Teacher Discussion Forums

I am a non native english speaker who has a slight accent. i have been going to english school since age 10.
Do you think I will have any problems getting a job as an esl teacher. Here in the U.S. or abroad?
I heard that in some Asian countries they look for "native" speakers only.
Please advise.

reply please

Hi K! I've had Dutch speakers of (excellent) English in China, and Filipino and Indian speakers of (comparatively more accented, but still perfectly acceptable) English in Japan, as colleagues (and good ones they were, too), so there is a chance you could get hired to at least teach TEFL abroad, especially if you now hold a US passport (which would help disguise if not completely conceal the fact that you didn't have quite the full K12 schooling in English, assuming any non-native employers in Asia, of which there are quite a few, would even pick up on your accent). I can't really comment on TESL in the US.