Job Discussion Forums

[eik]

What would be the ratio "Native English teacher - Non Native English teacher" in Indonesia, ofcourse ?

[Vertumnus]

That's a tough question, however I think it's safe to say that there are more than 1:10000.

-D

[eik]

But what's your serious guess, Vertumnus ?

[Vertumnus]

That is a serious guess. English is big business here, and usually the universities that cater to this need have large English departments with thousands of students studying to become teachers. That doesn't include the English majors who are not studying education who get inducted into schools because they have at least a passing knowledge of English.

-D

[eik]

Okay, but if you leave the Indonesian teachers out of it, how many of your colleagues are from Sweden, Germany or other European countries ? Can you give me your best "ratio guess" ?

[Vertumnus]

Oh, I see, sorry. Without taking into consideration the Indonesian English teachers, it's a bit more difficult to say. I've worked at some schools where I was the ONLY foreigner, and others where I was amidst a sea of non-natives. Some places, everyone was a "legit" native speaker, while in others, I was the only one.

I've been surrounded by members of the Empire Over Which the Sun Never Set (UK and it's member countries) and other "true" native speakers, and I've been surrounded by Philippinos, Indians, Dutch (and other non-UK Europeans) and Chinese, to name a few. The ratio varies wildly depending on the school/course, with the best being 100% true native speakers, and the worst being 1:50 or more. It's really hard to establish an average nationwide ratio given the complete lack of consistency in hiring and the complete lack of any enforced standards.

In some cities, the ratio has gone from 7:1 to 1:7, especially at language schools, due to the budding of more and more schools using English as the primary teaching language. In other places, it's hard for them to find native speakers, and they have to take what they can get - even if that means accepting a non-native speaker. Still other places grab up all the native speakers they can get, while some prefer to grab one or two as "token" native speakers so parents will think it's a good school.

You can see all of that in one city - sometimes.

Generally, universities don't have many foreigners working for them because the offered salaries are so poor that most won't do it. That doesn't mean there aren't any, though.

I hope that helps.

-D

[eik]

It sure does help, Vertumnus !
Care to tell why you choose that name ? (Makes a much more sophisticated impression than a name which I saw on another forum, namely "scrubber". I am 100 % sure there is no relation between the two of you. )

[Vertumnus]

I was inspired by a series of books I read years ago. The name hints at some of my interests and beliefs. I like to choose handles that are full of meaning - albeit sometimes obscure.

I prefer not to go into details. The companies I expose on Dave's ESL Cafe via reports from teachers tend to want to hunt me down, and I don't care for that idea. To scalawag organisations, it doesn't matter if the complaints are legitimate or not. I research things to make sure the complaints are on the up and up.

-D

[eik]

Thanks, Vertumnus !