Besides Dong Yuhui, what are more English teachers doing now？

Source: Caijing magazine

　　In the face of major adjustments in the industry, everyone has made new choices, some related to work, and some boldly transformed.

　　Text | Caijing reporter Ye Xu Tong Wang Yujuan

　　Edit | Yu Le

　　"I vaguely felt the decline of English before, and I also felt that the country attached importance to Chinese, so I took a Chinese teaching certificate." Xiao Xuan, a teacher with five years’ experience in English teaching and training, told us. In 2021, her teaching and training institution closed down. Today, one year later, she has joined an international school and turned to be a Chinese teacher.

　　People engaged in English education are no strangers to the change of wind direction in recent years. According to the report of iResearch in 2017, the participation rate of English in the off-campus teaching and training market reached 81.4%, while that of mathematics and Chinese was 46.9% and 22%. In recent two years, the discussion about reducing the proportion of English teaching is on the rise. In July 2021, after the introduction of the "double reduction" policy, a large number of English teaching and training teachers flowed into the labor market, facing a new career choice.

　　We interviewed several former English teachers who left the profession either actively or passively when the "double reduction" came.

　　A year later, some of them joined the army of "examination and compilation" and faced competition from hundreds of people for a position; Some people go to private schools or quality education institutions to continue teaching English, and their income is not as high as before, but their life has become leisurely; Some people run away from the identity of "English teaching practitioners" and change careers completely.

　　Enter school as a teacher.

　　Many interviewed English teachers told us that after a year of "double reduction", most of them and their former colleagues are still English teachers: either sharpen their heads and squeeze into public or private schools; Either transfer to non-disciplinary training institutions such as quality education and vocational education; Either become an "underground worker" and teach privately as an independent teacher.

　　The reason why the road of "teaching English" is still a "broad road" is that, on the one hand, although the off-campus training of disciplines is prohibited, in fact, the demand for learning English has not disappeared from young children, college students to professionals at all stages; On the other hand, many teachers who come out of teaching and training institutions think that they can only teach and have no ability and courage to change careers.

　　After experiencing the turmoil in the teaching and training industry, many teaching and training teachers regard entering the school as the ideal destination.

　　Yue Xiaoyue worked as an IELTS teacher in New Oriental in Xi ‘an for two years. Although the IELTS and GRE courses she taught were adult training, they were not within the scope of prohibited subject training. However, due to the frustration of the overall business of New Oriental, Yue Xiaoyue’s class pay and welfare were reduced. In addition, she believes that teaching and training work is too exhausting and not suitable for long-term development. Under the influence of multiple factors, Yue Xiaoyue gave birth to her intention.

　　Yue Xiaoyue’s re-employment direction is very clear, and all of them are school teachers. She finally successfully applied for an English teacher in a private university. On the day of the interview in colleges and universities, she found that there were three former colleagues of New Oriental on the interview list.

　　Liu Li worked in the English education industry for nine years, and worked as an English teacher in international schools and overseas institutions. In the first half of 2021, she joined Guagualong Education under ByteDance, only to be laid off less than half a year later. She can’t hide her yearning for the school teacher. "To be honest, I think the school teacher is very good, very relaxed, and has winter and summer vacations."

　　However, only a few teachers can enter public schools. The establishment of teachers is very popular, which is tantamount to crossing the wooden bridge with thousands of troops. Moreover, due to more applicants and less job demand, the competition of English teachers is more intense than that of Chinese and mathematics.

　　Xiao Xuan, who is in Guangzhou, has been paying close attention to the recruitment information of local English teachers for a long time, and found that compared with Chinese and mathematics, the recruitment ratio of English teachers is the highest, usually two or three hundred people compete for a position.

　　The demand for recruitment is also much less than that of Chinese and math teachers.

　　For example, when a district in Guangzhou recruited temporary teachers in the last semester of the 2021 school year, both Chinese teachers and math teachers recruited more than 25 teachers, but only four English teachers were recruited.

　　According to the statistics of a teacher examination and training institution, in 2021, Kaifu District, Changsha City recruited 5 primary school English teachers and registered 1,501 people, with an enrollment ratio of 300.2; There are 777 people competing for two middle school English teacher positions, and the enrollment ratio is as high as 388.5.

