Job Discussion Forums

milkcan · Joined: 07 Jul 2009 Posts: 9

Hi Everyone!

I'm new to this forum. I've been reading a lot of the posts on this forum and much of the information is very useful.

Here's some information about myself. I'm 26 years old, female, and currently working in the community college district in the Continuing Edu department as a Sr. Student Services Assistant.

Education background: BA degree in Communication with minor in Studio Arts from University of California, San Diego (UCSD) in June 2005. Professional TESOL certificate from UCSD Extension fall of 2009, currently finishing up my 40 hours of the practicum.

I do not have any teaching experience, but I plan to volunteer at the library and become a tutor at a local high school on a voluntary basis. I hope to fly to Vietnam around May 2010. So that'll give me some time to practice and apply what I learned in class.

But my main concern is that I'm Chinese and naturally I look Asian. I have black hair and dark brown eyes. However, I grew up in the US and I consider English to be my first language. Moreover, I was born in Vietnam (which could complicate things more) and left the country when I was 4 years old. So looking at my background and my Chinese/Vietnamese heritage, would that put me at a disadvantage in finding a decent teaching position in Vietnam?

Thank you for reading this post. Any feed back and suggestion would help. One of my friends said to bleach my hair blond. LOL!

timdang · Joined: 02 Jun 2009 Posts: 2 Location: Ho Chi Minh

Hey there,

Im kind of in the same boat maybe less, not as academically equipped as yourself only TESOL cert. but I dont believe its impossible to find a job here in HCM although saying that Ive been searching incl. online and directly which seems to be the only way here and havent had a decent response - Im a Vietnamese Australian but born and raised in Australia and have a friend in the same boat from US as well, it is hard but I dont believe its impossible.

Try your luck! Worst case you'll have a really nice holiday! May is starting of rain season just to let you know but its not to bad!

Hope this helps

Tim

mcsensei · Joined: 11 Feb 2009 Posts: 31

I'd suggest applying to Apollo. They are less racist than some other schools. PM me if you have any further questions.

good luck!

inky · Joined: 05 Jan 2009 Posts: 283 Location: Hanoi

I don't see how one school could be "less racist" than another. Racism isn't a quality that lends itself to degrees of severity, it either exists or it doesn't. In Vietnam, the management of most private language schools isn't racist, but some of the students are, and they often form a vocal minority, well aware that they are paying the teachers' salaries.

timdang · Joined: 02 Jun 2009 Posts: 2 Location: Ho Chi Minh

Thanks for the tip with Apollo I will try them, but most of these English centres pride themselves on having Teachers with Uni Degrees which I dont hold - so that could be a another pitfall as well!

milkcan · Joined: 07 Jul 2009 Posts: 9

Thank you for replying to my post. Smile

I'm more confident to start teaching in Vietnam.

mcsensei, I'll PM you with some questions.

Thank you again!

alohahapa · Joined: 22 May 2009 Posts: 26 Location: HCMC

Hi,

I am a Vietnamese-American too and I love going back to Vietnam for a long holiday to relax and visit my relatives.
I have been reading many posts here about how hard it is for foreign-born Asian teachers finding a teaching job in Vietnam.
I am thinking maybe the person who is in charge of hiring teachers is a foreigner and doesn�t want to hire Asian-looking teachers.
Is it a business issue?
Could having many Asian teachers on the staff bring less student enrollment to the school?
I have been back to Vietnam many times in the last 10 years and all of the people have told me I speak English with a clear accent and I should be a teacher too.

I have a suggestion.
Why not try China?
China is whole heck a lot bigger than Vietnam.
If you have searched on some ESL websites, the jobs in China exceeds way more compare to Vietnam.
Of course, you will experience some racism, but it�s everywhere you go.
Just do what you got to do.

Texas_blu · Joined: 26 Oct 2008 Posts: 108 Location: HCMC, VN

milkcan · Joined: 07 Jul 2009 Posts: 9

milkcan · Joined: 07 Jul 2009 Posts: 9

Texas_blu · Joined: 26 Oct 2008 Posts: 108 Location: HCMC, VN

milkcan wrote:

alohahapa · Joined: 22 May 2009 Posts: 26 Location: HCMC

milkcan wrote

milkcan · Joined: 07 Jul 2009 Posts: 9

Hi Aloha,

Are you Asian? I have to agree with you. When I was traveling in China, I definitely sense a couple of "unfriendly" stares. Plus, I have somehow have the feeling that it's safer to live in Vietnam than in China. I still have some relatives living in Vietnam, so maybe that's why I am more attached to Vietnam. But I also love the hot humid weather. Smile

I am currently still living in the USA. I hope to start searching for a job in Vietnam around March of 2010.

happigur1 · Joined: 25 Jul 2009 Posts: 228 Location: USA

Hey,
I normally post in the China section but decided what else is going on in other forums!

I am an ABC, with parents born in Vietnam and Grandparents (ancestry) in China. I was born with both languages in my house but consider English my native tongue. I went through a recruiter for China and the first position he found for me rejected me because I look Asian. Luckily I found another place to take me. However, from reading other threads, it seems like many people with Asian face definitely have a tough time looking for jobs. For Asians, we actually need to have the qualification whereas others just need to have the "looks". This is due to the parents. Parents are paying a lot of money to have their children be taught by a foreigner, who they assume would be better at teaching English because it is their native tongue (not always true). Parents do not want to throw money for a teacher with an Asian face. They want their children to learn how to deal with foreigners, and to them, we are not foreigners.

I know my students, at first, were disappointed to have me as a teacher, but later in the semester, they realize that although I have the looks, I do not speak not have the manners of a Chinese person. I know it sucks but yea... I also know someone who got a job in Vietnam whose background is Vietnamese, so it is definitely not impossible. Oh, and another friend worked in Taiwan (born there) but told the school she did not know the language otherwise she would have been disqualified!

Also, with the whole staring thing: when I was in Vietnam in 2000, everyone was staring at me! In China, I haven't had anyone stare at me. If you are a foreigner, you would definitely get stared at in China (and in Vietnam). A large part of it is where you are at (small village or big cities). It's not that they are trying to be rude; they are just fascinated. In China, it comes in handy because you make "friends" very quickly!

Anyways, if you need any help, feel free to PM me since I am not normally on this forum.

happigur1 · Joined: 25 Jul 2009 Posts: 228 Location: USA

oh and a thing with weather: different parts of China have different weather patterns. I lived in Nanjing where the weather was similar to Vietnam: hot and humid.

...don't get me wrong, I am not trying to sell China to you but China is a lot bigger than Vietnam and a chance to work overseas might be more easily obtainable in China...