South Africa is a dutch colony, so they speak Afrikaans, a dutch dialect. They speak English, but its not their native language.

Once one is in country a few years and picks up some of the language, teaching a class without a TA is preferred. The long term teachers I know all do it solo and can easily control a class of 50 to 70. The TA becomes useless for such teachers.

I have to disagree! You are a local hero...lol!
No matter, we are all entitled to have different opinions, don't care about it.

I suspect that many of the younger ones come to 'try to get away' from a bad drug problem back home.

I'd say that those who leave will miss the short working hours and being
allowed to be out of school when they have no classes if they are teaching in the public
education sector. They'll also miss getting much higher salaries than Chinese colleagues
and living in better accommodation than new Chinese teachers, said accommodation being
at least rent-free. And they'll also miss the non-accountability of the teaching if they
were high school teachers teaching oral English with no end of term exams.

Bullshit! You are either a wumao or a very, very naïve foreigner.

Chinese staff do indeed earn a lower basic salary, but are legally allowed to work in second jobs or run businesses on a part-time basis. No visa violations to worry about. Then there's the grey income - Mercedes and Audis don't buy themselves, you know?

Many Chinese teachers that I've met already have an apartment of their own and will commute to work on a daily basis, many teachers will even sublet that apparently not so great apartment to students at the university! Yet more grey income that appears for them to be perfectly, socially acceptable to receive! That's before we even start talking about those Hongbaos!

Most foreign teachers are expected to hold not only end of term exams, but in many cases mid-term exams as well.
Some universities do observe teachers and although training centres may merely use a T.A as a spy, some (and sadly, still only some) actually have quite professional staff observing their teachers, not to mention class monitors who will at least snitch to the bosses if a teacher got a little bit too lazy.

Teaching at public universities is quite an easy job, but it doesn't mean that's better alternatives to consider elsewhere.

You are presumably teaching at public universities in China, but your reading skills aren't up to much. I wasn't talking about uni teaching! Yuncheng agents provide FTs mainly to high schools. There, FTs have much less work to do than Chinese teachers of English as a rule. I didn't mention that Chinese staff have to watchdog students 2 hours/evening for private study. We FTs don't do that. Fact is, you're naive, you know next to nothing about senior middle schools in China! My job is much easier than yours. As an oral English teacher teaching for Yuncheng agents, I can let my TA deal with classroom management in its entirety.And I need only prepare one 45-minute lesson/week with her help if I wish it. I've got the better job, not you! End of story.

There are also the holiday training camps that many teachers have, where they pull in large sums to tutor classes on their subject.

Some schools have ''good luck'' for chukao, zhongkao and gaokao, and the apartments next to those schools are let out for thousands YYYY per month for the students who travel in to that test centre.

Then there are the red envelops to keep little jimmy's or suzy's grades up in the top decile.

More income for the local teachers.

You cannot buy a car on a salary of 3000 a month as local teachers claim they are paid. There are multiple income streams for the locals that need not worry about visa violations, income streams that FTs no longer have access to (they did to some degree pre-2012).

Recently the PSB have become extremely strict about where FT's teach. You cannot, for example, have an invite letter to a school and get your visa through their PSB, and then work anywhere else in China INCLUDING a neighbouring city/county/town where that school is under the jurisdiction of a different PSB.

So this shuffling of teachers by centres puts the teachers in yet another risk category.

training centres may merely use a T.A as a
spy, some (and sadly, still only some) actually have quite professional staff

Yuncheng EV are of the former.

The 22-23 year old girls that are TA's all finished Uni in July the year prior. They work for 18 months, mostly on getting a bf, fiancee and then husband. It's a pure Mrs. Degree. They spend almost all of their time on their smartphone chatting on qq and Wechat working on snagging the richest husband they can get. All the ads say that your TA will help you, give you Chinese lessons, translate for you when you shop - it's all a total lie. They do not know their own town, let alone this new town they are working in that they just moved to. They have no idea how to solve basic problems or find anything.

Chinese, as a rule, do not know anything about the world outside that is more than 200 metres from their home, office or school. It's all a grey foggy mist to them.

They are only there to make sure you don't discuss the 3Ts and to watch what you do, where you go, and with whom.