　　In addition to the difficulty of competition, many teaching and training teachers also believe that teachers with off-campus training experience will encounter discrimination when applying for public schools.

　　Yue Xiaoyue voted in some public high schools and junior high schools, but even her resume failed, and she thought her resume was brilliant enough. "Many teachers in ordinary high schools and junior high schools don’t like our teachers. They may think that the teachers trained by them pay too much attention to examination skills and are opportunistic. "

　　In this regard, a ninth-grade English teacher in a public school in Zhejiang told us that although he is not directly involved in the recruitment, he has never seen a teacher who can "hold the strength of the senior high school entrance examination and make him admire". However, he immediately added that perhaps the number of teachers he has seen is not enough, and his judgment is not enough to represent the overall level of teachers.

　　In Yue Xiaoyue’s view, the ability of teachers is not bad. Because I often participate in various competitions in New Oriental, I may be dragged to the stage to give a speech at any time. "When we go to an interview, it is obvious that the gas field is crushed."

　　During the period of New Oriental, she has accumulated rich experience in classroom design, classroom activities and class management. Moreover, the busy and high-pressure winter and summer vacations in the teaching and training industry have a huge test, and the teachers who can persist have good pressure resistance.

　　Teachers’ establishment can be met but not met. The guarantee scheme for more teachers is to apply for contract teachers in private schools or temporary teachers in public schools. But even for this kind of non-compiling teachers, the difficulty of competition is rising with the increase of job seekers.

　　Liu Li found that the recruitment requirements of private schools are much higher than in previous years. With nine years’ experience in English education, she recently ran into a wall when interviewing a teaching assistant in a small international school. The salary of this position in Beijing only reaches the average salary level, but it also requires a master’s degree.

　　Yue Xiaoyue said that the former colleagues of New Oriental are very envious of her being a teacher in a private university. However, she thought that she was quick to find a job soon after the "double reduction", so she was able to join the job smoothly. "I often think that if I leave two months late, I may not be able to be fished up."

　　Her other colleagues are not so lucky, because the action is late, and there are too many teachers in the market in the later period, which makes the competition more difficult. Yue Xiaoyue learned that many of his former colleagues have never found their favorite next home, including many teachers with master’s degrees and overseas teaching experience.

　　Being a teacher together Another kind of life

　　Also teaching English, Yue Xiaoyue’s life in private colleges and universities is much easier than that in teaching and training.

　　When Yue Xiaoyue was an IELTS teacher in New Oriental, the courses were often full and she had to travel between different campuses. When the amount of classes is small, you should also participate in teaching and research, competition and other activities.

　　After working in New Oriental for two years, Yue Xiaoyue is busy and growing rapidly. However, she clearly realized that being a teacher in New Oriental is "a bowl of youth rice". Many teachers will leave when they reach a certain age, because their bodies can’t bear it. In New Oriental, most teachers are young people aged 20 to 30, and there are very few teachers over 35.

　　When she arrived at colleges and universities, the average age of teachers reassured her. "There are many teachers in their fifties in our department, and you can often see white-haired teachers at school." For Yue Xiaoyue, this job "can always be retired".

　　The work intensity is greatly reduced. Yue Xiaoyue has 12 class hours a week this semester. Except for being relatively busy during the exam, he usually only needs three and a half days of classes, and the rest of the time can be arranged flexibly. "For example, I had a half-day class this morning. After lunch at noon, I can have a nice nap and arrange the course assignments in the afternoon. In fact, it’s nothing. Read books, read literature, or stroll around the campus and brush your mobile phone. It’s very free. "

　　There is almost no pressure for performance appraisal. "As long as you don’t make any big mistakes, you won’t be fired if you don’t take the initiative to resign."

　　In teaching and training institutions, winter and summer vacations are often the busiest working hours for teaching and training teachers, with a large amount of class hours and "piles of homework", so it is inevitable to stay up late and work overtime. Sometimes after a whole day’s class, Yue Xiaoyue, 30, feels "short of breath".

　　In colleges and universities, paid winter and summer vacations have become enviable benefits. Time is at your own disposal, you can go sightseeing if you want to relax, and you can engage in sideline business if you want to make money.In the past summer vacation, Yue Xiaoyue worked part-time as an IELTS teacher, earning more than 10,000 yuan a month.

