Korean Job Discussion Forums

[leebumlik69]

This is probably a sensitive subject. I'm sure it's been covered before but maybe not recently which makes it valid in my opinion.

Let me begin by saying that I believe a teacher's accent is not an impediment to working in Korea, but I do fully recognize (recognise) that having a North American accent is an advantage. I know that a large number of schools in Korea have a preference for this accent (even though there are so many accents in the U.S alone!). A Texas accent is nothing like a New York Bronx accent for example.

Also, a number of schools have a policy of hiring only North Americans.
I have heard of instances where unreliable and unskilled teachers from North America are preferred to highly skilled and reliable one's outside of that continent. Also North American teachers seem to have the potential to earn a higher salary.

I have even read posts here that suggest not only discrimination on the grounds of nationality but also on the basis of skin colo(u)r, and race.
I ask Dave's ESL members to post their experiences with this?

I fully accept that there should be more North American teachers than any other country (I accept this simply because it is by far the most populous native English speaking region).

I'm also curious as to whether any teacher's have encountered discrimination for having a lack of knowledge of U.S. culture, fads, slang etc.

Overall, I don't believe korea discriminates as much as other Asian countries. I've heard some horror stories from Vietnam for example.

Here are some questions relating to the above:

Do you believe this discrimination exists?
If yes, do you think it's legitimate for it to do so?

This question is specifically for non-North Amerian native English speakers:

Do you ever have to alter or mask your accent for daily working life in Korea?

If yes:

--How much masking or altering etc. do you have to do?

--Do you ever worry that you are losing the natural character of
your accent by teaching under these circumstances?

--Do you believe, that by masking or altering your accent, you
are contributing to a generic English accent of the future,
and if so, would that be ok with you?

--Are you ever required to speak with a North American accent, and if so are you comfortable with that?


..but don't take it too seriously!!

[RACETRAITOR]

[SPINOZA]

It's an excellent question.

I'm English and have a slight regional accent as well, but essentially my accent is fairly close to standard BBC English.

The one sole issue that comes up in class is the English-English pronunciation of "where?" (I emphasize English as opposed to British because I'm not from Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland).

Why's that?

Because the English pronunciation of "where?" sounds almost identical to the Korean "why?". So, when I ask "where?" in English, my students think I'm asking "why?" in Korean. I avoid saying just "where?" but when I do, I may put an "rrrrrr" on the end (post-vocalic 'r'?). Yet another reason why an absolutely rudimentary knowledge of Korean is essential, to us Brits at least, and probably to Australasians too. The Irish don't have that problem, as they use post-vocalic r.

Think of the difference between England "doctor" and N.A. "doctor". The second syllable in the former is a 'schwa', right? Whereas in North American English it's a "terrrr". The English don't pronounce 'r' (generally, in this way) and this is problematic for Koreans, simply because they're more accustomed to American English for various reasons.

Apart from having a strong regional accent, it's difficult to see any other issue arising and, in my view, it isn't anything to worry about.

[RACETRAITOR]

I have a friend who's half-Korean, and he had a collection of ridiculous rejection lines from potential employers in Korea. Poorly written blowoffs saying crap like "We think you don't look like English speaking." I'll see if I can track them down.

[Mills]

[sheba]

Ive had to change my accent for my job. I wasnt asked to do it, but the kids couldnt understand me. I dont mind. I have to change many things about the way I talk with my students (slowly, clearly, basic sentences) and altering my accent is just part of it. Once they were able to understand me, Ive started introducing words in my original accent, so the kids know how to say and understand both.

It would be a different story if I were being forced to change my accent but I did it by choice.

[jinks]

I'm a New Zealander, but I grew up in Wales so I have a more British than American accent. Some of my kids think it is hilarious, "Teacher! teacher! Say 'doctor.'"
They say /darktar/ and I say /docctuh/. I don't modify my pronunciation, except as a joke, but I do adapt my spelling [in the clasroom] to North American usage.
Mills: I admire your candour, but admitting that you think that discrimination on the grounds of accent - or more shockingly - race is OK. especially if it is consumer driven, is very short sighted. Blue-eyed blonds [I'm no longer blond, but I will always be blue-eyed] might still reap some cachet in Korea, but imagine the howls of indignation if the'blond joke' stereotype took hold in Korea and no one wanted to hire you unless you dyed your hair brown or grey - or black.

[RACETRAITOR]

[Mills]

[laogaiguk]

[StAxX SOuL]

Well, I'm from the UK and I've noticed a number of schools that look for only US Teachers based on the accent... I've got that University accent, you know where you start out with the smallest accent then end up losing it totally and adopting a more universal one simply given the broad geographical origin of people that one mixes with...

My opinion. It's fair enough... if parents want their children to learn to speak English in the North American way, then its right that the schools cater for that... and if parents are willing to pay more for that, then it makes sense that they also earn more, its just the nature of the profession... getting into it you accept that the English / Australian / NZ / South African accent will never be quite as desirable as the North American... however given my grasp of a general North American accent I could quite easily pose as a North American if I felt like it, it'd just involve fabricating a resume, lol...


I can't really talk of first hand experiences yet as I most likely won't be in Korea until the end of February... but I'm sure I'll find out, altho its far from a worry for me... maybe my acccent will change too, as being removed from a locale for any length of time will do that... its like the Liverpudlian who leaves Liverpool for London and loses the hard edge of the accent, until they return and mix in their old circles again and the harder edge returns...

[peppermint]

I'm from North America, and I've had to change my accent substantially to be understood by the students. I've slowed my speech somewhat, dropped a lot of intonation that's part of my regional accent, etc

Even though I'm one of the favored few, I think the hiring practices here are awful. When French Canadians who only learned English in school are getting hired before native speakers from whatever country, there's something wrong.

[Picotrain]

I'm from Newfoundland, so I, too, had to slow down my rate of speech. In reply to the North American English vs. Rest-of-the-World English arguement, I think it might benefit the child to hear something other than American accents all the time. Most Hollywood blockbusters have characters with American accents and other than school this is where kids hear most of their English. If they only hear American accents at school, then they will be adapted only to the American style of speech. I find that about half of the kids here sport Union Jacks, and some of these say they'd like to go to school in the U.K. Many of these kids do not realise that Americans and Englishmen (by extension Scots and Northern Irish) have different accents. They will be in for quite a shock when they can't understand the guy working at the convenience store, let alone their prof in university.
At the same time, I do feel that there are a larger proportion of difficult-to-understand accents outside of North America than there are within it. Some accents in England (I'm not mentioning any) are just horrible to teach young children. Assuming people fom such places cannot standardise their flavour of English, then they will be doing these kids an injustice by trying to teach them English.

Cheers,
Mark

[crazylemongirl]

I'm a dual national (born in Canada, raised in New Zealand). Just for kicks during my last job hunt I applied as both and I got far more offers as a Canadian than as a kiwi.

I was requested to change my accent when I got here, and now if you met me you wouldn't know I was from New Zealand unless I told you (most people assume I say Oakland CA., rather than Auckland NZ). I don't think the different dialects and pop cultures are that different that we aren't able to teach here. If it was I wouldn't be able to fool native speakers into thinking I was raised in North America just by merely changing my accent.

Out in the big bad world, chances are that Koreans are just as likely to be interacting with other L2 learners than with native speakers. So in the end the most important thing for them is to understand other english speakers (both native and l2) and be understood.

[RACETRAITOR]

Sometimes a colleague asks me if I have a British accent. Back in Canada I would've taken it as a compliment or that they were flirting with me, but here I feel like they're suddenly suspicious of me. It's probably just because I'm a skinhead.