mezza-9.net

Pallavi asked:


With the passage of time, things have changed and improved. Like in computers character user interface was used but with the popularity of computer, graphic user interface was used. Graphic user interface became so popular because of its application, its user friendly environment and its appearance. Twitter applications are the examples of graphic user interface. Special applications are provided by The Twitter Secret. With these applications, usage of applications become easy and saves lots of time.

Twitter Applications have become very popular in youths. Main reason is these are very attractive and eye catchy. Applications are specifically designed according to youth’s environment because maximum young people surf the net most especially social networking websites like twitter, facebook etc.

Twitter Applications are additional features that can be added to the twitter secret. By adding a twitter application to your profile, your public profile information will be shared through the application with its developer, with your friends who receive your updates on twitter.

There are various kinds of applications like computer application which is known as software in your compute. It includes word processing, spreadsheet, internet, browsing, and anti-virus and e-mail software. The entire buzz for the past year has been about social applications, interactive pieces of media that you can install on your Twitter.

Twitter is becoming popular day by day and now it’s impossible to escape from twitter. With the usage of it, it’s becoming popular and to increase its interactivity various twitter applications are launching in market. Applications like playing games, using stylish fonts in your account, sending flowers to your friend on his/her birthday and so on. The reason of popularity is also 140 microblogging systems which twitter uses. In microblogging, you can send short message to your friend and its character limit is only 140.

Many of twitter applications are written by harmless programming enthusiasts as a bit of fun, but many are also written purely for marketing purposes. Nowadays marketing has become 1st most step of any product. It is the kind of conveying and telling information about the product to the customers. If marketing strategy is good and attractive then no doubts customer will use the product at least for once. It’s all about promoting your product to the user and nowadays the main medium of marketing is television and internet. These are the 2 mediums which is most popular and useful nowadays.

Using social networking site is really popular because you can contact to your old buddies through it. That’s why people love it while using it. And they try various things on it. For example, if today I have launched twitter application – “make love relations”. I assure you while seeing this application maximum user will add this application in your account and start using it. The main motive of any application is to increase popularity among users.

The main motive behind twitter application is to give the facility to the user, to enjoy the website while using it. Many of twitter applications are written by harmless programming enthusiasts as a bit of fun, but many are also written purely for marketing purposes.

Alex Star asked:


Using Twitter Directories To Gain Relevant Followers

Are Twitter Directories Relevant?

There are so many tools that sprung up to help you maximize your Twitter account for socializing and marketing. There is MrTwitter, TweetLater, TwitScoop and of course, the Twitter directories.

If you had a hard time understanding the first paragraph, then let’s make it easier for you, shall we? First off, twitter is a social, micro blogging? website that allows you to inform others of what you are doing now in snippets while you are also informed of the minute details of the people you follow? in Twitter through the same concept.

Now, it is nothing new that Twitter is not only useful to interact and connect with friends and family, it has also been acknowledged as a tool to help marketers up their website traffic and meet other potential clients.

Given that Twitter can help you in your marketing strategy, there are other tools that can help you maximize the use of your Twitter. One of these tools is the Twitter directory. These directories are used so that you can find potential followers that can be beneficial to your business, people who might be interested in the type of goods or services that you offer.

An example of a Twitter directory is Twellow. It is like the Yellow pages of Twitter as it lists all of the Twitter users in categories that will help you know which ones will be interested in your goods or services.

 

How does one use Twellow? This site is actually very easy to use. All you have to do is go to twellow.com.  Now, say you have a website that deals with TV shows episodes, to see all the Twitter users who are interested in this category, click the link under Entertainment, which is Television.  In less than a second, you will get a whole list of people interested in this category. In using twitter directories to find relevant followers, you save a lot of time, instead of having to go add everyone else you can find in your immediate network.

 

This list in itself is very useful because you get to have a pool of potential buyers right then and there as they are interested on the same thing that you are marketing. But how do you get these people in the relevant list to actually follow your Twitter and view your advertisements?

 

The most effective strategy is to follow them first. Most Twitters check who are following them. So this is the first way that you can make direct contact with your potential client. Once you follow their tweets, they will see you on their “followers� page and more often than not they will end up checking your profile.