　　Liu Li entered an English children’s drama club in Beijing, and her work and life began to have a clear boundary.

　　Previously, when she was a tutor in Guagualong, Liu Li took her mobile phone home every day and sent a long message. "I didn’t rest for a day in the first three months of joining, and I turned around." In addition to answering questions, daily work also bears the performance pressure of sales courses.

　　Now, Liu Li is mainly responsible for taking children to do vocal exercises and rehearse English short plays, and there is no pressure on performance. Although you need to attend classes for eight to ten hours on weekends, you can take two days off after that. Liu Li has her own time.

　　English children’s drama club belongs to the category of quality education, and pays more attention to entertaining, which is not within the scope of policy restrictions. Liu Li said that in fact, many parents still come with the purpose of letting their children learn English.

　　This kind of quality education institution is a new place for many English teachers.Wang Xuanxuan, who is 24 years old in Chengdu, left the English teaching and training industry in 2021 and switched to a nine-to-five telephone sales job, but he was very disgusted with the work content. "Every day is on pins and needles." In 2022, after "naked examination" of teachers without hope, Wang Xuanxuan decided to give up the "volume" on the road of examination and compilation and return to the teaching and training industry.

　　Now she has joined a children’s English organization. There are desks, chairs and self-developed teaching materials in the classroom, but it belongs to quality education. She learned that many local English training institutions have basically transformed into quality-oriented education.

　　Of course, after the work has become stable and leisure, the income has also shrunk dramatically. Yue Xiaoyue can get an annual salary of 200,000 yuan at most in New Oriental, and a senior colleague can get 300,000 yuan, which is the top salary level in Xi ‘an. Now in college, her salary has dropped to five or six thousand yuan a month. Liu Li’s salary in the drama club was also cut by half compared with that in the byte period.

　　However, they are all satisfied with the status quo. Yue Xiaoyue said, "Compared with the hard work of teaching and training teachers, the hourly salary of college teachers with winter and summer vacations is actually very high." More importantly, this job can bring a balance between life and work. Every time she walks in the campus surrounded by green trees and hears the chirping of birds, she will be so happy that she can’t help humming along.

　　Originally, Liu Li only wanted to play the drama club as a temporary job during the transition period, but after a few months of employment, it seems that this job is one of the few good choices.

　　Sometimes, the timing of choice is more important than the choice itself.Yue Xiaoyue believes that if he enters the school as a teacher right after graduation, he will be "poor" and may not know enough. It is precisely because I went to a teaching and training institution just after graduation that I earned enough money to fill the down payment on my house. Now I need space and time, and then I transfer to colleges and universities, and the time for conversion is just right.

　　There are still some people who have transformed into live-in private teachers, and Kaka of Foshan is one of them. The salary of this job is considerable, and Kaka also has the experience of teaching and training children and has confidence in dealing with children. So she took the job without hesitation.

　　Although the live-in teacher has the name of the teacher, it actually belongs to the high-end housekeeping industry.Kaka needs to live in his employer’s home. Besides communicating with his children in English, he also needs to take care of their daily life. "Frankly speaking, it is similar to a child’s housekeeper," Kaka said.

　　Wake up the children at 7 o’clock in the morning, wash and eat breakfast with them. After sending the children to kindergarten at 8 o’clock, Kaka can spend his time flexibly, studying, reading and going out for parties. After the children leave school at 4 o’clock, Kaka is busy. He has to accompany his children to swimming classes, equestrian classes and other interest classes, and sometimes he has to pick them up and go to class reunion. When you get home, it’s time to urge your child to take a bath and sleep, and tell a picture book story before going to bed. Kaka’s day’s work is over when the children go to sleep.

　　Kaka said that although more and more families need live-in teachers, many teachers may not be able to accept such a working environment. Kaka once introduced some friends around him to enter this industry, but they gave the same answer and felt that they lacked freedom. It is also difficult to match the needs between teachers and families, especially the requirements of some families are strange. "Some families can read divination, depending on the teacher’s birthdates, and some families will also look at the teacher’s eyes, which are very subjective. Angle."

