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anb
Joined: 20 Dec 2010
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 Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2011 12:57 pm Post subject: Discrimination... |
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Hi
I was on the phone to my recruiter and she mentioned that most schools both public and private prefer Americans and Canadians (I'm Irish), so much so that she actually asked me to try and sound American for my phone interview!!! If schools prefer Canadian/American teachers why not advertise as such!
Just wanted to put this out there and see if it has happened to anyone else and if non Americans/Canadians have felt discriminated against? |
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willteachforfood
Joined: 24 Jan 2011
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| Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2011 3:59 pm Post subject: |
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Yes, this is fairly standard and something that you just have to grin and bear while working in Korea. There are other countries in the world that prefer a European accent over an American one, so it evens out to an extent.
Some people fight it and refuse to speak/spell more American, and some people make this minor concession to spare themselves the headache....but you will find a school to hire you for sure, the question is whether or not they'll ask you to sound more American when you arrive.
While it is ignorant of the schools to place this stipulation, you will find TONS of non-North Americans living and working here, so clearly while they have their preference, it isn't making all that big of a difference when it comes to hiring. Same goes for the Korean preference to not hire fat people, black people, old people, ugly people, and so on....yes, they openly admit their preferences but you can still see plenty of people who don't fit the mold that have found jobs. |
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northway
Joined: 05 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2011 4:11 pm Post subject: |
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| willteachforfood wrote: |
| While it is ignorant of the schools to place this stipulation, you will find TONS of non-North Americans living and working here, so clearly while they have their preference, it isn't making all that big of a difference when it comes to hiring. Same goes for the Korean preference to not hire fat people, black people, old people, ugly people, and so on....yes, they openly admit their preferences but you can still see plenty of people who don't fit the mold that have found jobs. |
I don't think it's always ignorant, considering that I worked with a guy who had an Aussie accent so strong that none of the North American teachers at the school could understand him, let alone the Korean staff. By no means am I saying that this is true across the board for any given country, but there are going to be people who have accents so thick that you probably don't want them to be passing them along. |
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enchoo
Joined: 04 Jul 2004
Location: Heading to a reality show near you
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| Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2011 4:14 pm Post subject: Overt and covert discrimination is widespread all over the |
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WORLD
You can't do anything about it but roll with the punches and keep trying to apply/improve yourself! |
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willteachforfood
Joined: 24 Jan 2011
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| Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2011 4:16 pm Post subject: |
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| northway wrote: |
| willteachforfood wrote: |
| While it is ignorant of the schools to place this stipulation, you will find TONS of non-North Americans living and working here, so clearly while they have their preference, it isn't making all that big of a difference when it comes to hiring. Same goes for the Korean preference to not hire fat people, black people, old people, ugly people, and so on....yes, they openly admit their preferences but you can still see plenty of people who don't fit the mold that have found jobs. |
I don't think it's always ignorant, considering that I worked with a guy who had an Aussie accent so strong that none of the North American teachers at the school could understand him, let alone the Korean staff. By no means am I saying that this is true across the board for any given country, but there are going to be people who have accents so thick that you probably don't want them to be passing them along. |
Sure....and I've met folk from Texas and Louisiana that I could barely understand as well. Even a super thick New York or Boston accent can be pretty tough to understand. Hiring only North Americans hardly guarantees that your teacher won't have an accent.
When I was in Ireland on holiday I met loads of people that I could barely understand...but clearly these people were out liers.
