Job Discussion Forums

[bradleycooper]

[markustm]

Actually in Indonesia, Filipino teachers are already hired in many Nat-Plus/ International Schools but only in theory as Mathematics or Science teachers, although many do unofficially teach English. Basically, Indonesia does not recognize Filipino's as native English speakers, but as 2nd language English speakers.

According to recent OECD, and ASEAN reports on the quality of English in Asia, its actually South Koreans, Malaysians, Singaporeans and Indians who have a much better understanding of English language than in the Philippines, and I read somewhere the Government in the Philippines, were blaming this on their best English speaking teachers opting to work abroad for more money.

I had the chance to work with Filipino teachers in the past and found the 'hard working' factor an illusion in many cases.

Filipinos do have a culture of arriving to work early, and leaving late, but in many cases I saw teachers being "busy" on Facebook or Skype, rather than working. This apparently was because they preferred to save money by using the school internet and facilities, rather than having to pay for the extra cost at home.

School owners wouldn't notice this, but both the Chinese, and local Indonesian teachers often remarked about this habit to me, saying they shouldn't be expected to stay on at school, as they can access Facebook etc from home.

Also Filipino teachers on the whole, despite their level of English are seen as non-native teachers of English by their students/parents, and reasonable Indonesian teachers have just as good language skills in my own opinion, especially if they have studied overseas.

Giving 'presents' to the teacher is also prevalent in Filipino culture, which means one student may get better examination results than another, depending on the 'gift.' I did hear about this occurring in a few schools that hired Filipino teachers, in the area I lived in.

Filipino's will work for less money than a western teacher, but other teachers from the home country really seem to dislike their presence, and in one of the schools I knew, the Indonesian, and Chinese teachers, as well as many parents would always be in conflict with them.

I agree they can be a cheaper option on the salary scale, but most Filipino teachers are savers, which means it hurts the local economy, because the vast majority of their salary is set back to the Philippines, when the salary of Indian, and native English teachers is usually spent in the country they work in.

I can imagine if only working in a country is because of being able to send more money home, rather than wanting to learn more about the local culture, and country, it would affect the way they interact with the students/ and local people, and isolate them from the local people.

I wouldn't be overly worried about a possible influx of Filipino teachers, especially as they are considered non- native speaking teachers in Indonesia, and technically are unable by law to teach English, at this time.

[bradleycooper]

[markustm]

I agree with Bradley Cooper here, it may depend on the interpretation on what the "Free Movement of Labor," means.

In the case of the EU, some countries abide by the rules, whilst others ignore them, with the effect you see today in many EU Countries, with poorer countries exporting labor to the so-called "richer" countries, and in turn hiring non- EU nationals to replace any labor shortages in their own countries.

It be interesting to see the flow of labor from,and to Indonesia, after 2015.

In most of the EU, schools still have a distinction between "native" and non-native teachers, except this can shut out non- EU nationals in some cases, like teachers from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the US.

But it still means most schools across the EU prefer to hire English teachers from the UK, just as they prefer German language teachers from Germany or Spanish language teachers from Spain.

Indonesian schools , like Bradley Cooper says may have to accept applications for teachers from ASEAN countries, which in turn could prove cheaper than native" speaking teachers, particularly when it comes to the savings made on the initial cost of the work visa. This could become the deciding factor on hiring someone.

At the moment its 'all in the wind," on what really happens, but looking at recent visa changes in many ASEAN countries, this could really change the ESL industry in the region.




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[mysterytrain]

[mysterytrain]