Job Discussion Forums

alexESL · Joined: 14 Jul 2015 Posts: 11

Hello all. I wanted to get you alls take on this particular situation, since it doesn't seem to be covered anywhere on the internet.

I'm a native speaker of English, born and raised in the Washington DC area. Went to college in Texas and got my associates. I moved to Europe to be with family and am about to finish my bachelors at Open University UK.

I recently renounced my US citizenship. Naturally this means I no longer have a US passport. Nonetheless I AM a native speaker and have all the skills that come with that...

From what I have been able to tell, most countries that pay any decent money, want native speakers, but relatively few (China, SK, Vietnam) have a government requirement for a US/UK/etc passport.

Mid 20s
I have a Swedish passport
I lived in the US basically my whole life up until 3 years ago.
I am a native speaker
No "English-Speaking Passport"
I've had over 12 years of education in an English speaking country (Japan's requirement)
AA business administration
BA general studies, most upper level classes are focused on English (open university uk)
Planned:
CELTA
MA TESOL (good idea? or not necessary?)

I've come up with a short list of countries that I should and shouldn't be able to teach in as far as I can tell:

YES:
Japan (12 yrs of edu. in a english speaking country)
EU
Saudi Arabia (There is no formal govt req?)
UAE
Oman
Russia (I speak limited Russian, and there is no govt requirement to be a native speaker: it doesn't pay very well now...but I think the ESL market here will explode at some point...driving up prices)
Hong Kong (thanks jmbf)

NO:
China (Not officially..)
Vietnam (not officially...) I heard you can teach for 3 months without a work visa and just school-hop 4 times a year?
south korea (I've heard they hunt down illegal ESL teachers here and deport them? probably not the best place to teach illegally...)

I think I've covered all the high-paying areas...

I'm looking for general advice and anything else you guys think might be helpful. I love teaching ESL and did it for a short time while in the US (to Mexican immigrants), and I would hate for my renunciation to destroy that dream...

Jmbf · Joined: 29 Jun 2014 Posts: 663

You can add Hong Kong to your YES list if you want.

https://www.justlanded.com/english/Hong-Kong/Hong-Kong-Guide/Jobs/Teaching-English-in-Hong-Kong

2buckets · Joined: 14 Dec 2010 Posts: 515 Location: Middle East

Generally, your passport determines how you are treated in the Middle East.
That means you will mostly likely be treated as Swedish.

Couldn't you have kept your US passport and been a dual national?

alexESL · Joined: 14 Jul 2015 Posts: 11

alexESL · Joined: 14 Jul 2015 Posts: 11

nomad soul · Joined: 31 Jan 2010 Posts: 11454 Location: The real world

alexESL · Joined: 14 Jul 2015 Posts: 11

nomad soul · Joined: 31 Jan 2010 Posts: 11454 Location: The real world

santi84 · Joined: 14 Mar 2008 Posts: 1317 Location: under da sea

Most of the ME is off limits for the reasons given by nomad soul. Don't take it personally, it's just the way the region views nationality and distance learning as it relates to English language learning. Heck, I've got a number of distance courses in my TESL undergrad and I'm off the list, even though I'm currently working at a Canadian college. Maybe things will change one day, but fretting about the bureaucracy of the ME is futile. You're not even there yet to deal with how bad bureaucracy really gets. The money in the ME is for those with full brick & mortar degrees (including an MA/MEd TESOL), as well as experience at that level (obviously, international K-12 teachers take a different route, but similar standards apply). Egypt, although not recommended at this time for safety reasons, is a place that didn't care about distance classes. There's no money in it though.

nomad soul · Joined: 31 Jan 2010 Posts: 11454 Location: The real world

Regardless of where you apply, I suggest not mentioning during interviews that you renounced your US citizenship; it can be a major turn off to potential foreign employers. You're a Swedish citizen with native English proficiency. Period.

Jmbf · Joined: 29 Jun 2014 Posts: 663

scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

I had a colleague at KFUPM in my time there who was a Swedish citizen and native speaker of English.

Your OU degree might be a problem. (I am not sure that KSA and other Gulf States will accept that.

Hod · Joined: 28 Apr 2003 Posts: 1613 Location: Home

I'm all for plain speaking and not offering empty advice to give false hope, but the negativity above is appalling. The OP's clearly done the research and asked about the EU, Japan, Russia and, oh yes, the Middle East.

Enter the usual suspects who make it sound like a fat camel shall pass through the eye of a tiny needle before anyone but the chosen few enter the Middle East.

Nomad Soul, why don't you write a sticky post about how to gain employment in the ME, preferably in the ME forum? You're repeating yourself with nothing new. Moderators, can you sort this in the ME forum, please?

I'd still really like to hear from others about places such as Japan or Russia, so speak up, please.

suphanburi · Joined: 20 Mar 2014 Posts: 916

For most of Asia the lack of a NES passport is a non issue.
Exceptions would be places like Korea where it is a visa requirement rather than an employer requirement.

The bad news is that without related, education related credentials he (A NNES passport holder) will be relegated to somewhere between a white NES and an Asian NNES for salaries ( about 2/3 of what a NES passport holder will get paid for doing the same job).

Yes, bias and bigotry are not only common throughout the region but legal as well.

Since he has nothing more than the next bog standard applicant (generic BA) he will be limited to entry level jobs throughout the region.

Would an MATESOL help? Not in Asia.

Also of note: the CELTA won't do much for you in Asia other than help you keep whatever job you do find when you get tossed into a classroom with the only instruction being, "Teach". Outside of China a TEFL cert is NOT a visa requirement and most employers don't care once a "teacher" can qualify for a visa.

.

spiral78 · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 11534 Location: On a Short Leash

The EU is the glowing rosy bright spot in your picture, OP. Your citizenship will not be a problem, employers are likely to look beyond the passport and notice that you are a native 'merican speaker (be sure it's prominently displayed on your CV and all other documents), and they won't care about the online components of your education.

Downside is that good jobs (universities, DOS/teacher trainer at private schools, and international school gigs) are relatively rare, and are usually found through networking,

In any case, PM sent.