Thus, this calls for a profile that will entice the viewer to follow you too. Do not make the profile very pushy salesman-like as this will end up disgusting your potential clients away. A warm and informative Twitter profile will cause more Twitter users to follow than a cold statistics ridden Twitter profile.

Bottom line is, using a Twitter directory is a more efficient way of finding potential consumers in the wide, wide cyber space.

 

To find out lots more tips on how to market your busines son Twitter and use specific techniques to make money on Twitter, go to Check it out now

 

Learn how to earn with Twitter

Luca Moretti asked:


Tweeting, as it is called, is all the rage amongst online businesses these days. Twitter consists of writing short text messages of less than 140 characters that can be viewed by all of your followers. Twitter is a great way to attract attention to your online business thus serves as a form of free online marketing. Companies can use Twitter to interact with both current and potential customers, building brand loyalty and image. Here are 10 ways in which Twitter can boost your online business.

1. Twitter generates traffic to your site because you can send messages that include links. The only problem with trying to increase clientele with Twitter is that it is difficult to target a certain group or demographic. There is a possibility to create viral content on Twitter however because you can ask your friends to include your links in their tweets.

2. Twitter greatly enhances your personal brand. By using Twitter, you and your company develop a casual, approachable personality that is in the loop. This helps you attract new potential customers. The better you get at tweeting, the more likely you are to expand your potential customer base because new Tweeters are attracted to well-established Twitter users.

3. If you need to hire a writer, graphic designer or anyone else for that matter, you can do so easily on Twitter by sending a tweet out to your friends to ask if they know of anyone. This eliminates the need of putting out classified ads and weeding through prospective employees.

4. If you work remotely with other people, you can use Twitter as a way to interact as a group. Twitter options include making messages visible only to certain people, which would obviously be useful if you want to use it as a tool to communicate with people in your business.

5. It is easy to find new, potential customers by using Twitter’s search function. Search Twitter for your target keywords and you will find related tweets. Follow the Twitter users that are talking about relevant topics and you may be able to offer your product or services to them in the future.

6. Twitter can assist you in your social media efforts because anytime you submit an article to Digg or Stumble Upon for example you can include a link to your story and perhaps get others to vote for it.

7. Twitter allows you to stay in touch with your current customers. If you begin offering a new product or service, you can use Twitter to make an announcement.

8. With Twitter, you can connect with other people in your niche. This is helpful for building business relationships that will enhance your future networking efforts.

9. It’s easy to get feedback on any of your current projects with Twitter. If your site has a new design or you just put up a new article, you can tweet about it and ask your followers for feedback. This valuable feedback can help you improve your business and even come up with some new ideas for future projects.

10. With a Twitter widget on your website, you can link up with potential customers who find your site through a search engine. This allows you to connect with people on a more personal level and increase your followers.

Twitter can be very beneficial for your online business if you know how to use it to your advantage. It’s a free and easy way to network with both current customers and potential customers. Using Twitter allows you to connect with people on a personal level and is a powerful way to improve your online marketing and networking efforts.

Jennifer Horowitz asked:


I personally have been Tweeting for a few months. But I use the phrase “tweeting for a few months” loosely. I haven’t been all that consistent with it, and I definitely didn’t have a strategy. I just thought it was kind of cool.

Recently I’ve started paying more attention to it for a few reasons; my mother-in-law was at a librarian conference recently and attended a session on Twitter. I got into a conversation with her about it, and then the next day I saw John Reese’s email about Twitter. It seems like there is a lot of twittering about Twitter going on. What is Twitter?

According to the Twitter FAQ, “Twitter is for staying in touch and keeping up with friends no matter where you are or what you’re doing.”

Wikipedia says, “Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that allows users to send updates via SMS, instant messaging, email, to the Twitter website, or any one of the multitude of Twitter applications now available”.

Basically Twitter asks the question, “What are you doing?” and allows you to send a short update (your tweets are limited to 140 characters) to your followers (family, friends, colleagues, customers, potential customers etc).

Twitter allows you to send and receive updates (also called tweets) via your browser, email, instant messaging clients and SMS (using your cell phone). No matter where you are, you can tweet!