Also the unwritten rule in Yuncheng is that foreigners are not allowed to purchase utilities independently. They insist upon 'your chinese teacher' to sign for anything and act as a filter on your behaviour. Things like getting a mobile phone, or getting water delivered. There is no law about this - like 99.9 % of China it's an oral unwritten rule.

Your water delivery, btw - that is a main spy source. They enter everyone's house and apt and see who has what possessions.

Your cleaning lady, ayi? Also a spy. She also tells the school. EV, your assistant, the PSB, what you have, what you do, what is in your flat, what you bought, what is on your pc, etc.

Your assistant will then attend the monthly meetings and stand up and tell the collected TA's and company management where you went, who you went with, what you did, who you dated, who your friends are, where you holiday'd, if you show up drunk (which they do not mind, it is a form of control on you. If you are drunk you are not learning about China.) - everything.

Their job is to be a spy - that's all it is at Yuncheng English Village.

Your distress about his posts, if motivated by your own secure situation, is at best selfish.

There's an awful lot of guys like him in China. These guys will happily defend their own training centre for fear of receiving the bad treatment that the other guy got it seems. So logically, they'll choose to stick with the nicer treatment that they'll currently getting.

The common practice of being sympathetic to those in need is thrown straight out of the window. Don't ever ask these guys to donate to charity. They're more worried about where their next beer/little bit of shitty weed/gram of K is coming from.

It's a dog eat dog world in the Chinese ESL industry... Which would sound exciting if it wasn't for the fact that they're just scrapping for mere pennies for the entertainment of the Chinese managers. Not exactly Wolf of Wall Street, but more like becoming 'the poodle of Wall Street English.'

Many of those foreigners have no morals or backbone. Maybe they will have nothing back home to go to, when things go wrong? I've just got to wonder what really motivates these people.

I shall reply to that other poster's posts as and when I think fit. It's true that he has besmirched EV to some extent, as is his right. I won't follow suit and neither will I besmirch IELTS School, and I'm all for TAs, just like you. That's all I have to say in response to your post.

According to the PSB, the westerner was too old to teach!

I have repeatedly heard many stories on this.

Ads online state 60 as the cutoff in many cases.

The law in China is 60 for teachers or 65 if management.

Yuncheng EV says that 65 is the cutoff.

Older Yuncheng IELTS teachers had to leave at age 71.

Many teachers in rural China are 65-75, but that was pre-2012. The law was always 65 then lowered to 60 for teachers, but pre-2012 all laws were loosely enforced, if at all. Again, all this changed in March.

But the new law is age 60 and no more teaching, so anyone 62, 65, etc, is too old.

The teacher in Yongji with the spouse is one such example.

It used to be that Guanxi and money could fix this, but that has all changed since March, 2015. These changes accrued beginning August, 2014, but have really gotten out of hand since everyone came back after Spring Festival.

Since it appears that this trend of tightening application of the rules will not abate, it seems likely that there is at least 7 more years of this to look forward to under current leadership. I would not want to ponder what is next. Registration cards for foreigners? Restrictions upon foreigners travel freedoms? Access to global internet completely shut off? Worse?

Since the internet is all but broken in China for outside communication (I am surprised this site is still reachable), again this started in August, 2014, and is now extreme, it seems clear to me that things will be getting worse and not better.

Thus the recommendation to leave.

If what you do say could happen to me then I do want to know about it but so far I haven't experienced
anything like what you have suggested is becoming endemic.

Endemic activity need not be universal. And this forum is not for your exclusive use.
The writer's specific observations and conclusions are the precise purpose of this forum.
Your distress about his posts, if motivated by your own secure situation, is at best selfish.
Worse, it may reflect your concern for the economic success of these corrupt agents and law-breaking schools.

If I was didactic and trite, I would suggest that everyone draw their own conclusion.

