Teaching at WEBi. (Web English International).
Photos to come....
Photos to come....
WEBi is one of the 3 largest English language providers in China. They have schools in about 150 locations. About 30 of them are in this province, Jiangsu, which is one of the wealthiest provinces in China.
The school is in a luxury shopping centre called Bah Bai Ban or BBB, and brand new. It's something like the 3rd biggest shopping centre in the southern hemisphere and I get lost continually because we are on the 5th floor.. And there is SO MUCH BLING ........ Must admit, I'd rather teach in some of the places I taught in Laos. In the WEBi environment, you can't see outside, it's all white and air-conditioned and feels a million miles away from what is happening in the real world outside.
I'd guess that half the students are kids aged about 12 to 16 and the other half are older. You have to be well off to come to WEBi and some are seriously wealthy. Apparently classes cost a lot but I don't know how much yet. And you can pay extra to become a VIP student, but I'm not so sure what you get with that. Apparently Gucci handbags and Hermes scarfs are not uncommon amongst the students!
The school is in a luxury shopping centre called Bah Bai Ban or BBB, and brand new. It's something like the 3rd biggest shopping centre in the southern hemisphere and I get lost continually because we are on the 5th floor.. And there is SO MUCH BLING ........ Must admit, I'd rather teach in some of the places I taught in Laos. In the WEBi environment, you can't see outside, it's all white and air-conditioned and feels a million miles away from what is happening in the real world outside.
I'd guess that half the students are kids aged about 12 to 16 and the other half are older. You have to be well off to come to WEBi and some are seriously wealthy. Apparently classes cost a lot but I don't know how much yet. And you can pay extra to become a VIP student, but I'm not so sure what you get with that. Apparently Gucci handbags and Hermes scarfs are not uncommon amongst the students!
We called in to the school on my first day here and met the staff. All these gorgeous young women who are the Chinese staff, most are English language teachers. Foreigners are: Herman from Australia who I spoke to on Skype when I was interviewed, Jessie from Dominica, and Robert a kiwi. Also Nyasha from Zimbabwe who only works on the weekends. They all seemed so relaxed and easy to talk to and helpful. They gave good feedback about working for WEBi.
Compared to Laos, this work is a dream in terms of the workload. When I think of all the hours and hours I spent doing lesson preparation in Laos. The work I did on resources in Laos will stand me in good stead. WEBi is so organised and there’s real support here. There are learning objectives for every class and a lesson plan as well. You can chose to use the lesson plan or use your own resources, as long as you cover the learning objectives. I also had 3 days of orientation.
There are Chinese Tutors who teach the real basics in a mix of Chinese and English. They also act as a contact for the students. Students only come to the foreign teachers once they are at a certain level and of course, they get no Chinese in our classes. Classes are from 1 student to a maximum of 10 students and are for about 53 minutes. (You have a few minutes before your next class and you have to update the computer on whether people attended/passed and write quick comments on all students in private classes. There are also Business English classes available which I find interesting. In one class the student had to teach me about the stock exchange and futures and blue chip stock etc.
The school also has Client Consultants whose job it is to "sell" WEBi, and also to support the students. This is a business so they have sales targets to meet etc. ..... a whole new world.
I find it really interesting learning about the students. The kids work incredibly hard. School is from around 6.30 am until 5pm and then there is homework. And extras like going to English language school.
And the adult students have, I think, all been to Uni and are often doing things I have little understanding of. One young woman markets super absorbent polymers (her background) and we ended up discussing their application in continence aids for older people (my background). Her husband is also a student and he develops green technology for the thousands of coal powered power stations in China. Lots of the companies are looking at expanding internationally. One young woman works as an English interpreter in ceramics (not t-pots, but ceramic components for industry) They are expanding to India and work has sent her to visit twice. We both spoke of being overwhelmed by India and initially afraid to go out of our hotel rooms.
A couple of my students are women who aren't in paid work. One of the students came up and introduced herself. She is learning English because she and her son are moving to Melbourne next year so he can attend Ivanhoe Grammar.
This is a different life.
The school also has Client Consultants whose job it is to "sell" WEBi, and also to support the students. This is a business so they have sales targets to meet etc. ..... a whole new world.
I find it really interesting learning about the students. The kids work incredibly hard. School is from around 6.30 am until 5pm and then there is homework. And extras like going to English language school.
And the adult students have, I think, all been to Uni and are often doing things I have little understanding of. One young woman markets super absorbent polymers (her background) and we ended up discussing their application in continence aids for older people (my background). Her husband is also a student and he develops green technology for the thousands of coal powered power stations in China. Lots of the companies are looking at expanding internationally. One young woman works as an English interpreter in ceramics (not t-pots, but ceramic components for industry) They are expanding to India and work has sent her to visit twice. We both spoke of being overwhelmed by India and initially afraid to go out of our hotel rooms.
A couple of my students are women who aren't in paid work. One of the students came up and introduced herself. She is learning English because she and her son are moving to Melbourne next year so he can attend Ivanhoe Grammar.
This is a different life.
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