Job Discussion Forums

[Katzwyl]

I am Chinese. I look Chinese. I speak Cantonese and a little Mandarin.

Credentials aside, how will this affect me as an applicant to teach English in China?

How will this affect the students' respect for me as their Foreign Teacher?


If my credentials are important, here they are:
Graduating this spring with an English and Sociology Double Major at a major Canadian university.
Will obtain a certificate in the Discipline of Teaching English as an International Language (a program offered by my university).
Have numerous experiences teaching and tutoring all ages since beginning of highschool.
3 months experience teaching English to Gr.3 and Gr.5.

Thanks for your help in advance! =)

[NumberOneSon]

[lagerlout2006]

I have worked with 2 overseas Chinese teachers and this is what they tell me..You will find a teaching job but it will be more difficult than for a non-Asian. One fellow was regularly offered positions based on his CV and a phone call only to have the offer taken back when he sent a photo. He has an MA and is paid accordingly...I think management can also be more critical but I am not certain...As for student respect I really couldn't tell you.

[Roger]

Chinese hire NIGERIANS sometimes whose English is as alien as their CHinese counterpart's - for obvious pay considerations.
If you care to work in China, and you are a Chinese, you will have to keep the upper hand in your negotiations. After all, you were born here, weren't you?
THe Chinese' preconceived ideas are legion!
In large towns, competition may simply play to your detriment; farther afield you may have better chances.
Dont' forget - if being bilingual were seen here to be an advantage, then all these English-teaching jobs were not avaiable to foreign nationals.

[Katzwyl]

Thanks for your responses...despite the not so positive outlook, I still want to try to find something in Guangdong because it is near Hong Kong. I still have relatives there whom I haven't seen for over 10years.

Do you feel it wise for me to say something about me being Chinese when I'm applying for jobs? E.g. I told one potential employer that I am aware of some of the barriers Asians may face as an FT and that despite being Chinese, my English is of native speaker quality.

[Roger]

Katzwyl,
I am speaking as one with experience in living in Guangdong. That's the province that offers the most jobs nationwide. How many big towns? Shenzhen, Dongguan, Guangzhou, Zhuhai; there are Foshan and a few more - but most are concentrated in the Pearl River Delta.
Shenzhen is pretty bad, or so I hear from those who have recently tried; there are few legal employers anyway.
In Dongguan, hardly anybody gets a legit job. Like working with unruly 15-year olds???
Guangzhou: LINGUAPHONE employed Filippinas but refrained from hiring a Chinese-American I introduced to them; also they separated from a Korean-American due to his "Chinese" features (and features only).
I tried to place a black man - I heard several times "we are not racists but we would like to ask: is he white or black?"
THen, I found a small-town training centre willing to hire anybody - at salaries ranging from 3000 to 5000, with no holiday pay (6 weeks of unpaid leave during spring festival!). Staff include 8 foreign nationals, 5 of whom hail from non-Anglophone countries; salary difference between whites and those non-Anglophones: 3 K versus 5 K!
I understand your intentions, but the reality is unsentimental. If you don't mind living in Zhaoqing, Zhongshan, Huizhou, Foshan, then you should try.

[Katzwyl]

[eion_padraig]

I work here in Shanghai at a joint venture at a university. We have several Chinese Americans, Chinese Canadians, Chinese Australians, and Chinese Singaporeans working here. I think a lot of it depends on whose is doing the hiring. You can find jobs, but it won't be quite as easy because of how you look. If you think being rejected for your looks is too much for you to bear, then you may have a difficult time. Most places you will be able to find work though.
Living here (aside from teaching here) will probably be considerably easier for you because of your ability to speak both Cantonese and Mandarin. You will blend in better. Can you read also? It is most difficult for those with Chinese ancestory who can speak Chinese. They get hassled all the time because of it. "Why can't you speak Chinese? You're Chinese right? You're not Japanese? Korean?" Basically, those with Chinese ancestory don't get picked out as foreigners right away, which can be good or bad.

[NumberOneSon]

[Roger]

well, amigo mio Katzwyl: I suggest you purchase a map of Guangdong and study it for a while... Someone who was born in Hong Kong ought to know Zhaoqing and Dongguan... direct trains from Shenzhen, maybe even from HK!

The thrust of my argument, however, was that in small-town China you stand a better chance than in those seemingly cosmopolitan urban jungles.

There is a school in Huadu that is very, very open-armey, so to speak; I mustn't name it though, but Yaco would happily put you in the right picture.
That would be near Guangzhou, and a little nearer to HK than Zhaoqing is.
In fact, they are currently hiring!

[Katzwyl]

[clomper]

yup.. it's peicheng.

anyway, I'm a Chinese-Filipino and currently teaching in Zhanjiang City in Guangdong province. It's about 10 hrs by bus to HKG. The university nearby hired a Chinese-Canadian teacher about 2 years ago who was also born in Hong Kong and immigrated to Canada when she was a child.

There's hope.. don't give up. There are some who are racist but some are not.

[/b]

[Katzwyl]

Thanks for the encouragement... I don't want to give up... I'm trying my best not to.

And I'm aware of the racism... had to teach my parents, especially my dad about what racism is...

Can you tell me some of your personal experiences when applying for jobs in China? Do you think it was harder for you because of how you look? Did you do anything special to get your job?

[ChineseEnglishTeacher]

Thread Dig! Lurker revealed!

I was going to start a new thread, but I thought this topic would have been brought already.

Well, I'm pretty much in the same boat as Katzwyl. Except, I'm a male Chinese Canadian. Hopefully, I'll be graduating from university this June (grades pending) and would like to find a position by the start of the new semester in September. My family immigrated to Canada when I was really young. My English is at the level of native speakers. My Chinese on the other hand is okay at best; I can speak Cantonese well, but there are times when I can't get my points across without the use of English. I have been taking a few Chinese courses, so my Mandarin is coming along nicely. My listening is better than my speaking, but I'm working on that.

I want to teach in Guangdong, more specifically, Guangzhou. I'll spare you my reasons. I would just like to know more about how a Chinese-Canadian would be treated in Guangzhou by the schools, students, teachers, parents, society...

I have heard people say some pretty negative things ie) no respect, think you're incompetent because of your background...etc. Is this still the norm? Are there any signs of change?

Personally, I thought that someone like myself would be in a better position than your average FT.
1) I would quickly overcome culture shock(not much to overcome really)
2) Knowing Cantonese and Mandarin, I could get around much easier
3) Knowing the native languages may make me a better English teacher

Hope someone can give me some further insight.

Katzwyl: If you're in China right now, it'll be great if you can post some of your experiences.

Thanks.

[The Great Wall of Whiner]

This is actually interesting because my school now is in the process of looking for a Chinese-Canadian or Chinese-American to work in our school.

Unfortunately, guess who gets the job of finding him/her?