Job Discussion Forums

[u24tc]

I'd like to raise a topic for discussion which I believe is job related. It is the basis that individuals who have no degree or teaching experience, simply get hired because of their appearence.

I do not believe this is right. I have seen a plethora of people undertaking a weekend 20-hour TEFL course to just get a certificate saying TEFL and with them automatically thinking they are qualified and able to easily get work in Asia, ie. China.

This is probably true however, they are not qualified.

Please... I am really interested in your views on this matter because it bugs the hell out of me when people get employed who are not as experienced or qualified but based on looks.

[johnchina]

Whilst not condoning the situation, I think you should remember that the demand for native-speaker English teachers here is massive and the supply is limited. That's what it comes down to.

[Shan-Shan]

johnchina is absolutely correct. The FT in many circumstances is but ornamentation, something to use in advertisements and "oral" classes.

Unqualified may perhaps be preferable for some schools: an FT with ideas of its own needs to be untrained before trained in the ways of Mr. Wang and his vision of "English Eddication".

[erinyes]

and the job is just as much about sharing culture as it is about teaching English. when you think about it like that, a few Chinese people think that English speeking culture equals white western culture.

They have only been an international country for the past 20 years. Give them a break.

[u24tc]

Racism also takes place though.
I read in another post of an example when a lady employer said that she would not hire the black man because he would scare the children.

Seems to me.. they want to share culture, but only a specific kind.

[bdawg]

[MikeMick]

Most 'qualified' real teachers would never come to asia an work for the crap money on offer!! Unless they pay good enough salaries to attract good teachers, u are stuck with the likes of me!! Hahahaha

[PAzine]

There's good and bad, IMO.

I met a new co-worker tonight. He just transferred over from another part of China.

In a negative light, I could get away with saying that dude was an English pub-w@nker barely out of his teens.

In another light, I saw this young man who was very excited, bopping around with a big smile on his face.

He asked me for help sending an email to his buddy back home. His buddy was looking to "escape", and my new-coworker was pulling strings to make it happen -- purely on basis of his buddy's "whiteness".

Getting by on looks or whiteness or whatever is one way to look at it, and it's valid. There are a lot of goofballs here who couldn't hack it in a donut shop back home. I probably couldn't.

If you take English teaching seriously, keep in mind that a lot of people don't. I don't (even though I'm damned good at it, and bloody qualified).

I don't begrudge western posers in ESL one bit. Good on them! I hope they have fun!