I haven’t been following Twitter since day 1, so I’m not going to comment on it’s evolution but I will speculate that as its popularity grows, as more and more marketers use it, 2 things are inevitable:

1. Rules on Twitter etiquette will continue to evolve as we learn what we like and dislike about it, and as we respond to the inevitable abuse of Twitter (don’t mean to sound negative but it happens with each exciting new opportunity ‘ people end up abusing it).

2. More and more companies will jump on board and try to get in on the conversation.

Start Twittering, (or is it Tweeting?)

Remember, when you first join Twitter, it can feel like a lonely place. When you aren’t following anyone and no one is following you, you may find yourself asking “what is the point?” I’ve heard so many people say they just don’t get it. In fact, I’ve said that myself.

The key is to find the Tweets you want to follow so you can keep your finger on the pulse of your niche. The next key is to start building your followers. More on that in a minute.

How can Twitter help your business?

The more contact you have with a potential customer, the more likely you are to get their business. You can stay “top of mind” through Twitter. Let them know what’s new in your industry, in your company etc. You become a source of quick news flashes for them.

Here are just a few of the benefits of Twitter: – It reminds people that you exist

- It shows people you have something to say

- It shows them that you are human

- It allows you to mention new offers, sales and breaking news immediately

- It allows you to form a more casual relationship

- You can use Twitter to promote your social bookmarking submissions.

- You can ask for referrals, suggestions, feedback and help, and people will respond.

Twitter is also fun and is contributing to the new language we are constantly developing. For example “Twitterference” ‘ the intrusion of twitter updates on your phone making it hard to have a conversation on your phone.

Finding Followers:

Start by reaching out to your friends, family, mailing list etc. You can also add your Twitter link to your email signature line; add links to your website and Blog. Mention your Twitter account in your newsletter.

Twitter Rules

One cardinal rule (that is in your best interest to follow): if you use Twitter as a pure sales tool, you will lose followers quickly. As with all forms of social media, it is about creating a conversation and sharing news ‘ it’s not all about you shoving your sales message down their throats.

Tweets are limited to 140 characters. This is to allow them to be easily sent over mobile SMS systems.

You aren’t able to embed HTML with the exception of hyperlinks. (But they are no-follow links, so they won’t help you in your SEO quest for backlinks) Bonus: Twitter automatically uses the TinyURL service to shorten links.

Don’t tweet too much, or too little. There is no magic number and it varies according to your audience. Some people say don’t update more than once per hour. Others say not more than once or twice a day. I tend to be in the once or twice a day camp. If there is breaking news and some days you just have to update more often then it’s OK. If your tweets are valuable information people will be more tolerant of frequent updates.

On the other hand if you are too quiet, people have nothing to follow so make sure you find that balance and tweet just enough to keep people informed but not annoyed.

Don’t forget that your profile shows a history of all your tweets, so if a new person comes along and sees that you don’t have many tweets they may decide you aren’t worthy of following. Also if your past tweets aren’t informative or interesting, you lose some potential followers.

You’ll find that sometimes you get involved in personal conversation with someone. Try to avoid doing too much of this. Not everyone will be interested in your personal communications. If you do need to do this, put the @ symbol in front of somebody’s name ‘ this indicates that this message is for them.

One thing to keep in mind about personal conversation tweets – some people who are following you may not be following the person you are talking to. This means they get only one half of the conversation. One suggestion is to word your tweet so that spectators have an idea of what you are talking about. That way, they can feel more included in the conversation.

Trust and Twitter

With so much hype in marketing, people are really looking for a company that can trust. You can build trust with prospects by allowing them to get to know you, and by providing them with information. Twitter allows you to do just that.

A great tip: look at your own Tweet history ‘ is the information valuable, does it build trust? Would you want to follow yourself?

Get tweeting!

It may take some trial and error, and you probably want to check out what others are tweeting about to get a feel for the style. But don’t spend too long lurking ‘ check it out and then jump on in.

Michelle Dumas asked:


Tweet? If not, maybe you should.

Perhaps it would be misleading to say that as a job searcher you MUST be on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, or other social and business networking sites. But, assuming that you use social media in appropriate and professional ways, being connected and networking in these ways can only help. And, few people would argue that you shouldn’t seize on any edge that you can give yourself in a job market that is widely being called the most competitive in a quarter-century.

