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My Worst Expat Colleagues as an ESL Teacher in China

2026-02-01
My Worst Expat Colleagues as an ESL Teacher in China Okay, let's talk teaching English here in China – it truly has its own unique brand of charm. The sheer scale of enthusiasm for learning often feels overwhelming sometimes; you're dealing with folks who genuinely want to grasp your language because they understand how crucial it is globally.

Remember that first staff meeting I mentioned? It was a real eye-opener, quite literally! There's this one particular woman there... she actually told me the school’s assessment goals were "what we’re going to make the kids do before sending them off to Disney World." The phrasing itself felt strange somehow. Beyond just getting her grammar right?

But honestly? It wasn't *just* about fixing phrases or understanding definitions, was it? My attempts at correcting grammar sometimes hit walls with completely different cultural filters for what counts as "learning." And navigating these nuances took some serious adjustment – like trying to figure out if my oversized sweater choice during that meeting really landed well.

And then there's the sheer chaos of working alongside colleagues whose grasp on English isn't always reliable, yet they somehow manage to make each day an adventure. It’s a constant balancing act between patience and finding amusement in their sometimes spectacular misunderstandings or those moments where confidence clearly outpaces ability. You definitely learn quickly that you can’t rely purely on textbook knowledge here; it's about understanding people far more than just rules of the language.

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