Aihua

Foreign Director of Studies
The foreign Director of Studies is always recruited from within the teaching staff. The DOS also works as a full time teacher, and so is able to understand the needs and desires of the foreign teachers, and the nature of the challenges that they face.

The foreign DOS is primarily responsible for the management, supervision and allocation of duties to the foreign teaching staff at Aihua. If, for one reason or another, a foreign teacher may not teach a timetabled class, the teacher must let the DOS know of this in a timely fashion, and the DOS will arrange cover for the class. If additional responsibilities arise for foreign teachers, the DOS must allocate these responsibilities to the foreign teachers.

The foreign DOS should also make efforts to regulate teaching quality. If a Chinese member of the teaching department receives complaints about a teacher’s work, they must pass this information on to the DOS immediately, and the DOS must decide on what measures are to be taken. Typically this should involve a meeting with the foreign teacher and the co-teacher in question or, for more serious problems, class observations and referral to the Teacher Trainer for additional help with lesson planning. The DOS should inform the Academic Director of any complaints received, and let him know what measures have been taken to address these problems. It is essential that the Chinese management should refer any problems arising from teaching to the foreign DOS.

The role of the foreign DOS is a key position for Aihua. The foreign DOS must make every effort to mediate between the Chinese and foreign members of the school, and make sure that he does not become simply a union leader for the foreign teachers. Similarly, the Chinese staff must respect the foreign DOS, and make sure that all relevant information is passed on to him in a timely fashion.

The foreign DOS is responsible for bringing updated weekly on-site and off-site timetables, and an updated listing of hours taught, to the Foreign Teaching Department Management Meetings

Samples of these forms (On-Site Timetable, Off-site Timetable, Foreign Teacher’s Hours) are below.

Foreign Teacher Trainer