I wonder if I have met you in Hejin. Last academic year I was teaching at no 2 senior middle school of Hejin City and my colleague was Richard, a Ghanaian. We were teaching grade 1. A Polish girl and two Amercan men were teaching grade 2 for EV.
I had heard about the trouble in Yongji from my TA. At the end of the first term, Mayor was sent there to give one week of free teaching, to try to re-establidsh the enforced broken relationship between one of the schools there and Harry's company. However, he immediately got into hot water with the police, as he had left his passport in Lvcheng. He was forced to return there at once to fetch it to appease the Yongji PSB. I had also been told by my TA that the PSB there had refused to renew the work permit of an old foreigner with a Chinese wife, and that she was not at all happy about that. According to the PSB, the westerner was too old to teach!

It does appear by the sound of it you have been shafted somewhere along the line

Incorrect.

I am fine. My passport and visa and FEC are in my possession, I am paid on time, and I do not have to vacate my apartment for police inspections. My friends, acquaintances and fellow co-workers at Yuncheng English Village are the ones who are currently being shafted and some at other schools not hired through Yuncheng EV were shafted as well. Xinjiang (not the province a small town west of Houma) let go all direct hires last year. They do not want foreign teachers any longer.

The current state of affairs is unacceptable. Police inspections, surveillance, the constant monitoring by locals (which requires a degree of Putonghua fluency to be aware of), passport seizure, passports held, hiding from the police, moving out of their apt, and so on.

I haven't experienced anything like what you have suggested is becoming endemic.

Well then let's use Maths. You are one person. I know of at least 6 being treated as I report.

6 is larger than 1 last time I checked.

A 16% chance of being treated well, or a 63% chance of passport seizure and the lot of it.

I just wish you would be more factual.

Pardon? I have posted detailed facts. You ask for a huge burden of proof upon others, yet do not reciprocate.

Talk with the teachers in town, ask them. Go to HK or CI and they will show up eventually.

Walter,

Yuncheng EV, Yuncheng English Village, place teachers and have placed teachers in all of those areas.

Wenxi, LvCheng, Hejin and Jishan are all part of Yuncheng and any schools that hire teachers in those locations would need approval through the Yuncheng PSB for passports, visas, and FEC's. Yuncheng is the government centre for that area. Teachers who work in those places come in to Yuncheng for visa paperwork, unless on marriage visas - those are handled in Taiyuan. A marriage visa, btw, is one of the few ways to limit (but not eliminate) some of the bad things I have written about in this thread. Being a German engineer for the local roads or TGV is another.

Wenxi took a huge economic hit when the steel mill shut down. More so than other places.

Hejin may be going the way of Ruicheng where they do not want foreign teachers.

The days of coming in on L/F visas, now L/M, are over. I continue to read of schools, agents and recruiters placing ads for jobs suggesting or saying that one can arrive on a tourist or business visa and then convert it and work, but this is illegal and now will get you in trouble. Lots of it. I see this for Yuncheng, but also for cities all over China.

The few direct hire schools in Yuncheng know this, and their ads are quite clear about what you need. These schools also make a point of saying they do the paperwork directly. They distance themselves from the others who do things incorrectly.

If your company asks you to travel to Hong Kong or Qingdao to get your visa paperwork done, then you are illegal and they are 'resetting' your visa and FEC so that you can continue to teach. Hong Kong by getting a visa 'out of the country', Qingdao via a company 'friend' who can do it there.
If you DO go to either place, open the packet they tell you not to open - inside will be the forged credentials that get you your visa under false pretenses. Someone else's degree, etc.

You must have a degree, 3 or 4 year, a TEFL cert is now all but required but sometimes not, and have real, actual, teaching credentials with 2-yrs in home country in class experience in a very few cases. Though the real teaching back home is far less often required and is for larger cities and the IB schools and such. In Yuncheng and Yuncheng EV they won't ask for such credentials.

Some Yuncheng agents state that a 2-year degree is enough, that's not legal and that ends up with inspections and passport seizures.

Arriving on a tourist or business visa will simply make money for your employer at the expense of your freedom, legality and bank account.

Do not do this - it is not 2012 any longer. You cannot do what those who arrived in earlier years have done. Those days are gone.

Since the police made much of their income on bribes, and those bribes have disappeared along with the banquet lunches and gifts since the crackdown began, they are seeking to recoup their lost income on the backs of foreign teachers.

