Job Discussion Forums

[kinjo]

hi, i'm very interested in going to vietnam and looking for a position to teach english. altho I was born there, I left when I was very young and grew up in canada.
my english is very well and I have a TESOL.
what do you think would be my luck on getting a position there?
I hear the govenment is asking for all documents, ie degrees and certificiates get notarized
how are they to returning Vietnamese people? aka Viet Kieus
what you said about the government laws?
what have you noticed about the laws on Viet kieus?
do you think they would give preference to viet kieus over a real forienger? and how about teaching?
what is the majority of what you teach?
just proper grammar ?
sentence structure in writing? age groups?
thanx

[jojoni]

hello kinjo

I am in the same boat like you. I heard that people like us hardly have any luck to get a teaching job there. And if you do the pay is the same or about the same like the local people.
THey prefer "white" people. It is the norm in this bussiness every where you go in Asia. You can go there and see for yourself. All the best

[kinjo]

I mean I chatted with a guy in vietnam, white, here's what he had to say...
below is his response, I dont know how to take it right now, I currently have a position in taiwan. and I will leave it for anything even $13USD an hour in vietnam, I mean the chance to take that, I would be more than willing to make less money. but if they are going to screw over their own kind that badly because of it. then I hate to say this but the vietnamese people have alot to learn on how they treat their own kind.

This email I got back on like Wednesday, May 19, 2004 7:48 PM

Hello,

I am sorry to take so long to get back to you, but I can give you a complete answer about your questions. Teaching in Vietnam has been great, I have had opportunities to travel in side of Vietnam and the neighboring countries. I saw the Mekong Delta and stayed at my girlfriend's house in the countryside. I have made many friends and had a satisfying job, being able to watch the students improve over time. It's been wonderful.



Recently, the government has passed a new law that states all foreign teachers must have a degree, so unfortunately, I am thinking about going home. The strange thing is that many teachers are here teaching with only highschool and no college whatsoever. I had two years of university, but without a degree I am out of luck. Even my teaching certification course won't help. If you were born a Vietnamese national and are now a Viet Kieu(overseas Vietnamese), you may not have to worry about this. Sometimes the government has preferential policies for Viet Kieu. Also, the government may not enforce the idea. The work permit they are proposing would require every foreign teacher to go home and obtain documents from their own country, which has every teacher complaining. The other thing is that the government has tried this twice before and abandoned the idea. I can say that if you do come, the government is now asking for a criminal records check, a health certification, and notarised copies of any credentials that you have.



The pay for an English teacher is usually $10 US per hour and up. I started at $11, and got a one dollar raise after a year. Roughly $18cdn/hour. If you work twenty five hours a week, you would find that this is more than enough to live on, plus save a little too. Usually schools are more lenient to a caucasian, but they will hire anyone who has a neutral accent(ie UK, US, Canada, Australia) and there are teachers from India, France, Turkey and other countries too. I don't really have any contacts that you can use, my school now hires only with a degree, but there are over one hundred schools in HCMC, and I do know that there are ads in the papers daily looking for teachers. You could probably find potential jobs on the internet, and ask questions of the individual schools by e-mail. I hope this helps. Good luck!

[jojoni]

Hello Kinjo,

I am with you. My sister is living in Vietnam. She attends a small English institute in HCM and she told me that some of the studnets don't like learning conversational English wiht the local because of their pronunciation. So they prefer to study with overseas Vietnamese and grammar with the local. I am not a racist. But I do think it is somewhat much easier to learn English with overseas Vietnamese or anyone who knows some Vietnamese. it makes learning and understanding much easier and students have more cofident to ask more questions, ect in the classroom. What I said in this post is what I saw in her class. But unfortunately, it is a business. A white teacher works as an ad for the school.

[kinjo]

let me get this straight, she says they prefer to learn conversational English with Viet Kieus, but grammar from local Viets?
there's nothing racist about the comment that you made, there's two sides to the learning from english with a "true" foreigner who doesnt speak the local langauge, the advantage is that it FORCES you to learn it, you got no choice.

but it helps if the other person can bridge the GAP if they know the langauge, personally I think this is better

IE. i was watching a show on LIFE network documenting White people going to taiwan and teach english... this girl, was doing a tutor to a group of kids in some home and she was explaining "I Don't know" to them, and she said my exact words. "I dont know means, 'I dont know'" and she shruggs her shoulders as in the motion you make to when you dont know... it's like????????? how are they gonna learn like that?? taiwan should be hiring ABCs and CBCs with little or no accents if they were smart, plus their government is causing foreigners to run when the inspectors come looking for white people in the kindergarden schools.

I mean, if I was teaching I dont know in vietnam, I would tell them I dont know means "toi khong biet" it's like... how much easier is that? they can learn the accent that I have, which is 95% canadian, I dont speak with much of a viet accent at all. my friends say they slightly notice it when I speak really fast but otherwise I do not carry and accent at all. hell I can even fake a UK accent once in a while.

the shitty thing about the Viet schools I've ran across the net is this... they want HUGE experience and qualifications. i've responded to a bunch of ads and only 3 have gotten back to me... 1 doesnt need a teacher, now the other two says, they want someone with a teaching degree/certificate, and 2-3 years experience... and I hear these schools pay $10-14US an hour. with $11 being the norm. who in the world would leave a $30K to $40k a year job for $12US an hour??? this is what those hippies off the street should be making and these teachers with REAL qualifications should be making in the range of $17+US an hour. but I bet you they just hire travellers off the streets anyways, I hear you should just take a trip there and walkin and say, look hire me!!!

anyways tell me what your sister said? because what you responded last time kinda confused me..

[jojoni]

Hi Kinjo,

Which part of the last post that confused you?

Have you ever thought about opening a small school there?

[kinjo]

So they prefer to study with overseas Vietnamese and grammar with the local. <-- that part

let me get this straight, she says they prefer to learn conversational English with foreign viets aka Viet Kieus, but grammar from local Viets?

[jojoni]

Yes, sir. They probably prefer to high advanced grammar level. But if you can explain it in Vietnamese then you are fine.