Twitter, for those unfamiliar, is a service that allows you to communicate and stay connected with your colleagues, current and former co-workers, friends, family, and other contacts through the exchange of quick, simple answers (140 characters or less) to the question, “What are you doing now?” While the premise is simple-so simple that you might at first question how “Tweeting” (Twitter-speak for posting an update to Twitter) could be helpful in your job search-I would urge you to take another look. Twitter has become vastly popular and you might be surprised at how many of your colleagues, friends, and even top experts in your field or profession are on Twitter.

If you are actively involved with managing your career or conducting a job search, here are just a few benefits that will justify the time you spend setting up your free Twitter account and learning how to use it:

1) Twitter can be a great tool to help you build, enhance, and promote your personal brand. Briefly, your personal brand (as it relates to your career) is what differentiates you and makes you and your contributions uniquely valuable in the workplace. As a job searcher, you can use Twitter to make your followers aware of your expertise, post links to interesting news stories about your industry, or post tips related to your profession. All of these are brand-building activities that will make you memorable to your contacts, boost your credibility, and help set you apart as a leader in your field.

2) Twitter is an extraordinary networking tool. Remember that networking is all about building relationships. Twitter helps you stay in contact with people in your network in a quick and easy way that was never before possible. It will allow you to keep your contacts up-to-date on your job search, it is a great way to learn about unadvertised job openings, and it is often an easy way to get referrals to people you should talk to. Of course, it is important to remember that networking is also about providing reciprocal help, and Twitter allows you a fast, easy way to let people in your network know about job openings you’ve heard about, or give other help or advice to your contacts when they need it.

3) Twitter provides you with a way to connect almost instantly with recruiters and other hiring authorities in your field. More and more recruiters are using Twitter and other social media tools to find candidates for job postings. Some companies are actively encouraging their employees to Tweet about (or discuss on LinkedIn or Facebook) job openings that they are trying to fill. If you are regularly Tweeting about your job search and posting other on-brand Twitter posts, it is just a matter of time before you start uncovering and being referred for attractive job or business opportunities.

Are you convinced? Even for the time-challenged professional (does that describe nearly all of us?), Twitter is easy to use. You don’t even need to be sitting at your computer as Twitter is mobile and can easily be used on your iPhone, Blackberry, or cell phone.

When you are ready to get started, here are some quick tips:

1. Sign up for your free Twitter account and fill out your profile. Remember that you will be using your account for networking and professional purposes, so use discretion and only include information or a photo that you would be comfortable sharing with recruiters, your colleagues, and the world. If you have a reason to keep your business and personal life separate, you should create separate accounts.

2. Search for and “follow” people that you know. Twitter provides easy tools and instructions for doing this. Consider friends, family, current and former co-workers, industry contacts, people you went to college with, etc. Once you are following these people, look through their contacts and selectively follow some of their contacts. Even if you don’t know someone, if you have a reason to do so, follow them. This is a way to build new relationships.

3. As you begin to build your list of people you are following, many will begin to follow you. When you are getting started, try to post Tweets daily-perhaps twice daily. Besides just answering the basic question “What are you doing now?” (always keeping in mind that your Tweets should be appropriate and follow basic rules of etiquette) try to regularly post useful, on-brand information and links.

4. When your contacts Tweet, respond if you can answer a question or have useful information or tips for them. Twitter gives you two ways to do this: direct messages and replies. Be selective about which method you use. A direct message will only be seen by the person you are responding to. A reply will go to everyone that follows you.

5. Search Twitter for keywords. This is a good way to find out what is going on and being discussed on topics of interest to you among people that you aren’t already following. You may also find interesting people that you will want to follow. The place to do that is search.twitter.com

5. Do you have a Facebook account, a LinkedIn profile, a blog, or another website? There are options to link them all and post status updates simultaneously to all of them. This can be a great timesaver, so it is worth taking the time to learn how to link them. You could also consider including your Twitter user name in your email signature files or on business cards. Doing so will quickly build your following, and the larger your following, the more beneficial Twitter will be to your job search and career.

