Job Discussion Forums

[ghost]

Can a native speaker of English, with an Anglo father obtain a Foreign Expert Certificate, even if he/she was not born in an Anglo country? In this case, the person in question was born in another European country (not Anglo), because the father was working there at the time.

Anglo countries = UK/Eire/U.S.A/Canada/Australia/N.Z./South Africa

Basically, can a teacher obtain a Foreign Experts Working Permit, if born outside an Anglo country?

Thank you.

Ghost in Saudi Arabia

[Javelin of Radiance]

I've met teachers who held passports from various English speaking countries and these people were not native speakers, and they all had noticeable accents, (Latvians, Germans, etc). They were born in non-English speaking countries, moved to English speaking places and became citizens there. If you've got the passport from an English speaking country, and have done most of your education in English the odds of success are heavily in your favor. Place of birth shouldn't matter much unless you're a visible minority or have a very strong accent. (I think) all of this is more of an obstacle during the job search, if you already have a job offer you're probably good to go. That's my educated guess.

[ghost]

On a different subject are French Quebecers who speak French as a mother tongue, and South African africaners (who speak Dutch as a mother tongue) considered native speakers?

The French Quebecers hold Canadian passports, but live in cities like Rimouski, and Trois Rivieres, where the overwhelming majority of the people speak French. When you speak in English with them, their French Quebecois accent is very noticeable, unless they have lived in Montreal for a long time, which is the only city in the Province of Quebec with a substantial number of anglophones.

The reason I ask, is because there are two of those teachers in my university considering a move to China, as we speak, and they would like to know?

I have told them that I will consult this board for answers.

Ghost in Saudi

[Shroob]

I know teachers with various non-Anglo nationalities. Polish, Swedish, Georgian, Nigerian etc. All had good English, though not native-like. I'd like to say it matters more what you can do in a classroom (I've seen excellent NNS teachers and abysmal NS teachers), but from what I've seen in China that's not the case.

[jimpellow]

No easy answer on this one, but with the new visa regulations the norm has been more stringent in terms of nationality. It would be easier IMHO to get a work visa as a native French speaker from Canada than as a native English speaker from a non-recognized official English speaking country. Additionally, as one can imagine, English speaking third world countries are not on the list of acceptable countries. Eventually I would assume that they will add an English proficiency exam to the growing list of requirements, written by the same person in the government responsible for all the funny English signs.

What is your nationality OP? They look at that rather than where the birth certificate was issued. The birth certificate is not required at present, save for those who will be coming along with the business, FEC etc visa holder.

[Babala]

Forget training centers IMO. They have the strictest regulations about who they can hire. I think more non-native speakers have better luck as subject teachers as opposed to the more common oral English teacher positions.