No questions about qualifications, experience, my residency status, nothing. They simply wanted to know what my nationality was. I asked them if what they really mean is that they don’t hire South Africans, the lady giggled nervously and I said it’s their loss and hung up.
The ad said that all accents are welcome. Even then, I’m willing to adjust my accents (although I think it’s unnecessary), and have often been mistaken as hailing from either Vancouver or Miama by acutal North Americans (I was quick to correct them ).What gives? There are plenty of South Africans employed as teachers all over Taiwan, working legally with their government granted work permits. This is the first time I’ve been shafted so directly and without any chance to prove myself. I’m in the process of getting my PGCE, and one of my subjects would be to teach English. She didn’t stick around long enough to find out about that, either.
So now that it appears that the low birth rate and rising supply of English teachers are becoming reasons to give South Africans the shaft. A well-known agend, Jenny, based in Daan, strongly recommends South Africans. She tells potential employers that we are known for our strong work ethic and cooperative spirit at work. This is a generalization, sure, but would be far from the first time I’ve heard it. She claims to receive few complaints from employers concerning their South African employees.
Don’t take it as an indication that this will happen to you every time you phone places. The person you spoke to was either an idiot or was employed by an idiot. Idiocy is a common global phenomenon. Mark it down as a place you wouldn’t want to work at and call up another school.
Best of luck Dr Keith. The right school is out there somewhere.
I work as an English teacher and have had numerous jobs although the extent to which my nationality works against me isn’t clear. What irks me to no end is the Taiwanese worship of American English and blind preference they show to it. Since I have been here I’ve had to use American pronunciations for everything which feels so unnatural for me. I have even been asked to fake an American accent in front of the parents which would have got me right pissed off if I wasn’t having a blast turning on the thickest southern drawl I could muster. God forbid these children get a rounded education by being exposed to British English. Like it really matters when applying for university whether you pronounce things like an American or a Brit.
I know hordes of Britishers that have been turned down after being told that their English was faulty! Imagine that!
Let’s face a fact: the bland nasal North American twinge is the favoured flavour. A shame really, as otherwise some of the widely diverging nuance of the English language could be experienced.
Alas, monotony carries the day. Though there are notable exceptions, and praise Allah for that.
[quote=“urodacus”]
Anyway, if you’re a white South African, how can you be a native speaker? :loco:[/quote]
You’re joking right? The 1820 Settlers in SA were British. Add to that an education system given entirely in English and we are as native as they come.
The bastardisation of the English language as touted by Americans with their nasal twang and saying “like” every third word is an abomination to my ears.
[quote=“TheGingerMan”]I know hordes of Britishers that have been turned down after being told that their English was faulty! Imagine that!
Let’s face a fact: the bland nasal North American twinge is the favoured flavour. A shame really, as otherwise some of the widely diverging nuance of the English language could be experienced.
Alas, monotony carries the day. Though there are notable exceptions, and praise Allah for that.[/quote]
The English being told their English is faulty. Only imaginable in Taiwan!
You have to admit that you’d be loathe to find the omission of ‘UK’ on a list of ‘qualified’ candidates rather than that of ‘SA’.
[quote=“thrilla”][quote=“urodacus”]
Anyway, if you’re a white South African, how can you be a native speaker? :loco:[/quote]
You’re joking right? The 1820 Settlers in SA were British. Add to that an education system given entirely in English and we are as native as they come.
The bastardisation of the English language as touted by Americans with their nasal twang and saying “like” every third word is an abomination to my ears. [/quote]
Sorry but not all South Africans are 100% native speakers of English. I’ve met a good few Afrikaans native speakers who suffer mother tongue interference when speaking English. Not saying this disqualifies South Africans from teaching English…just that there a few exceptions to the rule.
[quote=“the bear”][quote=“thrilla”][quote=“urodacus”]
Anyway, if you’re a white South African, how can you be a native speaker? :loco:[/quote]
You’re joking right? The 1820 Settlers in SA were British. Add to that an education system given entirely in English and we are as native as they come.
The bastardisation of the English language as touted by Americans with their nasal twang and saying “like” every third word is an abomination to my ears. [/quote]
Sorry but not all South Africans are 100% native speakers of English. I’ve met a good few Afrikaans native speakers who suffer mother tongue interference when speaking English. Not saying this disqualifies South Africans from teaching English…just that there a few exceptions to the rule.[/quote]
I’m sure the French speaking Canadians are somehow better than the Afrikaans South Africans at the Engleesh.
[quote=“DrKeith”][quote=“TheGingerMan”]I know hordes of Britishers that have been turned down after being told that their English was faulty! Imagine that!
Let’s face a fact: the bland nasal North American twinge is the favoured flavour. A shame really, as otherwise some of the widely diverging nuance of the English language could be experienced.