The idea of not hiring someone with an incredibly thick accent makes sense, but the idea that someone automatically has a hard-to-understand accent based solely on their nationality is ridiculous. The judge of one's accent should be done on a case by case basis, and not simply by the name printed on the front of your passport. |
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northway
Joined: 05 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2011 4:28 pm Post subject: |
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| willteachforfood wrote: |
| northway wrote: |
| willteachforfood wrote: |
| While it is ignorant of the schools to place this stipulation, you will find TONS of non-North Americans living and working here, so clearly while they have their preference, it isn't making all that big of a difference when it comes to hiring. Same goes for the Korean preference to not hire fat people, black people, old people, ugly people, and so on....yes, they openly admit their preferences but you can still see plenty of people who don't fit the mold that have found jobs. |
I don't think it's always ignorant, considering that I worked with a guy who had an Aussie accent so strong that none of the North American teachers at the school could understand him, let alone the Korean staff. By no means am I saying that this is true across the board for any given country, but there are going to be people who have accents so thick that you probably don't want them to be passing them along. |
Sure....and I've met folk from Texas and Louisiana that I could barely understand as well. Even a super thick New York or Boston accent can be pretty tough to understand. Hiring only North Americans hardly guarantees that your teacher won't have an accent.
When I was in Ireland on holiday I met loads of people that I could barely understand...but clearly these people were out liers.
The idea of not hiring someone with an incredibly thick accent makes sense, but the idea that someone automatically has a hard-to-understand accent based solely on their nationality is ridiculous. The judge of one's accent should be done on a case by case basis, and not simply by the name printed on the front of your passport. |
That's a fair point, but generally speaking they do avoid hiring Southerners with really strong accents, and those New York and Boston accents you refer to are pretty much dead. Boston's accent in particular is generally turned on or off based on who folks are around. Regardless, a lot of schools don't have anyone who speaks English well enough to tell the difference, so the passport offers the best way they have to distinguish, even if it is flawed. |
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Kurtz
Joined: 05 Jan 2007
Location: ples bilong me
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| Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2011 4:30 pm Post subject: |
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| Before this turns into a another 15 page rant on who speaks the better English, probably ending up with some fight about Filipinos or Indians teaching here; American English is what they prefer, most of the practice CD's they listen to have an American accent, it's how it is here. |
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willteachforfood
Joined: 24 Jan 2011
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| Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2011 4:31 pm Post subject: |
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| northway wrote: |
| That's a fair point, but generally speaking they do avoid hiring Southerners with really strong accents, and those New York and Boston accents you refer to are pretty much dead. Boston's accent in particular is generally turned on or off based on who folks are around. Regardless, a lot of schools don't have anyone who speaks English well enough to tell the difference, so the passport offers the best way they have to distinguish, even if it is flawed. |
Either way....life's not fair.
We all go through life being discriminated against at one point or another. Some of course face more discrimination than others. |
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Mpls_Korean
Joined: 15 Feb 2005
Location: Seoul, Korea
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| Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2011 1:17 am Post subject: |
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| willteachforfood wrote: |
| northway wrote: |
| That's a fair point, but generally speaking they do avoid hiring Southerners with really strong accents, and those New York and Boston accents you refer to are pretty much dead. Boston's accent in particular is generally turned on or off based on who folks are around. Regardless, a lot of schools don't have anyone who speaks English well enough to tell the difference, so the passport offers the best way they have to distinguish, even if it is flawed. |
Either way....life's not fair.
We all go through life being discriminated against at one point or another. Some of course face more discrimination than others. |
Discrimination? I'm Korean-American adopted. I moved over to the US when I was 4, lived with an American family and there's nothing about me that's Korean, except my face. I've been rejected by some schools because I am not "American" enough. WTF?!
Anyways, I'm not holding it against them; it's their loss, right? 
There are plenty of jobs here. Just move on to the next one. There are plenty that only want "British" accents too. |
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chellovek
Joined: 29 Feb 2008
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| Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2011 1:21 am Post subject: Re: Overt and covert discrimination is widespread all over t |
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| enchoo wrote: |
WORLD
You can't do anything about it but roll with the punches and keep trying to apply/improve yourself! |
Yip!
OP will likely be fine. No worries. |
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willteachforfood
Joined: 24 Jan 2011
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| Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2011 1:32 am Post subject: |
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| Mpls_Korean wrote: |
| Discrimination? I'm Korean-American adopted. I moved over to the US when I was 4, lived with an American family and there's nothing about me that's Korean, except my face. I've been rejected by some schools because I am not "American" enough. WTF?! |
If only you'd been more proactive and moved to the US when you were 3. 
