Job Discussion Forums

[Ally951]

Good point on the Canadian status thing - "I am Canadian"... Nowhere on my resume or covering letter does it say that I'm Korean-Canadian, but it's hard not to notice when my last name is glaringly Korean. To add, it's not like I can 'hide' my ethnicity very long - they'll figure it out once I'm at the interview. In any case... I do agree with only emphasizing Canadian, and nothing but Canadian...so help you G-d.

TEFL is still definitely something I'll be looking into, all things considered.

I think I was asked if I had an strong accent... Well if you consider me pronouncing my "ou" a bit too short (as in, house, out, about, lout), then yes I have an accent. In other words, I speak as "Canadian" as the next person - whatever that's supposed to sound like.

Glen: I'll keep in mind the tip about teaching in front of another teacher - I think that'll help...

Cheers.

[Ally951]

Please excuse my ignorance, but what is "manga"? Just wondering...

A

[Gregor]

Mr. Dunlop2, you need to read beyond what you quoted.
Or else I didn't make myself clear. That's actually possible. I do that a lot. So, I'll give it one more go: I didn't suggest the certificate course because it would be respected as a qualification. In fact, I meant to say that it likely wouldn't count for much of anything, so far as quals are concerned.
No, the OP should do a course because it would help him as a teacher. Perhaps he is making glaring mistakes in the interview or in the demo classes that would be corrected in the certificate course, and in any case, he is sure to become a better teacher for taking such a course.
That is all I meant.

[Glenski]

manga is the Japanese form of comic book. It could range from the cutesy Doraemon character books for kids to the violent, racy tomes that businessmen read.

And, Ally, keep on emphasizing that despite your outward appearance and last name, that you are a NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKER. Harp on that point, and if an employer still insists that he and/or his students believe that natural English can't possibly come out of your mouth, move on to the next one. Expect it, but also plan for it and don't be discouraged.

[tedkarma]

I have to strongly concur with Glenski and JD2 - about your Korean-ness/Canadian-ness.

I don't know your Korean name - but certainly Park or Lee tell us nothing. Kim maybe.

Just to emphasize their point: My wife is an interesting mix of German/Spanish/Mexican - American! She, to me, looks very Indian (the country). Black-brown hair - dark brown eyes - olive skin - a very "ethnic" look. She and I have both been told many times since we've been overseas (1992) - that she doesn't "look American" (whatever the h*ll that is?!). But - I have to say - I don't think that has stood in the way of more than one or two jobs - and who wants to work for those idiots anyway. She now has a good strong career history and a great job.

DON'T LET THIS ISSUE GET IN YOUR WAY. Perhaps try other countries first - and head to Japan when you have a couple years under your belt. I would caution against Korea - as then you will have really branded yourself with the issue. Taiwan (for the money), Thailand, China and several other places should be no problem.

Just for comparison - in Korea - the town where I work has Hispanic Americans, Chinese-Candadians, Black-Americans and on and on. The real problem is the hypenation issue - that is not really used overseas and tends to confuse people. I know you don't do it (as you said) - but don't let people even begin to think it.

Once you have built your resume a bit - I don't think the issue will arise.

Regarding the certification issue: Anything you can do to dress your resume a bit will help. At age 53 - overseas since 1989 - (wife joined me in 92) - I continue to improve my resume and seek additional training, certification, publish, etc. Particularly as I am now beginning to fight "age-ism" So, we all end up fighting something. A strong resume and extra-ordinary skills and experience will counter those problems.

Just my opinion

[Ally951]

Thanks for sharing - this is the stuff that isn't covered in career centres/resume clinics...

Cheers.

[ribena berry]

May be its easier to complain when your anonnymous. After making a life changinmg desion that had impressed your mates "your so brave!!" and shocked your parents "have you thought about the long run?? Hmmm" its not so easy to say " this is not what I though" or "some thimes it sucks" Or after running away from home, realising home was not so bad.....

Just a thought!

PM Me!

[kitano]

Unfortunately being racially asian might have an impact on ignorant employers but you don't want to work for that sort of company. Secondly many eikaiwa worry about being 'genki' above all other qualities so if you came across as subdued or serious that may have been a red flag for the interviewers, that may have been what they meant by 'hamming it up' rather than the actual teaching quality of your demo. Thirdly many of the interviewers are basically idiots, and know very little about teaching or interviewing so don't take it too personally. I got turned down for Geos before I came to Japan and now that I've been here over 6 years and have interviewed many teachers myself I laugh at how stupid the interview was. They asked me to teach 'a stitch in time saves nine' to a beginner and the interviewer said nothing no matter what I said or did. In retrospect it is funny how stupid the interview was but at the time I was devestated. Just hang in there and you'll get something.

[GambateBingBangBOOM]

You may also be having problems because you have a Master's degree. With a Master's degree (even one in an unrelated subject) from an English speaking country you could easily get a much, much better job (in terms of hours, pay and conditions) than eikaiwa, and one of their worries will be that you would just use them to get to Japan and then leave.

I agree with that race plays a factor in getting a job in Japan. I've been told I don't look white enough (despite being called a "pasty English boy" in Canada because I go from sheet white to Valentine's Day heart red in under fifteen minutes- my mother has red hair, and I unfortunately got her skin) because my hair is not blond, but brown (they said 'black' and wouldn't believe me when I said that it wasn't dyed because it goes a little reddish in the summer from the sun), and my eyes are also brown, not blue. One of my JTEs (Japanese Teacher of English- I'm in the JET programme) said to the class that "all" foreigners have blue eyes and that's why they draw the sun as yellow instead of red (kids draw it red in Japan, even when it's really high in the sky). I said my eyes are brown. He said "Well, maybe light brown, but not as dark as ours, and most foreigners have blue eyes". He later tried to explain to me that if you don't have blue eyes and blond hair, Japanese people (in reality a very low percentage of them, but probably including him) don't think of you as the "same kind of foreigner" as those who do.

[dmb]

GbBBB, I have red hair, blue eyes and a masters. Does that mean I can get a really good job in Japan?

[GambateBingBangBOOM]

Depends on what you mean by a "really good job". I would consider a full time job working for a private high school a really good job.

If that's what you consider a really good job then yeah, IMHO your chances of landing it with blue eyes (and non-brown hair) are a lot higher than if you had brown ones.

The JET prgramme often gets criticized for taking in so many people with no education (including TESL/TEFL) background and often with only a rudimentary knowledge of their own country (just stuff from living there, no real educational background in cultural studies- Canadian Studies majors etc are rare). But the thing is that the most popular JETs with a lot of schools often don't have any of that. What they do have (other than being lively genki people) is blue eyes and blond hair, or they are really tall etc. It isn't really all that surprising with kids, but adults (including teachers) aren't that different here, and that WAS surprising when I got here.

[Spinoza]

[Ally951]

The last several postings were great tips. Thanks! I still feel that certification will help with structuring the lesson plans/teaching style - so I have the intention to take a course when I get a chance. However, I won't because I'll be off to Cairo for a year to work at another school - ! (just recently accepted offer).

I wouldn't say that Japan or Korea are off the radar though (maybe I'll give it another shot after my year in Egypt). I've met a few great people through the GEOS/ECC/NOVA rotation and some of them are heading to Japan this fall so it would be nice to join them some day. In the meantime, I will use this forum as a guide and take everything with a grain of salf. After all is said and done, I'm am glad that this is available.

Cheers,
A