　　Bold transformation

　　There are a few teachers and trainers who can find satisfactory jobs like Yue Xiaoyue.On the social platform, most of the self-reports of teachers and trainers are full of fatigue in the teaching and training industry and confusion and anxiety about the future.

　　An English teacher in a third-tier city is still confused. "After years of teaching and training, the whole person is depressed." In his view, he is a pure language major and lacks other skills. Moreover, in third-tier cities, except for teaching and training, the salaries of other industries are relatively considerable, so he has no choice.

　　Being an English major should not be a restriction, but a blessing.. Bold transformation may lead to a bright future.Liu Li also looks forward to becoming an English compound talent. "I may learn some extra skills, such as new media,Do video, and continue to do education-related work in combination with English advantages in the future.

　　After working as a live-in teacher for several months, Kaka chose to change careers for long-term development. "When you have children in the future, you can’t stay in other people’s homes all the time." At the same time, although a live-in teacher can get a monthly salary of up to 50,000 yuan, Kaka has higher expectations for his future income.

　　Because he is optimistic about the prospect of cross-border e-commerce, Kaka went to Guangzhou from Foshan and started a cross-border cargo anchor. Although the anchor with goods and the teacher with training are two very different occupations, Kaka did not feel "acclimatized". On the contrary, the advantages of English and the language expression ability trained in teaching and training have made Kaka comfortable in the transition.

　　Kaka is now broadcast live to the audience in the UK, selling mainly women’s track products such as cosmetics and yoga clothes. During the live broadcast, the audience reached more than 600 people at most, which is already a very good result. Kaka’s salary has also doubled compared with the previous teaching and training position.

　　Shen Yueyue, who has been a "one-on-one" English teacher in Northeast China for three years, has never been able to find a job that can teach after double reduction. Unable to transfer her original work ability, she decided to let go of herself and no longer consider the continuation of her original work experience. "Do whatever you like."

　　By chance, she came into contact with a talk show brand that was purely underground. When sitting in the audience listening to jokes, she misses the feeling of standing on the stage. Since then, she has been writing jokes, attending reading sessions and polishing her language skills.

　　On the first night on the stage of opening wheat, she talked about the situation that former colleagues were looking for jobs everywhere and their income was also facing a sharp drop after the double reduction. There are not many people laughing in the audience, but more people are listening to Shen Yueyue’s speech. After leaving the podium, she once again felt that her expression resonated.At that moment, she seemed to find her original heart as an English teacher: expressing herself and inspiring others.

　　By Shen Yueyue’s side, many friends have caught up with the opportunity when English training was hot: joining a head education and training factory with the title of 985, you can get a salary of 200,000 to 300,000 once you graduate, and it is not uncommon for more than 400,000 graduates in Qingbei. It was a rapidly rising elevator. Although the people who poured in were hard, they all rose with the elevator, and the figure of their peers was gradually left behind. However, after the double reduction, the elevator was cut off in the middle, and my friends lost weight. Many friends, like her, no longer aspire to the right track.

　　Shen Yueyue’s former colleague moved to Changsha to start a new life after leaving an education factory. Instead of going to work, she opened a clothing store. Her English ability is of little use, but her life can be self-financing and she no longer depends on a huge company machine.

　　There are also former colleagues who choose to study abroad. After seeing the disillusionment, colleagues no longer blindly pursue high-paying majors, but read arts at will. There are still friends who can’t find a satisfactory job and let themselves lie at home.

　　In addition to talking about talk shows, Shen Yueyue also helped the brand to manage platforms such as WeChat official account, Xiaohongshu and Weibo, and also undertook some tasks of attracting new products and selling tickets. She was surprised to find that this career transformation after releasing herself did not completely abandon her skills as an English teacher-it was also a necessary skill at that time to attract students to buy renewal fees.

　　Looking back more than a year later, Shen Yueyue is no longer the feeling of falling from the rapidly rising elevator. She gradually saw more crises in the original vain bubble, and deviating from the essence of education made her particularly uncomfortable. Her previous work status became distorted in her memory. Actively or passively, she accepted the fact that she was blown to the talk show stage by the wind and accepted herself now.

　　(The interviewees in the article are all pseudonyms)