Alas, monotony carries the day. Though there are notable exceptions, and praise Allah for that.[/quote]
The English being told their English is faulty. Only imaginable in Taiwan![/quote]
Point or order: I mentioned “Bristishers”, not the farging slimey Limeys, who deserve all the comeuppance they can muster.
Rather, it’s the odd sods of the empire with whom me empathy lies.
You’re certainly right in saying that there are plenty of South Africans that are not native speakers. For this reason, and because of non-native speakers who possess a passport from either US, UK, NZ, SA, AUS, or CA, schools should make a language proficiency test mandatory for all applicants. Speaking, writing, listening, pronunciation, what have you. There ARE individuals who have the required teaching skills but may have grown up with a different home language.
Is it really about strictly having grown up with English as a home language, or is it also the ‘Westernism’ you bring along with you? The more relaxed approach to teaching, exposing your children to a diverse educational experience? What are the prerequisites for ‘teaching’ English in Taiwan?
That’s why I found the ‘you’re not a native speaker’ line so alarming. The agent (if I wasn’t so nitpicky myself about spelling, the poster’s insistence that it was a typo would probably have annoyed me - my suspicion is that he too is unemployed and has perhaps a bit too much time on his hands) in question didn’t even require me to bring a resume or any other proof of credentials. She simply wanted me to show up, to assess my candidacy by virtue of my appearance alone. It barely fazed her that I’m in the process of obtaining my teaching license.
I suppose being on the negative end of discrimination could be a humbling experience. I’m resisting though, ha.
No questions about qualifications, experience, my residency status, nothing. They simply wanted to know what my nationality was. I asked them if what they really mean is that they don’t hire South Africans, the lady giggled nervously and I said it’s their loss and hung up.
The ad said that all accents are welcome. Even then, I’m willing to adjust my accents (although I think it’s unnecessary), and have often been mistaken as hailing from either Vancouver or Miama by acutal North Americans (I was quick to correct them ).What gives? There are plenty of South Africans employed as teachers all over Taiwan, working legally with their government granted work permits. This is the first time I’ve been shafted so directly and without any chance to prove myself. I’m in the process of getting my PGCE, and one of my subjects would be to teach English. She didn’t stick around long enough to find out about that, either.
So now that it appears that the low birth rate and rising supply of English teachers are becoming reasons to give South Africans the shaft. A well-known agend, Jenny, based in Da’an, strongly recommends South Africans. She tells potential employers that we are known for our strong work ethic and cooperative spirit at work. This is a generalization, sure, but would be far from the first time I’ve heard it. She claims to receive few complaints from employers concerning their South African employees.
Not a pleasant experience. Thoughts?[/quote]
Ah, don’t worry about it. Lotsa Taiwanese are being rejected by cram schools in the West for not being able to write simplified Chinese characters. :discodance: :discodance:
One rarely meets a butt-hurt safrican here. It’s just one Safrican blaming his safricaness for not getting a job.
The op wrote [quote]They simply wanted to know what my nationality was. I asked them if what they really mean is that they don’t hire South Africans, the lady giggled nervously and I said it’s their loss and hung up.[/quote]
What’s wrong with an employer who is only allowed to hire people from approved countries asking what nationality you are?
edit: I see, the title of the thread contains the missing information. You spoke to an idiot. Who would want to work for ‘Uncle Jason’s English School’ anyway? Have some self respect man!
Yes they must abolish this passport ruling .Its truly assinine. I have met at least two Germans (believe it or not) who speak english with a brit accent. Properly , as far as I can ascertain.
And of course there could be a “newly” American passport holder who really cant speak english on the opposite end of the coin.
Speaking English is a learned skill , not a God given trait due to holding a certain passport.
[quote=“tommy525”]Yes they must abolish this passport ruling .Its truly assinine. I have met at least two Germans (believe it or not) who speak english with a brit accent. Properly , as far as I can ascertain.
And of course there could be a “newly” American passport holder who really cant speak english on the opposite end of the coin.
Speaking English is a learned skill , not a God given trait due to holding a certain passport.[/quote]
Yes but it would really make it complicated wouldn’t it if you had to test every individual’s English skills. The Taiwanese like it real simple, i.e. based on the color of your passport. The number of times I’ve had to re-edit some trash that’s supposedly been edited by a “Canadian” who is obviously just a rich Taiwanese kid whose parents have bought him a passport. :raspberry:
).What gives? There are plenty of South Africans employed as teachers all over Taiwan, working legally with their government granted work permits. This is the first time I’ve been shafted so directly and without any chance to prove myself. I’m in the process of getting my PGCE, and one of my subjects would be to teach English. She didn’t stick around long enough to find out about that, either.