It should be obvious that they do not care, at all, what foreigners think of them, Yuncheng, or China; nor do they care that they are taking your money in the form of fees and fines for violating various visa and FEC laws. You are one of the few sources of potential income remaining.

They just want their money, and it's going to come from you.

Yuncheng EV, Yuncheng English Village, Ji and the office staff will not be paying for those fines.

You will.

You also may get deported and a nice little "do not return to China for 5/7/10 years" stamp in your passport. You may also be placed into a database of course.

I know that most information online, on blogs, in forums, in books, from former teachers, says that China is 'the Wild West' and anything goes and that it is lawless and you do not need a degree to teach.

I know that most sites say that if you are young, speak English at any level, and are breathing you are hired.

Well, those days are over as of March, 2015.

After the Spring Festival 2 months ago, everything changed for the worse.

Even with a degree, CELTA and 2 years of experience, you may still be harassed and such.

I do not recommend teaching there, not any longer.

If you have a degree and CELTA you can teach ESL anywhere except the gulf.

If you have a credential and experience on top of that, you can teach in IB schools globally, or the gulf. Those positions will pay 3x to 8x what you will earn in China.

I haven't any knowledge about the currant situation in these areas about if there continues to be employment opportunities there for foreigners as foreign teachers or the recent phenomenon of hassle from the local police. But with the recent puniitive changes to the visa laws, no rightminded illegal will teach there, and those who have working visas won't either. China continues to shoot itself in the foot, that's how stupid the legislators are, and have been in the past. Or will the situation change in the future? Being an optimist, I's be pretty sure it will.
I expect that ielts school will rise from the ashes, and ev will be ok too. Money will talk if channelled into the right places!

Yongji does seem to be taking your hits at the moment.

No, the events are occurring in the Yuncheng county/city/area, and friends confirm identical PSB behaviours in Xi'an, Sha'anxi.

The teacher who was told to hide their possessions? Xiaxian.

The teacher who has no contract? Yuncheng.

The teacher who works two schools and spends 90 minutes a day on the bus? Yuncheng and Linyi.

The local veteran teacher whose passport has been sitting on a desk for 4+ months? Hejin.

The teachers who were told to get out, we do not need foreign teachers any longer? Ruicheng in 2013. Xinjiang in 2014.
Xinjiang is the name of a small city in the north of Yuncheng County, west of Houma.

These issues are regional with confirmation of the same PSB tactics in Xi'an. Two provinces are treating foreign teachers in this fashion, and these behaviours are not limited to only teachers working through Yuncheng English Village.

Wow! Someone has swallowed a dictionary. Rest assured I am not being a Chinese servant in any manner or form.

As I said I live in the area, I am not a teacher but have been here and married for a considerable time. I hardly associate with other westerners as I have my own life and certainly don't have any interest in visiting the hangouts you mentioned.

From my own digging it does appear that there is a lot of internal conflict within EV which seems to have escalated since Spring Festival. You have a right to vent your own grievances but I would caution against being too verbal. It is obvious that you have had some issue(s) and only you know what they are. As for the terrorist thing, well if you travel to certain places you take a risk. Mongolia maybe?

Yongji does seem to be taking your hits at the moment. I believe that someone did have their passport seized but it appears to be a school issue.

You are entitled to your own opinions but going on a tirade is not going to gain you any credibility whatsoever. Ultimately it is up to the individual concerned about where he/she wants to work. Again I reiterate if your documents are legitimate and you don't have anything to hide you shouldn't have to worry.

I personally don't usually read these boards but a friend brought it to my attention. So here's my opinion.

Firstly, I would doubt whether the author has been anywhere near Yuncheng in the first place.

The requirement about a degree is more than likely correct but to specify a four year only degree is quite absurd. Its not just the UK that has three year degrees either.

I have never worked for EV or IELTS but I am familiar with the area. I have heard various stories about both of them, some good, some bad. At the end of the day wherever you work you are going to endure some of what the serial complainer is spuriously portraying.

IELTS are pretty much running on life support at the moment but they have been given the green light to resume their business model so I am also sure they will pick up some of their old contracts again soon. I just guess they will be super careful about who they hire from now on. Who they employed previously did get a lot of schools/parents backs up in the past.