Merryl Lentz asked:


Musicians agonize over their lyrics.  They struggle for hours to pinpoint the perfect song lyrics to express what they feel, and to make us feel it, too.  They irritably stare at a blank computer screen, as though the machine is withholding brilliant lyrics from them.  They irritably stare at the ceiling, but the ceiling’s not telling them anything, either.  They’re surrounded by wadded up pieces of paper filled with lyrics that came close, but not close enough.  They mutter.  They mumble.  They pace.  They guzzle coffee.  They wonder if they’ll ever sleep again.  Then, when leaping from the roof seems like an appealing option, it finally hits them:  the perfect lyrics!

And, after all of this, what do listeners do?  They misunderstand the lyrics!

Admit it—you’ve done it.  Heck, we’ve all done it.  Driving in the car, radio on, belting out the lyrics to a song at the top of our lungs, when our passenger laughs hysterically and asks, “Is that what you think they’re singing?”  With all due respect to the songwriters, misunderstood lyrics can actually be hilarious.  And some of them have become as famous as the real lyrics.

Here are a batch of misunderstood lyrics.  You might just recognize a few and say, “So, that’s what the lyrics really are!”

“Purple Haze” by Jimi Hendrix

This Hendrix classic tops the list of most commonly misunderstood song lyrics.

     

      •     The real lyric:  ‘Scuse me, while I kiss the sky.

      •     The misunderstood lyric:  ‘Scuse me, while I kiss this guy.

“Bad Moon Rising” by Creedence Clearwater Revival

Another widely—and comically—misunderstood lyric.

      •     The real lyric:  There’s a bad moon on the rise.

      •     The misunderstood lyric:  There’s a bathroom on the right.

“Blowin’ in the Wind” by Bob Dylan

      •     The real lyric:  The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind.  The answer

            is blowin’ in the wind.

      •     The misunderstood lyric:  The ants are my friends, they’re blowin’ in the

            wind.  The ants are a-blowin’ in the wind.

“You Can’t Always Get What You Want” by The Rolling Stones

      •     The real lyric:  We’re gonna vent our frustration.  And if we don’t we’re

            gonna blow a 50-amp fuse.

      •     The misunderstood lyric:  We’re gonna vent our frustration.  And if we

            don’t we’re gonna blow up 5th Avenue.

“Livin’ on a Prayer” by Bon Jovi

      •     The real lyric:  It doesn’t make a difference if we make it or not.

      •     The misunderstood lyric:  It doesn’t make a difference if we’re ***** or

            not.

“Black Dog” by Led Zeppelin

      •     The real lyric:  A big-legged woman ain’t got no soul.

      •     The misunderstood lyric:  A pig-headed woman ain’t got no soul.

“Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap” by AC/DC

      •     The real lyric:  Dirty deeds and they’re done dirt cheap.

      •     The misunderstood lyric:  Dirty deeds and they’re done with sheep.

As long as musicians are writing lyrics, listeners will be mangling them.  The songs may not remain the same, but fans’ love of them—misunderstood or not—will.

Brain asked:


What does “Made in USA” mean to you? Chances are, it inspires images of quality, reliability, and integrity. And as well it should! Many companies spend tens of millions of dollars in advertising trying to promote a specific image of their overseas manufactured product, and

more often than not, the product just doesn’t live up to the hype. How could it, when it’s usually made with inferior components, assembled by an untrained, uneducated and often abused workforce, with maximum profits for the owners being the only “quality control” effort?

Made in USA products are different. Not just because they’re usually produced with better quality materials and assembled by smart and creative craftsmen and craftswomen. Made in USA means much more than just having an American Flag displayed next to the picture. Buying

Made in USA products is a means of investing in our forefather’s vision of America. Buying Made in USA products means investing in our children’s America. Buying Made in USA products means you want the producer to be concerned with environmental well-being. Buying

Made in USA products means you are an ethical consumer.

Whether you’re in the market for a fun T-Shirt or a fashionable dress, industrial work clothes or Hawaiian shirts, when you buy Made in USA products, you know you’re getting the best possible quality at a reasonable price. But what you may not know is that you’re also helping your community, both economically and ecologically. You’re investing in American businesses that aren’t afraid to manufacture under strict environmental safety standards. Buying Made in USA

products mean you care about not just your standard of living, but of those throughout your community. Supporting American manufacturers means supporting American families.

