon Lee from Belgium teaches English at an early education center in Tianjin. [Photo: VCG]

Even though an estimated 730-billion yuan is being spent by parents each year for English lessons, there is still reportedly a distinct shortage of qualified English language teachers.

The report in the Beijing News contends that three-in-five parents are now enrolling their children in English training institutes.

Popular teachers and foreign teachers are said to be the first choice, according to a survey conducted by counseling agency iResearch and English training agency First Leap.

However, not all schools can accommodate professionally accredited educators. The Beijing News is reporting a school in Langfang, Hebei Province, currently employs six foreign teachers, all hailing from English-speaking countries. But authorities at the school admit they have no idea whether their teachers are accredited. To make up for this, the parents are allowed to audit a class to decide if they want to enroll their child with the instructor.

"My child likes the foreign teacher and enjoy the class very much, so I don't care whether the teacher gets a certificate," said a parent.

Under new rules enacted a few years ago, foreign English teachers in China are required to hold a Foreigners' Work Permit. They also have to hail from an English-speaking countries, have a masters degree or above, and have two years' teaching experience.

If the foreigner has TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) or TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) certificate, no work experience is also acceptable, said the report.

"Actually, many foreign teachers don't perform better than Chinese teachers because they don't know how to teach properly. The high mobility of foreign teachers impacts on training quality," said Wang Xi, who once ran an English training center.

The Beijing News report is also warning that unqualified foreign teachers may also have security issues. Two months ago, media reports revealed that an English language teacher from Canada teaching in China had been accused of sexual misconduct with three teenaged students in Canada during the 1970's.

Police in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, investigated a group of foreign teachers last year following complaints.

It was later revealed the seven foreigners had no teaching certificates and reportedly had difficultly speaking and writing in English as well, as none of them were native-English speakers.