Job Discussion Forums

Svekla · Joined: 24 Sep 2009 Posts: 3

Hello, just wondering if anyone has experience with my specific issue. I'm a US citizen (dual citizenship with a small eastern EU country), currently living in the UK. Secondary education finished in US, university (BA English) in the UK. I don't have a CELTA or similar but if I were to teach I would do one, so lets also say I have a CELTA.

The issue: I have a US passport, but I do have a clearly very non-English name and surname, and my place of birth is not in an Anglophone country (so that's what it says on my passport). When looking at me, would schools just see the US passport part and give me a green light on that count, or would the rest of it put me in the 'not-native' teacher category and make it harder for me to find a job?

Just wondering if anyone has experience with this to share! I just don't want to apply for heaps of jobs that ask for a US passport and then have them reply that I don't really count!

dean_a_jones · Joined: 03 Jul 2009 Posts: 1151 Location: Wuhan, China

I think it could go either way. As the initial process is to send over a scan of your passport, I don't think you are wasting your time applying for 'heaps of jobs'--you are better off getting your CV out there. Some places will just see the US passport (and a white face) and ask no other questions, others may look a little harder at the actual details and query the information.

I would avoid mentioning or drawing attention to the fact that you were born abroad, and just proceed as if you were native born (i.e. don't put place of birth or early education or whatnot on your CV). Talking about the US, and having been to the UK to do a degree, are good selling points. A CELTA will also help--the more qualified you seem (i.e. the better a catch you appear to be), the less concerned a school will be about 'minor' details.

Do you have a native English accent? If so, then trying to get online interviews as early in the process as possible will help as well. If not, then it might be harder once people do actually speak to you, as this will be the point a lot of offers might disappear or schools will have second thoughts.

Non Sequitur · Joined: 23 May 2010 Posts: 4724 Location: China

Put away any sensitivities about ethnicity in China, so my key question would be 'do you look Caucasian?'
If you do and you have native speaker fluency, you should apply as being from the US. Others may have better insights, but just don't point out your birth country.
Include in your application a couple of what are euphemistically called 'lifestyle' pics that are in identifiably US settings and give it a go.
I taught in Shandong last year with a Chinese ethnicity woman born in Singapore. She moved to the US as a child. She was accepted as being a native speaker from the US with the Singapore 'bit' only of passing interest.

Svekla · Joined: 24 Sep 2009 Posts: 3

Thank you for advice! I do look 'Caucasian' and have basically a 100% American accent (or at least I did when I lived in the US). I now just sound slightly-less-Midwestern since I've lived in the UK for 4 years and haven't been back to the states in about 2, but I'm still clearly a native speaker. I definitely won't be pointing out my birth country, my hesitation is that they'll still see it on my passport and ask about it.

Maybe if my name was Jane Smith or something I could play it as being born while my parents were on holiday or something but that's not the case. My name is Russian (which I've heard may be an issue in China, but both my name and surname are ridiculously uncommon and not even identified as Russian by other Russian people).

dean_a_jones · Joined: 03 Jul 2009 Posts: 1151 Location: Wuhan, China

GuestBob · Joined: 18 Jun 2011 Posts: 270

Non Sequitur · Joined: 23 May 2010 Posts: 4724 Location: China

I like the nickname idea.
Use your intials then the nickname and then surname.
B. G. (Bart) Simpson.
The combo British/US English is good. Play that up a bit.

Svekla · Joined: 24 Sep 2009 Posts: 3

2 languages, English and Russian. My Russian's good enough for personal use (friends, family, reading) but not for any teaching, beyond hello goodbye.

My worry with using a nickname is I wouldn't really want a contract, future references, documents, so on to be in this fake Western name because I don't exist anywhere with this name, and obviously I would need a visa/residence permit/whatever else to have my real name on it so it matches my passport.

dean_a_jones · Joined: 03 Jul 2009 Posts: 1151 Location: Wuhan, China

MisterButtkins · Joined: 03 Oct 2009 Posts: 1221

As crazy as this sounds a Chinese, even one with good English, isn't necessarily going to look at your name and instantly think "Not English". It's not obvious to them, I think, what country a person is from just based on the surname.

bnej · Joined: 09 Jun 2009 Posts: 57 Location: Toronto

BadBeagleBad · Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2011 3:43 pm Post subject:

I have pretty much the same background (well, different ethnicity, but same situation) as the OP and it hasn�t really been an issue anywhere I have applied. Just apply with your US passport and higlight your higher education in the US. If you went to High School in the US, you could even put that one there, so they can see you lived in the US for many years. As someone pointed out, they won�t necesarily think, oh ethnic name, unless you apply to teach in a country where it is a common name, then they might think something of it. I applied for a job in China once, and they actually called me on the phone to hear my accent. Almost the first words out of her mouth, after I identified myself, were �Well, that answers that question� and when I asked what the question was, she said she had wondered about my accent because of my surname. I did get offered the job, so all the rest was apparently a non-issue.

jazzprings · Joined: 14 Mar 2009 Posts: 17

I'm have a similar background and a totally non-western name; it was never an issue and didn't stop me from getting pretty much any job I wanted. You'll be fine.