But more importantly, by buying Made In USA products, you’ve found your piece of the American Dream. And hopefully, you’ve found some peace of mind.

Twitter Scripts asked:


Quality Twitter App scripts, Unique Code, Templates, Custom Designs, and more.

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*NEW* Twitter Backgrounds Generator Script

Offer your users a unique way to make their own Twitter backgrounds with this amazing script!

There is no doubt that one of the highest keyword searches on the web these days is “twitter backgrounds”. Now you can easily offer your users a way to create vibrantly designed Twitter backgrounds with this very powerful Twitter Background Generator script.

This niche has been a cash cow for many developers, now you can have your own Twitter Background site!

Many of these sites have sold for over thousands of dollars on Sitepoint!

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Using this script on your website, you can create a unique site that will allow twitter users with websites and blogs to place your widget box’s on their own site for their users to update their status’s directly.

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TwitterScripts.net is your NEW solution!

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TwitterScripts.net offers you a new way to create your very own Twitter Resource website without having to pay someone a lot of money to do the coding, design, etc.

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Over 200 Backgrounds you can use to start your own Twitter Background website. Can be used with our Twitter Background Generator script or on their own to add to your existing or new twitter background site. You cannot afford to not jump on this niche!

A few of the other scripts that we offer:

*NEW* Twitter Backgrounds Generator Script

Offer your users a unique way to make their own Twitter backgrounds with this amazing script!

There is no doubt that one of the highest keyword searches on the web these days is “twitter backgrounds”. Now you can easily offer your users a way to create vibrantly designed Twitter backgrounds with this very powerful Twitter Background Generator script.

This niche has been a cash cow for many developers, now you can have your own Twitter Background site!

Many of these sites have sold for over thousands of dollars on Sitepoint!

The script is incredibly easy to set up, features an admin panel for which you can add new Theme packs and backgrounds with ease, a login area for existing users, and some pretty amazing features!

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*NEW* Twitter Mass Follow / Unfollow Script

Create a way for your users to mass follow and unfollow twitter users. This script allows users to mass follow, defollow or retrieve friends or followers from Twitter. It’s an incredibly easy way to manage a user’s twitter account as well as add new followers and friends!

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*NEW* Update Box Widget Website script

Create your own Status Update Box Website

Using this script on your website, you can create a unique site that will allow twitter users with websites and blogs to place your widget box’s on their own site for their users to update their status’s directly.

Easy to add your own styles, and designs. Your users will need to copy the code from the generated text boxes on your website and paste that code into their sites source code, then upload! Brand with your own Website URL!

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Twitter Signature Generator Script

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Gregory Mavrides, PhD asked:


 

Teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) in China is big business. Reports indicate that EFL is a 10-billion yuan (USD $1.4 billion) business and that the industry made a 700 million yuan (USD $9,800,000) profit in Beijing alone. It is estimated that of the 37 billion yuan derived annually from book sales in China, EFL-related materials constituted no less than 25 percent of the total market (Qiang and Wolff, 2004, p. 1). This ever-growing market of English language education in China has resulted in a massive recruitment drive of approximately 100,000 foreign teachers per year (People’s Daily Online, 2006) and, in 2006, it was estimated that more than 150,000 foreign experts were employed in China, recruited primarily from Australia, Canada, England, New Zealand and the United States (China Daily, 2006).

 

With so much money at stake, the Internet has experienced a burgeoning of China EFL-related websites all vying for the prospective foreign teacher’s attention and, ultimately, business. A Google search on the terms “teaching English in China” returns over 6.4 million results of websites run by Chinese recruiters, private English language schools, and veteran foreign teachers hoping to get in on all the action.

 

All these sites have one thing in common: They all glamorize teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) as a viable way to travel abroad and experience all the exotic mysteries and adventure China has to offer. Virtually every native English speaker with white skin between the ages of 18 and 60 is provided with “expert advice” about where and how to apply, and is presented with enticing advertisements for jobs, guides, manuals, travel gear and books, and just about anything else the traffic will bear.

