Job Discussion Forums

[taurabebe]

Hi everyone,

This website offers lots of really helpful information, but I was hoping to get some advice for my situation here.

A little about myself first. I am a recent graduate from Boston University, with a degree in Communication. I was born and raised in Taiwan until I was 13, then I came to the States for school. It has been almost 10 years that I've been in the US, living in dormitories with American students, so I am fluent in English, and barely have an accent. My native language is Mandarin Chinese, I can read, write and speak with native fluency. On top that, I also studied Spanish for the past 9 years, carrying a conversation in Spanish isn't a problem for me. So I guess I can be considered trilingual.

I've always wanted to teach in Thailand, and I am currently applying to graduate schools for my MA in TESOL in the US. I've taught kids in Taiwan in the summers, but not in English. Honestly, I wont know what its like to teach abroad until I actually do it, but I do love kids, I am not afraid of living in a new country or culture, and have been through the ESL experiences myself, so I thought teaching English abroad would be the perfect thing for me to do. The graduate programs I am applying to have 10 months of field experiences, which will give me some ESL experiences before I go abroad.

I know in Thailand and lots of Asian countries, such as my home country Taiwan, prefer white, or western teachers whose native language is English, But I am wondering if being Asian is a disadvantage for me to get a teaching job in Thailand, even if I am just as fluent as native speakers? Would my Chinese and Spanish ability be a plus for me in Thailand?

Also, for those of you who are teaching in Thailand, I want to ask all your advice on MA TESOL. Would it be easier to get a job with MA TESOL? or would the CELTA suffice? I prefer to teach in private or public schools, and not language or cram schools.

Do you suggest to get the CELTA in Thailand, or in the US?

Also, I still only have a Taiwan passport. Would it be harder to get a visa with that?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks so much!

[Waldorf Salad]

Anything is possible in Asia, so if you want to teach English here, you can. But since you�ve got a Taiwanese passport and you�re not white, it will be more difficult than for others. The fact that you�re Asian looking means you�re not a �real native speaker�. The fact that your English is perfect is not relevant. I�m Dutch, white and have blue eyes and therefore my English is better than yours.
You have a Taiwanese passport, I have a Dutch passport and therefore we can�t speak English. If you�re from Poland and moved to Canada when you were 18 and obtained a Canadian passport, you�re wanted. It doesn�t matter that you hardly speak a word English. If you were born in Holland and moved to New Zealand when you were 6 and became a qualified teacher there, but kept your Dutch nationality, you�re not wanted. Even if English is the only language you speak.
I�ve taught English in Taiwan and Korea for seven years and I�m looking for a job now in Thailand. I put my resume on ajarn.com almost four weeks ago and haven�t received a single phone call. I look at the ads and 90% of them say: �only people with passports from USA, etc. need apply.� I see some ads asking for people from Canada, USA, Australia only. It's beyond my comprehension why someone from Australia can apply, but people from England or New Zealand cannot...
So in this business it�s about passports and skin color. I�m a little frustrated that I�m having such a hard time finding a job here, especially since I read on the forums all the time how easy it is to get a job in Thailand. That said, I realize that this is not the best time of the year to look for a job and besides that, I�m a bit picky. I want to work in Bangkok and I don�t want to work for less than 40.000 baht. If I wasn�t so picky I had been working already somewhere in the bush for 25.000.
I lived in Taiwan for six years and I�ve known plenty of Taiwanese Americans working there, so I�m sure you�ll find something. Just be prepared for parents complaining about you that you�re not a �real foreigner� (it�s the status thing, a white teacher makes them gain face). If you stay long enough you might find really well paying privates with students who feel more secure with a teacher who speaks Chinese. And if money and location aren�t that important to you I�m sure you�ll find something in Thailand as well. In Korea it will probably be impossible to find something. Korea is the most racist country of all and if you�re Asian but not Korean, you�re going to have a very hard time.
Anyway, this may all sound a bit negative, but if you want to teach in Asia, just come over and do it. It may be difficult in the beginning, but you�ll find something. It�s a fucked up business, 95% of the schools are owned by retards who only care about passports and skin color and who don't have a clue about teaching, but that�s the way it is and you have to deal with it. I never regretted my decision to move to Asia, I had a great time in Taiwan and I�m sure I�ll have a great time in Thailand once I�m settled here. Wherever you go, it�s never perfect.
Xin nian kuaile!

[Kent F. Kruhoeffer]

Sorry you're having problems Bart. I'd like to offer some unsolicited advice - not directed at you - but to help others who may read this. If you browse the posts on this forum, I don't think you'll find anybody recommending that you post your resume on Ajarn as a job-hunting strategy. In a TEFL market where thousands of people are already on the ground, you need to be a little more proactive. That includes calling to make an appointment for an interview, e-mailing your resume to schools and agencies that are advertising or a combination of both. You can also walk into schools cold, looking sharp, resume in hand. When people see you in person and hear how well you speak, your odds increase dramatically. When they see your resume posted on a job forum, they don't know what to think. They don't know what you look like, how funny you are or how strong your accent is - or isn't. Most Thais couldn't find The Netherlands on a map and probably have no idea that the Dutch are considered the most fluent English speakers on the European continent. Adding to your problems; unfortunately you were right about the timing of your arrival. Most schools aren't hiring now, as the current semester ends at the end of this month. Hiring will pick up again in April for the new semester which starts in May. And yes, non-natives will often have to work a little harder to compete with anglophone passport holders. I don't think it's overt racism per se; in most cases it's an unfortunate business decision. i.e., kids and their parents think that anglophone speakers are better (which may or may not always be true) and they tend to prefer anglophone teachers in their classrooms, in particular when they're paying tuition. They're also afraid of teachers with strong accents; that's why some schools prefer certain nationalities. It ain't fair but ... As I mentioned above, you need to show them your face and your smile and impress them with your command of English. If you follow that advice you'll be working in no time.

[Extraordinary Rendition]

I'd second what the PP said, and add that I worked with Philippino passport holders at two different posts, including a private uni, who sometimes had the same salary as native speakers, sometimes not, but had jobs, and were working legally, I might add (vis-a-vis visas [sorry for the pun ]). Sometimes their English was near-native, sometimes not. Credentials and experience, gender and personality, help overcome the passport/ethnicity issue, apparently. See replies to your question about CELTA/MA on another forum but, if you decide on the CELTA, it won't matter if you do it in the U.S. or Thailand, except that if you do it in Thailand they may help you get a decent job.