EV have lost contracts too, they also have lost teachers, but as usual they will start their annual recruitment campaign soon. They do have a tendency to shift teachers around at a moments notice but thats part and parcel of signing up with such an agency. They shed a long term teacher recently citing age as the reason, in fact it transpired they simply didn't want to pay the extra insurance. Very short sighted actually as the school where the teacher had been loyal for a considerable amount of time has fallen out of favor with EV and will be ditching them and dealing with things solo soon.

Yuncheng like anywhere else has some good and bad points. It depends on you as a person. I do know, however that certainly in the last year a lot of people have left (either gone home or moved onto pastures new) so the number of foreigners is considerably lower than previously.

Just like everyone else reading this, I have had to deal with the endless beurocracy with working visas, and yes it is frustrating but I have just had to be patient. I certainly have never encountered anything on the level you present here. If all your documents are authentic then I don't see why you would be worried.

To suggest that any person avoids a city or province and heads to the big smoke just because the author may have had some unfortunate incident is at best misinformed and at worst misguided. I would take it with a pinch of salt.

It needn't be a 4-year university degree!

True, but the wording is somewhat strange, it should state or 3 year degree from the UK.

Either way, good luck, visas for china are harder and harder to get, not easier.

Please re-read Walter.

I posted about LinJin, a small town north of Yongji.

Linfen is north of the mountains that border Hejin.

EV, and many others - you can read the ads online from many schools - state that a degree, either 3yr or 4yr, is not required.

This is a lie, and will place the teacher in an illegal status that can requires many wan of fines to pay.

EV, the school, the university, will not be paying those fines even though they claim that the will.

Mr. Ji has never done so in the past, and surely shan't in the future.

He rarely pays for trips to Qingdao, Xiang Gang and Taiyuan for visa related matters.

What makes you think he is going to pay thousands of yuan for fees and fines?

Yuncheng English Village is unreliable, and frankly teaching in China is now bordering on dangerous with the constant PSB harassment outside of BSG. I suggest moving to another nation.

The Yuncheng agents won't accept foreigners if there could be a problem with visas locally. And I'm NOT advising anyone to teach illegally. As far as employment through EV and IELTS School is concerned, we can wait and see if they advertise for the coming academic year. Once they have signed contracts with their client schools they will be ready and willing to employ more foreign teachers. Of course, those foreign teachers must have initially been deemed worthy of employment by the client schools, who will have received the credentials of job applicants through the agents as a first step.
As for the poster who has been whingeing about EV, I'd take his words with a large pinch of salt - I SUSPECT HE HAS A GRUDGE AGAINST SAID AGENT.

The info I have does not agree fully with what you say, as regards IELTS School. It's true Harry has lost contracts with public schools in the Yuncheng Area. But there is a logical reason for that. It's because the local education bureau has forbidden public schools from adding on extra fees for foreign teachers' oral classes to pay for foreign teachers' classes. So schools won't do contracts with IELTS and EV. However, the aforementioned restriction has now been removed, and in the light of this, I think that Harry/River will be very busy these days going round the schools to obtain new contracts. I heard that Harry has already been awarded a contract for the best public middle school in Yuncheng City, after having lost it.

As for your visa scaremongering, I dismiss that, as local relationships continue to hold firm to protect foreigners teaching without z visas or relevent Residence Permits is what I've been told. Those two agents are extremely careful about that, and they obviously need to be!

I have a 3 year Bachelor's Degree from a university in the UK, which is of course acceptable! It needn't be a 4-year university degree! Finally, Houma is in a different administrative region as regards education from the Yuncheng Area, as of course is Linfen.

Absolutely! I've worked for Mr Rivers of IELTS. He doesn't look too closely at how the foreign teacher's teaching unless the school's has complained.
Shucks, IELTS is making money and so is the foreign teacher! That's the name of the game, earning one's daily bread with as liitle stress as possible.
The people of Shanxi, Yuncheng and its counties, tend to be laid back and friendly. Life is at a slow pace. Plenty of time for leading the life of a retired gentleman with money in your pocket.
Actually, Mr Rivers was introduced to the company by the erstwhile director of foreign teachers called Paul, but he left there years ago. He told me that he had come across Mr Rivers in a poor county of Yuncheng, and was greatly impreesed with his English, ambience and integrity. So he recommended him for the vacant post of vice-headmaster. Mr Rivers was born and bred in Huarong county of Yuncheng, as a matter of fact. He still lives there.