 

The truth of the matter is that although some Westerners actually thrive as foreign English teachers in China, most do not. Obviously, if everyone who ventured off to China to teach oral English decided to stay, the need and competition for new recruits every year wouldn’t be as great and fierce as they currently are.

 

This article presents essential information that every prospective Westerner should carefully consider before making the life-altering decision to move to China for the purpose of teaching English as a foreign language. It is written by an American doctor and professor of psychology who has lived and worked in China since August 2003, and it contains valuable information adapted from the comprehensive Foreign Teachers’ Guide to Living and Teaching in China, written by the same author.

 

The Question of English in China

 

While the need for proficient English language skills among China’s 1.3 billion people might appear obvious to some, in reality, it is a highly debatable issue.

 

Chinese is the most commonly spoken language in the world today. It is estimated that there are 873 million native speakers of Chinese as opposed to only 343 million native speakers of English (NVTC, 2007). The vast majority of Chinese will never utter even one word of English after passing their comprehensive English examinations and graduating from college. A few will need to read materials written in English as part of their job function and far fewer than that will occasionally need to send an e-mail in English, but most will never need English to function effectively in their day-to-day lives—and Chinese students know this.

 

There is a small percentage of Chinese students, particularly those who come from affluent families, who have dreams of studying abroad and they will need a relatively high level of English language skills if they are to succeed. A few have aspirations of working at the front desk of an international 5-star hotel and others hope to find employment in jointly-owned Western-Chinese companies that may require the daily use of English—but most will return to their second and third tier cities working for the government or private Chinese enterprises where virtually no one uses or can communicate in English.

 

What most prospective foreign teachers do not realize is that English as a foreign language holds a very low position within China’s educational system. Students who score well on their national college entrance exam (the Gao Kao) will be assigned to or choose majors in the hard sciences or technological fields that support China’s 1978 economic reform movement referred to as the Four Modernizations, i.e., agriculture, industry, technology and defense. Fields of study in the humanities, including foreign language, are assigned to those students who scored too poorly on the college entrance exam to be admitted into the far more lucrative and desirable academic majors.

 

The bottom line is that most students simply do not see a clear association between proficient English language skills and direct future benefits. They look at their very successful fathers and the vast majority of China’s national political leaders who cannot speak a single word of English and wonder why they have to take extra classes in oral English with a foreign teacher when they are already studying English with Chinese teachers who, unlike their Western counterparts, can actually help them pass their proficiency exams.

 

If English as an academic discipline is so devalued in China and if the actual need for English language skills is questionable at best, why then does China need so many foreign English teachers?

 

The De-professionalization of English Teaching in China

 

The nearly insatiable need for foreign English teachers in China can be explained by two phenomena: one involving the public sector and the other involving the private sector. First, China’s Ministry of Education promulgated a highly contested and bitterly resented national requirement that states all students of foreign language must be exposed to a native speaker. However, China’s national labor laws prohibit any employer from hiring a foreigner for a position that can be filled by a Chinese national. So, in order to reconcile the two conflicting policies, the teaching of English in China was compartmentalized into two broad areas: professional and lay. The professional certified Chinese English teachers are assigned courses in grammar, reading, and writing, and the lay uncertified and often less educated foreign teachers help facilitate the practice of speaking and listening skills. Thus, although the State Administration for Foreign Expert Affairs (SAFEA) recommends a minimum of a bachelor’s degree and two years of field-related work experience, in reality, the vast majority of foreign English teachers in China have neither, because neither are necessary to help students practice their speaking and listening skills. The truth of the matter is any native speaker who is friendly, extremely patient, and enjoys children can do it successfully.

 

The second explanation lies in the fact that private English language schools absolutely need white faces in the school in order to attract customers. Despite the highly debatable reality of the situation, Chinese parents (as well as most foreign English teachers) firmly believe that good English language skills will afford their children both an academic and financial advantage later on in life. Consequently, many will drag their children to private English language schools when they are as young as four-years old, often at great personal financial sacrifice. In order to attract Westerners into China, school owners must offer their foreign teachers up to four times what they are paying their certified Chinese teachers, and the added business expense is hardly appreciated. There isn’t one Chinese school owner or administrator who wouldn’t immediately replace every single one of his culturally-alien and costly foreign English teachers with a much less expensive and, often, better educated Chinese English teacher if he knew doing so wouldn’t cost him his business.

