China has estimated more than 200 million people who have learnt or are learning English. English is a mandatory course for all primary schools, high schools, colleges and universities. Many children start learning English from kindergarten. Behind this massive popularity of English training is the usefulness of mastering English in the highly competitive job market. English language skill is an essential factor in getting a better job or obtaining higher education.
However, traditionally English teaching in China has focused on reading and writing skills and teachers are normally Chinese. The situation has changed dramatically in recent years when China further opens its doors to the world - WTO entry, 2008 Olympics, Western companies localization, etc. Speaking and listening skills are becoming more and more important. Under this circumstance many schools, especially private schools, start to hire native English speaker teachers to teach English. This has become a competitive edge for those who have it and schools all over the country are following this trend.
Outside schools, English training is red hot too. This is mostly driven by career opportunities in well-paid Western companies. Chinese local companies are also seeking engineers and sales professionals who are fluent in English to facilitate exchange and coorperation with foreign companies.
Experienced foreign English teachers are highly in demand in China. An unofficial survey indicated that the demand is 20 times of the supply. There are many reasons behind this inbalance. The main reason is simply due to the huge market - a red hot industry in a country of 1.3 billion people. Other factors include compensation level, living conditions, uncertainty of new environment, etc.
However, with the rapid advancement of China's economic development, situation is changing in recent years. The gap between Chinese living standard and western living standard is narrowing. This on one hand enables Chinese school employers to pay better salary to foreign teachers. On the other hand, the higher living standard in China makes it easier for foreign teachers to get used to the new environments. In bigger cities, foreign residents don't even feel alone because there are so many foreign people working there that there are even small communities like Chinatown in North American cities.
