Hope VS. Reality

[Hypiereon]

A lot of people have high hopes of entering the EFL/ESL field, and though there is a great need for teachers in EFL/ESL, there are some people that need to do a serious reality check. This is another big complaint of mine against recruiters and online training programs. Not that all of them do this, but the ones that do really end up giving people high hopes without a basis in reality.

The high hopes come with advertisments saying that the world needs EFL teachers, and you can get an EFL job, and what a wonderful experience it is to go abroad, the excitement and adventure of traveling to new desinations, and on and on. Soon the prospective teacher is SO lost among their dreams of far away places and exotic locations that they'll fork over the cash to online training courses for a certificate and money to recruiters to find them a position only to find that - and here's the point of this thread - most places (especially in China) want native speakers with foreign faces. [*SURPRISE!*]

I wrote an article about overcoming this hiring bias, but I still get e-mail from determined individuals who have already spent the money for the online course, asking me to help them find a job - they're from France or Poland or some other non-native English speaking country, they admit that their English is not the best, but they have "high hopes and dreams" of being an EFL teacher.

Is it impossible? No. Can they find a job? Yes. The advertisements for online courses and recruiters say as much. What they don't tell you is how hard and challenging it will be to actually land a job. If you're not from a country (such as America, Australia, Canada) that has English as it's native language, it's going to be HARD HARD HARD to find someone willing to look at you. All the high hopes and dreams in the world will not change this. Online courses and schools - I believe (maybe "hope" is a beter word) - will do their best to put your name out there, but even they know how hard it is to find placement for teachers who do not have a native level English ability and are not from a Native English speaking country - yet since this information does not sell online courses or recruiter programs, you won't see it in the brochure.

For sure, even Asians who were born and raised in America have a hard time just because of their looks. How much harder do you think it's going to be if your English ability is not up to native standards? Coming at this with determination and optimism is a great idea - you'll need lots of it. But also realize, all the determination and optimism in the world is to your benefit - it does not somehow magically change people's minds about hiring you. So, have your dreams, persue them to the ends of the earth, but be realistic and look at it from an employer's perspective instead of through the tunnel vision of your own desires.

You can find a job, but it may not be one you like. Given a choice, companies will ALWAYS hire someone with a foreign face and a native English ability over someone who doesn't have these qualities. That's just the fact of it. What happens is the people without a foreign face, not from a foreign country where the native language is English, and who have a non-native level of English ability get what's left over. That means getting hired by schools who couldn't find anyone else to work for them because they were just awful to foreigners or working for schools where no foreigner wants to work (for whatever reason). This is where you will have your pick. Like I told someone else, "Sorry for all the rain" but it's better you come into this with your eyes open instead of being surprised at being treated differently.

[jen]

This is so frustrating and unfair. There are many levels in English. I don't think we need a PhD holder to teach pre-schoolers. Likewise, I don't think we need a native English speaker to teach English, especially to children. Anyone with a good command of English can do so.

Honestly, I want to experience staying overseas through teaching, but the vacancies, like you said, mostly want native speakers. I send my resumes anyway. Miracles do happen, right ?

[BBrian]

It's all about supply and demand. If there are enough native English teachers available, then why on earth would a school choose a non-native English speaker to teach?

If you are a non-native English speaker, then you need to have something special that your competition doesn't.

If my kid was in school trying to learn English, I would DEFINITELY want a native English speaker as the teacher. Pronunciation and accent also passes on to students, hence another reason why a native English teacher is better.

Originally Posted by jen

I don't think we need a PhD holder to teach pre-schoolers.

Yep, a PhD is an overkill.