Job Discussion Forums

[rioux]

I was told that the reason is because she is not a native speaker (she's from the Philippines).

Some background: My wife's English ability is excellent and when I say excellent it is ..well ya know excellent. She came in 9th place out over 40,000 people who took the teaching exam (LET) in the Philippines. She should be getting her Master's in Education pretty soon. With those qualifications what do you think is a fair wage for her per month if I (native speaker with a M.A. degree in Education) earn say 5000RMB per month?

Thanks

[7969]

[IvanaShaanxi]

But some Universities do employ non natives. I knew a guy from India who worked in a Weifang university on 5000 per month. So it only depends on where you apply.

[rioux]

I'm at the school now. She should have her M.A. by the time she applies early next year for the job.
I wasn't told specifically how much less but only that it would be less so I am just trying to get some kind of figure what would be a reasonable amount.
I'm about an hour and thirty minutes from Zhengzhou.
A teacher from the Philippines just finished working here at the college I am at for 5 years before I arrived.

[xiguagua]

For a lot of places it doesn't matter your English skill; they only care about your face. Sad as it is, but it can also be difficult for Asian, Hispanic and black people even if they hold an American passport. This changes a little with top tier schools, but lower tier schools care very much about appearance.

Just one of those sad truths.

[Teacher Jack]

[MisterButtkins]

Ehh most well-educated Filipinnos speak English as well as Americans, British, Canadians, etc.

[RPMcMurphy]

She's being paid less because she's not white. A Ph.D. and a list of publications won't alter that fact of racist, head up its bum China.

That said, I recruited an Indian bilingual for my Shanghai uni back in 2004. She certainly wasn't white but got paid 8,000 a month like us whiteys. When the school didn't renew her contract because they wanted a white, her students refused to attend any classes and petitioned the president until she was offered a contract-which she refused, as I think most of us would.

Why is a true bilingual seen as less capable than an inner circle mono-lingual? Is there any argument that, because Japan is the most mono-lingual country on earth [98%], then they must be the best teachers of JFL? I don't think American kids would agree that a non-English speaking Japanese teacher helps them much. In fact, no such teacher could get a job in a Western country unless they also spoke the local language.

Malaysia and Singapore are countries where its quite common for kids in richer families to use English in the dining room and a local language in the kitchen. Most of these attend English only schools too. Its also very common for kids from Korea to spend a year or two at an English language school in the Philippines before moving on to their final educational destination in the West. They come out fluent and with an American accent, whether that's a desirable thing or not. This is based on first hand experience with such Korean students.

English is an official language in India, Singapore and The Philippines. To get anywhere in those countries, you need very good English. Has anyone on this forum taught Filipinos? I have, and after a few years they are native speaker equivalent. Look at the country's post-Spanish colonial history to work out why. Whereas differences in pronunciation may have Teacher Jack and his buddies rolling on the floor in tears, this is more a commentary on the listener than the speaker.

A bit of experience of the realities of ELTL aside from China wouldn't go astray in some of these conversations. The bamboo curtain came down years ago. Meanwhile, inner circle FTs in China and other expanding circle countries will go on supporting the myth that they're the only ones who can teach their birth right language, simply because it is in their own interests to do so.

[MisterButtkins]

BTW, I met a Filippina working at a joint-venture university making 18k/month. She had a masters degree from a uni in the US and spoke better English than I do. Really, she had a perfect accent and a rich vocabulary. So it's possible to get higher-paying jobs.

I have also met lots of Filippinos working 30+ hours a week in high schools, living in apartments with 2-3 other teachers, and making 3k/month. I think this is more common.

[Teacher Jack]

[rioux]

Thanks TJ.

In terms of what you said about university graduates I completely agree.
While living there I would see many of them and yes there are a select few that can keep up a good/great conversation but wow so many couldn't get beyond a few expressions such as:
Hey, what's up?
What's your name?
Where are you going/Where are you from?
The female students seemed to know quite a few of the pick-up lines (i.e. Can I join you?).

Once the conversation went more than 1 minute things would break down pretty quickly.
I am a Permanent Resident there and I sent my resume out to tons of universities/colleges and personally showed up at several of them in the city where I used to live. The response? Perhaps 3 got back to me...with of course terrible offers.

Here's one for ya....a guy I know (American) who was really desperate for a job started working for this call center. The boss decided to put a Filipino in charge of the pronunciation class. My friend told me that it was a disaster. The guy would pronounce words like "gigantic" as "guy-gantic". The others in the class would always seek my friend out afterwards just to be sure what was said in class was the correct way to say it or not.

[MisterButtkins]

Well, sorry, but that simply hasn't been my experience at all. I have many Filippino friends and have had relationships with 2 Filippinas. I have never felt like they have any trouble understanding me. Yeah, most of them have slight accents. Who cares? I'm from Texas, people say I have an accent.

[Shroob]

[RPMcMurphy]

[choudoufu]