Job Discussion Forums

[anhhoabinhvn]

Hello. I am currently preparing to come to Saigon to begin what I hope to be a long and rewarding experience teaching English. I have been reading a lot about the effects the economy is having on Vietnam (extremely inflated gas, food, and housing prices, etc.).

I have feared that this would have a detrimental effect on the TEFL industry as students may not be able to afford English lessons and will drop out of classes. I just read the post on this forum entitled "1997 Revisited" and this only strengthened my concerns.

I would greatly appreciate hearing from practicing teachers as to what effect (if any) the slumping economy has had on their jobs in recent months. Are student numbers diminishing? Is pay being decreased? Hours cut? Anything else?

Thanks very much for any input you can give me on this.

[Sparkplug Spirit]

Right now, it's too soon to tell what is going to happen. The economy is changing so quickly, but the gap between the rich kids who can afford lessons and the poor kids who can barely afford to eat is big. My guess is that there will still be a market for English classes, as many Vietnamese don't see learning English as a luxury, but a necessity. The private tutoring sector (where all the money really is) might change, however.

That being said, from your screenname, I'm guessing you come from a Vietnamese heritage? If you're female, you've got a bit more to worry about than the economy. I've been teaching here for almost two years, and the discrimination towards Vietnamese-looking teachers, even if you have an impeccable American/British/Australian accent, is still a problem. Even after having two bachelor's degrees, and being TEFL certified, I still get turned away based on the fact that I'm not "white."

My advice would be to target bigger schools, as they have more of a chance of staying in business and will pay you on par with other foreign teachers. Good luck!

[suvving]

Do schools discriminate against female teachers?

[Sparkplug Spirit]

Schools in Vietnam tend to discriminate against Asian, especially Vietnamese-looking foreign teachers. And while some corporations will hire Asian males, they will not even consider females, even ones with business degrees.

However, the bigger schools, like ILA or Cleverlearn, or international schools, don't really care. Unfortunately, parents will still bring the issue up because they want to show people that their child is being taught by a foreigner. But these schools are better at standing behind their decisions because they do hire Vietnamese-descendant female teachers, and we do just fine....

if not better because we have to "prove" ourselves!!

[suvving]

Oh ok. I'd heard of discrimination against asians, but the female discrimination was new to me.

I'm an asian-american male and I'm curious to see how schools react to me. I'm Los Angeles born and raised, and I definitely look asian (100% japanese blood).

Would you recommend me somehow emphasizing my "American-ness"? I mean, I have an LA Lakers basketball jersey and LA dodgers baseball cap, but should I like speak often of how things are in California or something?

[anhhoabinhvn]

[nkminh]

Yes I guess, it's just the way things are in VN. I was a qualified ESL teacher with 10 years experience in Australia. But I got paid 1/2 salary some Western looking, just-out-of-school, no ESL background backpackers got. I did bring the issue up with management, but they quickly passed the blame to the kids' parents. So if you are of Asian origin and feel strongly about it, my advice is not to teach in VN.