Does a teach have to be Native US AUS etc?

[abeu]

Hi, recently I have been very interested in going to Korea and teach English.

I have been browsing this forum and other sites and I find that alot of ads states the teacher have to of Native English background.

The thing is, I am Chinese, I was born in China and migrated to Australia when I was 13. I'm 24 now by the way. My English is as good as any native Aussie, I have no accent and I speak very clearly.

I can understand that if I was learning English as a Korean person, I would prefer a native foreigner to teach me. But my English is not any different.
Will being Chinese become a hurdle in my job hunt?

[Billy]

This question has been asked soooo many times before.

You may think your English is as good as a native, but there will be aspects that only a native English speaker will have. Not only are you required to teach English, but are also required to share the culture of Australia, how life was as a child growing up in Australia. As you were in China, and I'm sure even as a teenager in Australia, you most likely were surrounded by Chinese friends, Chinese food and culture etc., and these are just some other areas where a native English speaker will have benefit over you.

We are comparing you (a semi-native English speaker) to a full native English speaker. Who do you think the schools will choose first? I'm not saying that you wont do a good job, but at this stage, there are enough full native English speakers without having to look elsewhere.

So you really need to find some unique selling point as to why schools should hire you instead of a native English speaker.

[abeu]

Thank you so much for your reply. Sorry I didn't think of using the search function.

I udnerstand you perfectly, guess I'll just have to convince them that I'm as fair dinkum as the next Aussie, and that If I'm surrounded by Chinese friends I would have been the type to go and teach and China.

I'll dig deep to find that selling point.

Thank you once again.

[Billy]

Great! Make sure you can find that selling point. If you have an Aussie passport, that would be great. It would also be a great idea to conveniently leave off the fact that you only arrived to Australia when you were 13. May want to consider a teacher training course too.

Good luck buddy!

[abeu]

Great tip mate

Thanks, think I might just tell them both of my ex's for 2 years are Korean and I can't live without Kimchi

Anyways Cheers

[Mikepass]

One of the problems in Korea is that they not only want people who are native English speakers, but they want them to look like native English speakers. I am currently working in an elementary school in Korea. The teacher before me was a Korean who had lived in America for many years, he spoke very good English. They didn't re-employ him because they, the Education Board, wanted a "true" native speaker. Another school, close to mine, rejected an applicant because of a Thai heritage.

I'm not sure if this is policy within the whole of the Education Department or just my local one, but it seems to be the way things are going. Stupid if you ask me.

You may have some luck trying in the Hogwans (private academies), but I have no experience with them.

My advice would be to jump on as many sites as you can and get as many opinions as possible, trying to avoid the mountain of FUD of course. More over though, just apply for jobs and see how you go.

Make sure of course that you have a Degree and a TESOL certificate with at least a hundred hours of study.

Good luck, Korea is a great place to be.

Cheers

Mike.