That's interesting, i never knew that history of Paul and Mr River. Paul was a tall Canadian, wasn't he? i never worked there but was friendly with some of the FT's-stayed in their compound from time to time-Lots of fun-happy days.

EV, Ielts and the other agent (she supplies foreign staff to kindie and elementary school foreign experts), are all regarded highly by Yuncheng schools. Contrary to what you say, there are at least 50 foreigners working for the agents there. If it was so crap there as you would have us believe, those agents wouldn't be able to recruit new expatriat talent rather easily semester after semester!
I guess you have a personal grudge resulting from your work experience there. Nonetheless, I must agree with you that Helen of EV is at least as cunning and deceitful as they come in the context of her employment as a Chinese lackey. As for the teaching assistants, they've very liitle to gain by treating foreigners badly. Most of 'em resign from their positons within a couple of years as the pay is rather low. But of course, there'll be the odd bitch among 'em who thrives on waging war with her foreign teacher!

Ielts school is crap for actually teaching the kids English on account of all the none English native speakers they employ- they can be barely understood; however, a great gig for the likes of old blue eyes like me. They pay on time-they don't fiddle you- a great place to work. English Village is okay too.

EV, Ielts and the other agent (she supplies foreign staff to kindie and elementary school foreign experts), are all regarded highly by Yuncheng schools. Contrary to what you say, there are at least 50 foreigners working for the agents there. If it was so crap there as you would have us believe, those agents wouldn't be able to recruit new expatriat talent rather easily semester after semester!
I guess you have a personal grudge resulting from your work experience there. Nonetheless, I must agree with you that Helen of EV is at least as cunning and deceitful as they come in the context of her employment as a Chinese lackey. As for the teaching assistants, they've very liitle to gain by treating foreigners badly. Most of 'em resign from their positons within a couple of years as the pay is rather low. But of course, there'll be the odd bitch among 'em who thrives on waging war with her foreign teacher!

Read this article, and this link if you want to teach in China. Wake up!!!!!

Certainly, there are plenty of Africans who have terrible English and should not be working as teachers even in the field of ESL, but there are also real western teachers who I have met that are of African heritage who can teach English just fine.

Why bother to even say that- of course your heritage doesn't matter, as long as you were born(or arrived at the docks aged 5) a Native English Speaker??? We were taking about blacks from Africa, and you should stick to the point. Am I right or am I right?

Listen,
If you really want to know the truth....
EV is a best of 3 shit choices in this area. All the companies in this area are shit.
Why is EV SHIT
1. Don't follow or respect contract
2. Housing is small, or what ever they can find cheap.
3. Helen will never answer your questions, if she does it is a lie. Will only tell you what you want to hear.
4. They only care about money..... plain and simple.
5. The assistants are shit, they gossip about all the teachers, spy on you, and tell the company every thing you do.

these are just a few. I could tell you more. Things other teachers tell me and others. The truth is it is a terrible company. But it is the best in Yuncheng.
The others are full of blacks who's English is terrible (most of the blacks will tell the Chinese they are Americans, lie). And yes, I know this to be a fact. I have been to their parties, I have
been to their company events. Example: Christmas party this year for Ielts, 3 white people and 10 blacks. I saw the group pictures. I would say if you want to teach in China. Don't come to Yuncheng. All the companies are shit, and only care about money. You are a tool for them, and when your usefulness is up or you are no longer needed they replace you. I will not or would not recommend this company or any local company to a foreigner. Stay away, run.

That's the truth!!!!!!!!

If you are saying, and I think you are, that only native born English Speakers should teach oral English, you obviously couldn't be more right; otherwise,the Chinese students are being short-changed; and anyway teaching oral English should be a birthright for all first language English speakers, irrespective of holding a degree or not. However, these blacks cannot be blamed for trying their hand and earning a decent wage; and even lying about their origins. I blame the Chinese bosses for hiring them in the first place; having seen all their ID's, qualifications and passports, they will know exactly where they originate. The Africans to the man are perfectly legal and have attended universities in Africa- and have 'proper' degrees.....well they are legal..yet any sewer worker from Northern England will have a thousand times more English at his command than, a degree in English African.

