Job Discussion Forums

judoka · Joined: 28 Jan 2009 Posts: 53 Location: North Pole

Hey guys, have things change any, concerning discrimination based on appearance? I know about numerous stories, not recent but a few years ago, about employers preferring a white person to work for their school. If anyone has a story to share about this, please do. I'd especially like to hear about latino-Americans teaching, or trying to teach in China. Have things gotten better or worse?

johntpartee · Joined: 02 Mar 2010 Posts: 3258

About the same where I've been for the last two years, Zhengzhou, Henan Province. A few blacks, a few East Indians; haven't seen any Hispanics, but.....

judoka · Joined: 28 Jan 2009 Posts: 53 Location: North Pole

It's pretty sad but a reality. In S. Korea too. In China I was aware of a Latino-American being hired, but without first being seen, only by phone. So he shows up to work and is told he is not needed anymore after the first day. I wonder if this is more because of the parents and not the school. Parents paying money and preferring a white face.

johntpartee · Joined: 02 Mar 2010 Posts: 3258

dean_a_jones · Joined: 03 Jul 2009 Posts: 1151 Location: Wuhan, China

Try for university jobs, that should be easier. We have a Spanish teacher and many French-African teachers (although they teach French, not English). When it comes to training schools and/or younger children, unfortunately the race issue seems to be client driven. With university, this seems to be less of a problem.

Captain_Fil · Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2011 12:53 am Post subject:

As an Asian-American, this was my biggest concern in my ESL career quest.

In the Newbie forum, I posted a similar question. I was soon assured that there are many non-white ESL teachers currently employed.

There may be some discrimination. But it's probably not that bad.

I believe you can land a good job. Especially, if you have a valid passport from an English-speaking country like the US or the UK. A CELTA certification would also help immensely.

Good luck.

wangdaning · Joined: 22 Jan 2008 Posts: 3154

I think something that is not really mentioned with regards to discrimination in China is immigration. Chinese know very well that all of the native English speaking countries have very lax immigration policies. Holding a passport from the UK, USA, AUS, NZ....doesn't mean much. They probably know people who speak no English who have these passports.

Maybe another angle to try would be to make very clear that you were born, raised, and educated in said country. Maybe provide a birth certificate along with other documents. I am not trying to be mean, but with a policy that lets thousands of immigrants gain passports, why would you trust the passport to mean native speaker?

TexasHighway · Joined: 03 Dec 2005 Posts: 779

wangdaning wrote:

TexasHighway · Joined: 03 Dec 2005 Posts: 779

delete

wangdaning · Joined: 22 Jan 2008 Posts: 3154

Yeah, I guess this is where the lack of ability of many administrators in this country becomes the issue. They are really not qualified to interview you or view your qualifications ("you have CELTA, you have degree, ooook, oook. Here is contract, sign"). Forget that their qualifications are lower than yours, they somehow got the position to make the call.

Surface (skin, age, ect) becomes the issue because they just can't understand. I would say to any experienced EFL teacher wanting to teach uni in China, try the collaborative programs. You are more likely to be interviewed by a native (or near native) English speaker, and they are less likely to look at surface and more likely to look at quality.

wangdaning · Joined: 22 Jan 2008 Posts: 3154

An appendix to my post. TexasHighway's ideas really got me thinking. Why do Chinese employers not understand the regional differences in the major English speaking countries. A Francophone Canadian, a Welsh speaking Brit, how is this going to help Chinese students learn English?

It seems all a$$ backwards to me. I would propose the people doing interviews gauge the English skills of the interviewee. I would suggest, though, I know it is not going to happen soon, that every Chinese uni have a native speaker to check things. Though this in itself would cause different problems, it seems it would reduce the number of problems overall.

Ahh, the almost perfect world of teaching English.... Laughing

Old Surrender · Posted: Sat Feb 26, 2011 5:13 pm Post subject:

I ran into a Mexican guy in Dalian working for an English mill. Mexican passport and everything.

I echo Zhengzhou, Henan. Heck, the entire Henan province. They'll let anyone through.

Captain_Fil · Posted: Sat Feb 26, 2011 9:19 pm Post subject:

TeresaLopez · Joined: 18 Apr 2010 Posts: 601 Location: Mexico City

Karl Sal · Joined: 28 Nov 2010 Posts: 27 Location: Zhengzhou, China

Yeah, Zhengzhou's pretty diverse.

Just within the foreign community that I'm aware of, there are Filipinos, a few African countries represented, a variety of Brazilians, a few American/Canadian black guys, Russians, an Italian, Spanish, Indians, etc.

Still dominated by the usual suspects, but a fair amount of depth also.