Job Discussion Forums

[myownwoman]

I think the people in China are slowly becoming more accepting of the diversity in the world. Anybody can speak English and being able to teach it well. This has nothing to do with skin color. I know this seed is still growing in the Chinese nationals minds but another seed is growing too.

The seed of tolerance.

[clownshow]

[Gamecock]

The general racism in hiring practices are better here than another popular east Asian ESL destination that shall not be named on this forum, but still worse than many places.

I have noticed the govt can be very vindictive in issuing (or not issuing) visas and residence permits to former Chinese citizens who have married and left China and taken on the citizenship of their spouse. I know of two Chinese-Americans (one man and one woman) who were born and raised in China and went through the long process to gain American citizenship, had come back to China with their white American spouses, and after one year here were suddenly informed their visas to stay in China would not be renewed. Their white husband/wife was welcome to continue teaching here, but with their new shiny new American passports they had somehow betrayed the country of their birth and were no longer welcome!

[Gamecock]

[mrwslee003]

Someone said that China is beginning to become more aware of the diversity of people in the English speaking world. But for those who feel being discriminated against because of the texture of their skin are feeling that China is taking a slow boat to becoming more aware of that diversity.

However, from my observation: southern China is more discriminating because there are plenty of English speaking people since they are near Hong Kong. Where as the north is less discriminating because there are fewer English speaking people.

I was working in the northern part of China and saw blacks, Asian American and Canadians, myself included. So supply and demand is a determinate factor as well.

[yogurtpooh]

I'm Vietnamese American with a four year BA and a 120 hour tesol certificate , am I likely going to get paid less because I'm brown? Will they even consider me as a native speaker if I immigrated to the United States before I turned one?

[slareth]

[mrwslee003]

Well, I am Chinese-Canadian and the pay in our school was based on years of experience and as such I was paid more than some younger white guy.

So it all depends on the school I guess. I can't say you will get less or more because I don't have first hand information on pay dependent on skin
texture.

One black girl and one white guy got the same pay because both were new teachers, as far as I can remember.

I can't assure you that you will not be "discriminated" against by the local bosses based on your skin texture because I have no first hand evidence to prove that the local people are that much more/less "colour blind" or "more enlightened" than most mainstream employers in N. America or any where else.

[jpvanderwerf2001]

[The Ever-changing Cleric]

[Matson]

I'm new to the game but have been told by those who go before me that the Chinese students brain is "activated" to respond to a Laowai teaching English as opposed to a face that looks local. Apparently, a local face is expected to speak the local tongue and will not engage the brain to readily tune into English. I wouldn't know if this is true or not; but it is a theory.

[mrwslee003]

Well, why do I feel something is tugging on my lower limbs......

Another theory is even better: Some Chinese kids just hold up a big picture of a beautiful laowei in front of their faces and lo and behold out came perfect queen's English from their innocent mouths. That explains the hot sale of laowei pinups in China. Of course, as expected, Justin Beiber is the front runner! If you don't believe me just ask the shop keepers.

Now, don't you feel something is tugging at your lower limbs as well?