Mind you, I still say, that schools like Yuncheng IELTS and English Village can be good starter schools for newbie FT's.

not going to bother with replying to your white racist power comments anymore, good luck mancunian.

Hello San Mig
Don't go all fragile on me please, San Mig; you should harden up and concentrate on what you want to achieve-am I right or am I right?

I don't believe that many of the African FT's have the received pronunciation which you would have us believe they have, and are often considerably more difficult to understand than the Chinese teachers. What Foxy Poster maintains, that the Middle schools actually ask Yuncheng IELTS school to send them African FT's instead of Native Born Teachers beggars belief; unless a deal has been struck in the purchase of sub-standard FT's for a cheap price. Anyway, I don't really care, this is a Chinese thing, and they can do whatever they please. Yuncheng ielts school remains a jolly good gig for newbie teacher; especially if you lack certain qualifications; they are not overly fussy; they pay on time; you get a flat; and they won't refuse to reimburse your air fare.

Afraid you are wrong, we can never agree. Nigerians can speak and teach english better chinese teachers (commonwealth country), how do I know, I know from experience and FACTS dear boy as you like to quote so often, not going to bother with replying to your white racist power comments anymore, good luck mancunian.

There's a lot of misinformation going on here. I've worked for Yuncheng English Village for two years, so to help set the record straight:
I know Helen, she's friendly, fair, and she and English Village do honour their contracts with teachers.

I'm from England, and I know many other foreign teachers who work at Yuncheng English Village schools: all from native English speaking countries, UK, US, Canada, Australia.

Getting visas for China is complicated and can be a long process, but if you work for English Village you will definitely get a Z Visa (work visa). And not all English teaching companies in China do this, that's for sure.

I'm from north of the border, and I met one of EV's FTs, who happened to work at the same school as me, also on an L for a good few weeks. He was from SA, his forename was Paul, he was white. At that time I worked for River's outfit. Subsequently, said teacher had to do a visa run, along with others employed by his and your agent, to get Z's from HK. I didn't have to do so to remain employed - as I chose to use my "longer-term" so-called spousal L to teach out the semester.

But I can say from memory that the neg stuff re EV was started on Dave's Cafe by one of EV's former teachers who felt lied to and mistreated, who posted on said board, but didn't name and shame EV specifically. So, his complaints could have been wrongfully attributed to River's outfit. One of River's foreign staff working in Yuncheng city did say to me that EV expects some of its Yuncheng FTs to drop everything to teach weekend classes at very short notice, just like training centre bad practice here. So, if I were interested in teaching for EV, I wouldn't do so in Yuncheng city, so as to avoid crap like that, and I'd only do so on an L, and no medical! But I'm happily retired!

I do understand that all of EV's teachers are native-born English speakers; whereas, ielts relies on barely understandable Africans for the bulk of its workforce.

I don't know what you say about EV is the truth, but I know for sure what you say about IELTS school is misinformation. Actually, the bulk of its foreign staff are white folks these days. You should also be informed that IELTS school will only employ a foreigner to teach English if a client school has agreed to accept him (or her) in the first place. How understandable the spoken English of the foreign teachers is isn't and shouldn't be the issue here as they aren't teaching you nor me. The client schools have accepted them. So, IELTS school gets paid. This means the foreign teachers get paid by IELTS school.

There's a lot of misinformation going on here. I've worked for Yuncheng English Village for two years, so to help set the record straight:

I know Helen, she's friendly, fair, and she and English Village do honour their contracts with teachers.

I'm from England, and I know many other foreign teachers who work at Yuncheng English Village schools: all from native English speaking countries, UK, US, Canada, Australia.

Getting visas for China is complicated and can be a long process, but if you work for English Village you will definitely get a Z Visa (work visa). And not all English teaching companies in China do this, that's for sure.

If you want to chat to some of the foreign teachers who work for EV then it's no problem, they can give you our Skype/QQ/email.