Job Discussion Forums

[eslbiz]

Please private message me if you are currently teaching in Rangoon or Mandalay. I am exploring the job market and will be here until 4/17. Happy to take you out for dinner and drinks. I have no desire to advertise what I find out beyond travel basics.

I am here because I am fed up with the lack of culture, lack of good food, and my incompetant administration at 'my' university in Cambodia run by a casino operator. By comparison, Myanmar seems like a serious country that is not without 'sabai-sabai'.

My initial impressions...

1. British English is more popular than North American.

2. Visas are probably a hassle. Unlike Cambodia, where the almighty buck rules, here teachers have to leave every three months!?!?

3. Burma is a cross between India and S.E. Asia (so veg food is not difficult to find, although there are almost no pure veg restaurants - want goat *beep* or brains?) This place reminds me much more of my travels in India, than mainland S.E. Asia - due to architecture, food, etc. But it's not intense like New Delhi.

4. Academic standards are a much higher than Cambodia. Burma supplies ESL teachers to S.E. Asia. I, myself, know of three in Phnom Penh. I suppose that without a specialty (which I have) there is no great demand for native speakers here.

5. ESL materials (audio and texts) are available here at low cost - and a better selection than Cambodia. Several excellent stalls not so far from University of Yangon. Burmese appear to have a high flying intellectual tradition (unlike Cambodia, where they read cartoons). Example - I've seen shops specializing in binding thesis. Don't spend the huge amount of time converting your audio cassette tracks to CDs/mp3s. It's already been done here! They sell for Kyat 500 each. That's less than fifty cents. But no tracks. A great beginning for mobile teachers though.

6. Educated people speak English, and well. Their accent sounds Malaysian /Singaporean.

7. Two tier pricing (e.g. hotels) is standard. I pay $17 for a room that even a rich local would pay K10,000 for ($.

8. Lonely Planet is way out of date. Eating out at an Indian restaurant is more like $2 than $1. Fresh, real, yoghurt is available (try stalls near mosques). Despite beers stations named 'ABC' and signs advertising 'ABC Stout' on tap - this healthy alcoholic drink is only available in cans. Tea shops are more social than beers stations anyway. If you like green tea as I do, ignore the cafe called 'Green Tea'. It doesn't serve any!

9. I doubt teachers wear neckties here. Except for interviews I wear a sarong around town. You an get both Indian and local ones. Many men wear them. Much more exotic than Cambodia and Vietnam.

10. The people, in general, seem dignified, confident, and polite.

11. Economy seems to be very alive, and is certainly not an artificial one based on NGO dollars and foreign aid (Cambodia). Just try getting by the sidewalks full of vendors downtown!

12. Noone admits to being anything other than Burman. So, either my enquiries are indiscreet; there are few ethnic minorities (Kachin, Shan, Chin, etc) in this capital city; or people are shy to talk about ethnicity.

13. Burmese is tonal and all except the best speakers could use training in word stress and intonation - a challenge (opportunity) in Cambodia and Thailand as well. Their pronunciation is rather muddy as well, slurring consonant sounds. The men often talk very bass, using a falling tone at the end of sentences, like the Dalai Lama does. Have no idea why. I presume it is to do with linguistic characteristics of Burmese.

14. Culturally conservative. This is more like Calcutta than Bangkok. Rare to see girls of marriageable age out at night. Women don't drink in public. No obvious homosexuals. Very few men even smoke cigarettes. I find the friendliness, apparent innocence, and lack of glamour quite charming.

15. No obvious criminal element unlike in Phnom Penh. Mind you, Havana is safe too. For a poor country to be so safe says something. Figure it out...

16. More robust agricultural sector than Cambodia. I'd say even most imported foodstuffs at supermarkets are 25% cheaper than Cambodia. However, fruit is sold more hygenically in Cambodia.

17. Transporation within the city is a hassle compared to Phnom Penh. No free-lancing motorcycle taxis. Buses are crowded, but cheap. Taxis are better value in Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok (I think sometimes I am charged a foreign tourist rate). Bicycle rickshaws have rules that restrict their availability - not allowed in certain areas of downtown, only available at night. And the seats are SMALL. Too bad - I like them the best.

18. City is really quite spread out and developed compared to Phnom Penh, which seems like a provincial town by comparison.

19. Bibliophiles will like Yangon. Like HCMC, obscure musty, yellowed, fifty year old books are available, at a much better price though than in Vietnam.

20. Curfew? Roadblocks with soldiers in the suburbs late night. Friendly though. Like Cuba, seems to be a hands-off tourists policy.

21. Sidewalks are horribly maintained. Bring good walking shoes! Wonder how many broken ankles the local hospitals get every year. Like PNH ten years ago.

22. Several Hindu Temples in town. A Mahakumbhabhishekam (religious ceremony) coming up at the local Kali Temple. Most South Asians are Muslim.

Again, this is an invitation to any and all ESL teachers in Yangon to get together. It's tough to negotiate wages when I have no idea what the usual rate is!

From,
Wandering in the dark (sometimes literally - power is a problem here)

[saint57]

What have you heard about salaries?

[Serious_Fun]

cool post - thank you. When I was in Myanmar recently I heard about a few jobs at "the international school" in Yangon, but, as I wasn't interested, I did not follow up with even basic questions re: remuneration, etc. ("The international school" was as specific as it was.)

I wish that I were there still- the people were so nice to me...frankly, the repressive government and the lack of world-class health care put me off. I took out evacuation insurance for the first time.

I do have a few friendly responses/additions to your points:

[eslbiz]

Thanks for your replies.

All I have heard is from a Frenchmen who advised me that teaching specialized English pays very well (he told me an astronomical fee). Now, while that may very well be true, I am more interested, to begin, to learn what is standard wage at a language school.

So far, I have interviewed at only one school in Yangon They asked me to consider, hypothetically you understand, teaching TESOL. Now get this, I told them straight that not only have I never taught TESOL, I have never even taken it, that I am not qualified to teach it. Never the less, I was asked several times which module I would feel comfortable teaching. It not only doesn't interest me, I would feel like I am defrauding the students. Now, I am speculating here, but here is my sense of the situation... School hires native speaker TEFOL trainers from overseas for X dollars per module. Said school has to pay their accommodation, visa, and a healthy fee. Presentable mature white face comes along who says he is willing to work for two digits% less (he doesn't know it, school does) so school suggests maybe he is the right person for the job. School increases profitability of TESOL course - zero to do with education, everything to do with business. Yes, Chinese run.

Now, I am all for flexibility, and I appreciate being given the opportunity to teach beyond my experience (I am teaching university courses, essentially teaching myself the subject I am teaching, not quite 'catch me if you can', but....). However, I wonder what the students would feel like knowing that the US$1000 +- they have spent is going to hire some convenient for the school but emminently unsuitable teacher? Oddly, money was never mentioned at the interview and I (stupidly) forgot to ask. Talk about naievity!

"I wouldn't want to belong to any club that would have me as a member" - Woody Allen