 

The Truth About Housing and the Myth of the “Comfortable” Salary

 

China maintains something of a schizophrenogenic relationship with its foreign English teachers. On one hand they are needed to satisfy a national educational requirement or to stay in business. On the other hand, they are deeply resented for it. This resentment is expressed in a variety of ways, both obvious and subtle.

 

In the vast majority of cases, the housing afforded to foreign English teachers is inferior even by middle-class Chinese standards. It is typically an 800 sq. ft. (or smaller) apartment that is usually in varying states of disrepair, undecorated, starkly furnished with a cheap, rock-hard “mattress,” and a 2-range countertop propane gas stove and a mini-refrigerator for a kitchen. The bathroom consists of a Western toilet, a cold-water sink with a water heater and shower head attached to the wall that is often not separated from the rest of the bathroom inside a shower stall. Requests for repairs or necessary improvements are almost always ignored or endlessly delayed in the hope that the foreign teacher will simply incur the expenses himself.

 

Outside of Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, salaries for foreign teachers typically range from RMB3,800 to 6,000 (US$551 to $870) with an average of about 4500 yuan (US$653) per month for 14 to 20 hours of face-to-face teaching per week (depending on qualifications, location and school type). The reality is that this salary can only be considered as adequate, as opposed to comfortable, if the foreign teacher is able to live like a Chinese. Those who buy amenities like cell phones and Western DVD players, choose to eat at 4- and 5-star hotel restaurants for a culinary respite from cheap Chinese food, and otherwise try to replicate a quality of life they enjoyed back home will not be able to do so on 4500 yuan per month. The vast majority of foreign English teachers in China engage in outside part-time contract work in order to supplement their base monthly incomes.

 

So, Is There Any Good News?

 

In the context of students who, for the most part, could accurately be described as unmotivated to learn English, an educational role that is devalued and de-professionalized, managerial and collegial environments that are dismissive and resentful, and a remuneration package that is just barely adequate, does it make sense for anyone to teach English in China? Actually, as it turns out, it does for those who comprise one of two specific sociodemographic groups and go into it well-informed and with their eyes wide open.

 

Westerners who report the greatest degree of satisfaction with their decision to teach English in China comprise recent college graduates who are seeking a short-term adventure before resuming their normal lives back home and early retirees who already enjoyed a successful career, have some money in the bank, and are looking to stretch their savings and pensions in an Asian country. Those who report the least amount of satisfaction as foreign English teachers in China are Westerners between the ages of 30 to 50 who moved to China as a perceived forced choice as a result of having mismanaged their lives back home.

 

Western professors on sabbatical and certified primary and secondary school teachers—who are looking for a short-term teaching assignment—should only consider Project 211 universities and international schools, respectively.

 

Having just written this, there are some middle-aged Westerners who are able to beat the odds and do, in fact, carve out lives for themselves that are better now in China than they were before. Typically these are men who managed to acclimate to the vast cultural differences relatively quickly, married a Chinese national, can speak some Chinese, and now consider China to be their new home.

 

This article is just a brief preview of just some of the essential information contained in the comprehensive Foreign Teachers’ Guide to Living and Teaching in China. If you are seriously considering moving to China to teach English, you owe it to yourself to read that guide.

 

Notes

 

China Daily. (2006, April 4). Number of foreigners working in China soars. People’s Daily Online. Retrieved November 14, 2007 from http://english.people.com.cn/200604/04/eng20060404_255781.html

 

National Virtual Translation Center (2008). Languages of the World. Retrieved January 23, 2009 from http:// www.nvtc.gov/lotw/months/november/worldlanguages.htm.

 

People’s Daily (2006, May 23). China to recruit foreign experts through Internet. People’s Daily Online. Retrieved February 23, 2008 from http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200605/23/eng20060523_267892.html

 

Qiang, N. & Wolff, M. (2004). EFL/ESL Teaching in China: Questions, Questions, Questions. Paper presented at the Sixth International Symposium on Applied Linguistics and Language.

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