Job Discussion Forums

[bosnian]

Ok, here`s my question. I was born in Bosnia, moved out of there when I was 2 years old, and have never stopped moving since. On the way I learned 4 languages and ended up in Vancouver, Canada. I finished high school here and now I`m at the University of British Columbia getting a degree in English/History (double major). As I said, I finished the last 2 grades of high school here and have lived in town for about 5 years. However, I really started learning English in grade four. At the University I get better marks than the average (e.g. in the Can. Lit. class I got 91% while the average was 77%). Now, considering all this and the fact that I hold a Canadian Passeport, what are my chances of getting a ESL teaching job overseas? Also, my skin color is white (I'm Bosnian, meaning Slavic --> meaning white). I mention the latter piece of info because I see that some Asian countries look at that a lot. I speak Bosnian, French, and Arabic as well, although my Arabic is somewhere at the intermediate level. My English pronunciation is better than the other 3 langauges, even though there is not a huge difference between my pronunciation of English, French, and Bosnian, in terms of quality.

Please advise which countries would be good/bad for me to teach in.

Please no bull---t.

PS. I also plan to get that Cambridge certificate after I get my degree. How would that change the situation? Is it necessary? Also, I do not wish to get into the BIG native vs. non-native debate because I spend enough time correcting native speakers' English mistakes (i.e. my Fijian, native-speaking wife). All I need is practical information.

Thank you in advance.

[GambateBingBangBOOM]

I once went to get a visa to teach in Korea (while n Canada) and the guy looked at my application and noticed I wasn't born in Canada, and said "Englnd, well at least they sepak English there?" like it was a question.

I honestly don't know if there would have been any problems if I had been born in a non-English speaking country, born in a non-English speaking country, but I do know some English teachers here in Japan who weren't born in English speaking countries, including a Slavic country, so maybe it was really just that one guy.

[hesterprynne]

To recap- you are white. Very white. You have a Canadian passport. You can make a paper trail using your high school graduation records to give the impression that you grew up in Canada. You will have a degree and a Cambridge certificate. You ask us not to address the non-native speaker issue, but then you make reference to your pronunciation of English.
I suggest that you take just the facts as I have outlined them above, and pretend that you grew up in Canada. If you can present yourself as a native speaker through excellent pronunciation, then do so. I didn't have to show a birth certificate, just a passport. Send your picture and go through a phone interview. You should spend some time reading past postings referring to qualifications needed for different countries. Do your homework. Then post again with more specific questions.

[shmooj]

You know, if you have a CELTA it will stand you in good stead both from your confidence point of view and also from propsective employers.

Also, if you speak a couple of other languages well enough to teach them, you might want to advertise this fact when you apply. NOVA in Japan for example teaches a range of languages although English is by far the most common. They need a range of language teachers therefore and where you were born may well be an asset for them because of this. I think Berlitz is another school that would welcome multilingual teachers.

[izzy272]

I will be short and to the point.
I see no problem.
I am an american living and working here in China and if you are interested I know a job for you right now.
drop my a line

[GambateBingBangBOOM]

[hesterprynne]

Thanks for that information. I am not promoting lying. I got my job without misrepresentation. But the OP could say that his family lived abroad briefly while his father had a business job???

[GambateBingBangBOOM]

Sure the OP could do that. But a lot of people in Asia (well, in Japan, and from what I've heard Korea too) tend to think in terms of nationality = race. I've been told before in Japan that I'm "not even a real Canadian" because I was born in the UK (I left before I was two years old). People try to find physical differences between Americans and Canadians (in terms of height, eye and hair colour, etc). Anyway, if the employer thinks in these terms, then the OP may well be out of luck in getting a job with that particular person.

[Deconstructor]

First of all, it is truly retarded to think that only those born in an Anglophone country can teach English, but then again a great deal of those who hire for overseas jobs are... well... retarded. One thing that these guys are truly clueless about is actually teaching English. It follows then that their hiring practices are highly questionable. Not all of them are, however, total retards. After trying for quite a while, I was able to get a job in Korea.

I was born in a non Anglophone country, but was raised in Canada. When I got a job in Korea, no one could ever guess that I came from anywhere but North America. In fact, for some unknown reason they systematically thought I was an American. It was as if they couldn�t break out of the box that they had clearly marked: English=America.

[Guy Courchesne]

While I wouldn't use the same language, I agree with most of what you say Constrictor.

For every native-speaking ELT, there must be 100's of non-native speaking English teachers, many of which I'm sure do a fine job.

The problem often lies in how some language centers markets themselves to their clients/students. It's often just as much about perception and image than the product sold. This is how McDonald's works, no?

In Mexico, the image of blonde, blue-eyed, good looking female American as English teacher is an easy sell. Bonus if she happens to be able to teach. By that, I imagine that a beautiful Swedish woman with passable English would do just fine too.

Good thing not all language centers are like this.