Just send them some photos of your father barbecuing something in the back yard and driving a station wagon with wood on the sides. |
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Mpls_Korean
Joined: 15 Feb 2005
Location: Seoul, Korea
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| Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2011 2:19 am Post subject: |
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| willteachforfood wrote: |
| Mpls_Korean wrote: |
| Discrimination? I'm Korean-American adopted. I moved over to the US when I was 4, lived with an American family and there's nothing about me that's Korean, except my face. I've been rejected by some schools because I am not "American" enough. WTF?! |
If only you'd been more proactive and moved to the US when you were 3.
Just send them some photos of your father barbecuing something in the back yard and driving a station wagon with wood on the sides. |
Don't be knockin' the station wagon. I took my driver's test in a station wagon, parallel parking and all.
I tried showing them a picture with me wearing zubaz too, but they weren't having any of that. Wearing zubaz while rolling them up at the ankles.
http://img370.imageshack.us/i/zubazpantsth8.png/sr=1 <--- Just to bring back memories. |
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willteachforfood
Joined: 24 Jan 2011
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| Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2011 4:08 pm Post subject: |
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| Mpls_Korean wrote: |
| I tried showing them a picture with me wearing zubaz too, but they weren't having any of that. Wearing zubaz while rolling them up at the ankles. |
Hmm....then perhaps instead of trying to prove your Americanness....next time work backwards and disprove your Koreanness.
Ask them on the phone whether or not rice is popular in their town because you hate rice and only want to eat potatoes every day. If their brain box doesn't explode they will surely by default consider you American enough to work at their school. |
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sirius black
Joined: 04 Jun 2010
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| Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2011 4:51 pm Post subject: |
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Korea, politically, economically and so on is closely tied to America. Canada has a fair number of Koreans. Koreans want to speak with an American accent (and generally speaking Canadians are usually indistinguishably from Americans phonetically..except the ones that do say 'oot' and 'aboot'...hehe).
Then there is word usage. Some words are different or pronounced differently as well from non North Americans.
Its understandable why the north American accent is preferable because of the ties, job prospects, etc.
The koreans themselve oan't tell at times unless its very a very distinuished accent or they have an ear for it. I tried to explain the differences in accent by liking it to the diffeences between Jeju Island, Seoul and a Geoung Sang province accent (rural accent, Pohang, Ulsan, etc.). I had a tape of an pronounced Ausralian, British and American accent and some kids couldn't tell the difference. It had words with a double 'T' in the middle 'letter, better' and some picked up that the non American said the letter T and the American's pronunciation sounded like a 'D'. I did my best English accent (not great but decent) and pronounced Harry Potter and they said 'ahh' as the light bulb clicked.
When I try and speak korean its a country accent and Koreans in Seoul ask if I am a teacher in the countryside. I've met koreans with an texan accent when they spoke english. One guy went to Tx A&M. It was funny to hear it.
As a side note, with regards to their usual prejudices, size, race, etc. if they take a chance and the teacher is liked and does a good job, its not an issue and it makes it easier for the next person who doesn't fit their preference. In fact, I heard of a public school in gyeonggi do that has hired a number of blacks because they had a good experience with the first one and continued success with others. |
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the ireland
Joined: 11 May 2008
Location: korea
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| Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2011 7:50 pm Post subject: |
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There are loads of jobs available for non Americans / Canadians.
There are lots of us irish people here, just go to Busan any weekend, the place is full of Irish poeple.
American English is what the employers prefer. It's not discrimination, if you can speak without a very very stong accent and you spell you words in the U.S way as much as possible (color, organize, pajamas) then you'll be fine.
You'll actually find that some of the kids think it's great that there are two ways to spell a word, depending on where you're from. |
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