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Living and Working in Shanghai
Shanghai is undoubtably one of the most exciting places to live in right now. It is a vibrant Chinese metropolis that combines the best of East and West, new and old, not only in it’s architecture and history, but also in its cuisine, shopping possibilities, art, popular culture and increasingly cosmopolitan population. Shanghai offers those with energy, talent and a high degree of adaptability the chance to pursue careers in a booming economy. ELT professionals have the opportunity to work with highly competent colleagues who have in-depth local knowledge, while also coming into contact with students from many different walks of life. Shanghai provides expatriates with a rich cultural and linguistic setting, an array of free-time pursuits both traditional and ultra-modern, and the chance to participate in a rapidly developing China.
A Short History of Kai En
Brian McCloskey and Ken Carroll both left Ireland to teach English abroad. Their paths crossed in Taiwan where they taught for several years and eventually forged a team, whilst managing a franchise school. They recognized in each other a passion for teaching English in China, a thorough knowledge of language acquisition theory, and a vision of how to provide a superior education opportunity to students, teachers, and managers.
Brian and Ken saw in Shanghai an opportunity to realize their vision. They could build a new school in which students would be treated with respect, encouraged to participate actively and have fun while improving their English fluency. It would also be a school in which teachers could learn teaching theories and techniques to facilitate their enthusiasm in the classroom.
Their first language training center opened in Shanghai on Wu Yi Road in November of 1996.
After a few years of steady growth Brian and Ken decided to open a new branch in downtown Shanghai on Zhe Jiang Road and add another member to their team, Steve Williams. Steve was hired to update the financial operating system used at Kai En. His financial expertise and his experience with teaching English in the UK, Mexico and China proved valuable to the mix.
Since then, the organization has grown rapidly, with student numbers increasing as well as our reputation across Shanghai. Along the way we’ve kept many of our original staff on. Several local staff members have been here from the very beginning, and all of our management team began their careers at Kai En as English teachers.
Teaching Methodology
At Kai En, our approach to language teaching is based on the theories of Noam Chomsky and Stephen Krashen. Teaching is communicative, with an emphasis on active participation of students, and teachers draw on aspects of Task Based Learning and the Lexical Approach. These approaches to language teaching work well in a context where most students have spent years studying the rules and structures of English, but have had little opportunity to actually use the language for meaningful communication. The learning environment is relaxed but focused, encouraging students to use and experiment with language rather than intimidating them with the grammar drills and error correction normally associated with more traditional learning situations.
General Training
Kai En's General English Program offers conversational English courses to students of all levels from beginners to advanced. Students over 14 years old are eligible to enrol in the adult program and most of the students are between 20 and 35 years old.
Our students have various reasons for wanting to improve their English. The most common reasons are to get a promotion or a better job, to increase their marketability after graduation from high school or college, or to prepare for study or travel abroad or emigration. The majority of our students work, or want to work, in large foreign invested companies where English is the working language.
We also offer a number of IELTS courses aimed at students wishing to go abroad for academic purposes.
We have our own range of coursebooks written specifically for the Shanghainese student by Brian McCloskey, as well as a teachers’ library stocked with up-to-date teaching resources.
Corporate Training
Kai En's Corporate Training Department offers tailor-made courses for individuals, small groups, and businesses.
The Corporate Training Department is run as a separate department in Shanghai in Kai En. There is a Corporate Training Department Director, who manages Corporate clients, a Corporate Training Department Academic Coordinator, who oversees teaching quality and of course there are Corporate Trainers, who teach courses to corporate clients.
The Corporate Training Department delivers Kai En language training to international companies operating in and around Shanghai. Each course is preceded by a company needs analysis and language audit (conducted by the Program Director). Based on the outcome of the needs analysis and language audit, the Director prepares a custom-designed training course.
The learning outcomes of a Corporate Training Course have a more professional focus (for example, the language of negotiation) than subject matter taught in a conversation class, although both types of course use our basic communicative method. We have successfully delivered in-house training courses to a number of Fortune 500 companies, including Pepsi, Ericsson, KPMG, Intel, and PWC.
Teacher Development
The founders of Kai En have been involved in education for 15 years in China. Both are passionate about teaching (both practice and theory), and this culture pervades the organization. The focus of the school is clearly on providing excellent education.
Kai En’s commitment to quality teaching is reflected in the fact that we provide a full-time Academic Coordinator for both schools and that we provide an ongoing program of training and development for our teachers. Our Academic Coordinators work with teachers, run workshops, observe classes, and are available to offer feedback, suggestions, ideas and advice to improve teachers' skills and performance. We expect a high level of professionalism from our teachers, and we aim to continually improve our teaching standards. Teachers are expected to attend regular workshops and meetings, and are encouraged to be creative and to share their ideas with other members of the staff.