Max Jack-Monroe
Since November 1st, 2018, I have taught English online to kids in China. My sessions are, for the most part, one-on-one (I regularly work with a pair of twins or a family member in the room of certain students may occasionally participate, as well). Like most jobs, mine comes with its ups and downs, especially as from around the time I was first hired on, the company has been going through some major changes. And then there’s the oh-so-common tech snafus. And, of course there’s the time difference, which has made for substantial grogginess. All in all, however, I love working with the kids, the freedom to work at home, and not having to lesson plan due to the platform’s provided courseware.
The not-so-pretty reality, however, is that there are teachers far more competent and skilled at teaching English than I am that will never be able to work for a company like the one I work for.
Sure, one of the major changes to the company is that all teachers must now have a Bachelor’s degree and a TESOL certification (I had to complete the latter online earlier in the winter), and the hiring pool is not limited to native English speakers from North America, as is the case for some other China-based English-learning platforms. And, yes, I realize that they are welcome for teachers of all shades and races, which is certainly not the case everywhere. And, yes, allowing for such for diversity has led to some amusing reactions towards my hair. All of these things are great and do make for a diverse staff. However, like nearly all of these online platforms, only native English speakers can apply. In addition, trainings and announcements are now narrated with a North American voice, as opposed to Chinese-accented English. As someone who cannot speak Chinese, I sometimes have difficulty communicating with students who have little-to-no English.
I wonder what impacts such platforms hiring to “non-native speakers” as well as “native speakers” pf English. may have. Maybe it would make for less linguistic and cultural barriers, if Chinese teachers were hired; maybe it would allow for “non-native speaker” teachers of all nationalities to be more affirmed and confident in themselves and in their abilities.
I really enjoyed your post, even though it talks about an unfortunate reality of hiring discrimination. I am glad your company embraces diversity (hehe, your hair is legendary). However, they should also embrace a diversity of accents, that would make the learning even richer, in my opinion 🙂
What you have posted here has been always in my mind since I started my career as a teacher (or even before that).
As we have discussed in class, there are pros and cons for hiring native speakers of English and non-native speakers of English in a non-native English-speaking country such as China. I believe that education institutions should accept a diversity of Englishes if they hire native speakers of English. At the same time, English education should focus more on a wide range of accents/pronunciations/dialects, instead of one or two specific regions English(es) (ex. North American English or British English). This respect is highly important because if students are educated to use and speak, let’s say, only an American English, they are automatically and unconsciously against (or criticize) other Englishes as a “different” language. Thus, educators and policymakers should learn more about the diverse world Englishes.
Ken
If only there were a secret recipe for teaching and learning languages, I’d be rich. Because let’s face if it was easy we would all be multilingual and that multilingualism would be the norm and that would in turn became the language standard and then we would end right back to where we are now. Just entering the abyss.
This title reminds me of the time when I first learnt English. Because “I’m fine. Thank you. And you?” is one of the first taught English expressions students learn in the Chinese cramming lessons. This article also reminds me of the discussion we had in last class: Why “native speakers” are so preferred in China, South Korea and Japan ESL institutions. I think first of all it’s because that where the so-called native speakers come from are usually developed influential countries, who have the discourse of power in culture. Thus people are more willing to accept native speaker countries’ value, culture as well as their feature of the language. English speakers’ English is viewed standard and fancy. Furthermore, the comparing phenomenon among the ESL institutions should also be noticed. Operating in a society where many people have higher expectation for “native speakers”, the ESL institutions tend to choose a safer strategy to attract and convince their customs that their institutions are professional with the best teachers.
Xin
You raised a good question at the end of your blog about giving affirmation and confidence to non-native speakers of English. As an ESL speaker and teacher, I have always experienced the discrimination against non-native speakers of English. I think after so many years dealing with this problem, I have accepted that this is a reality in my case that I need to confront and I do not have complain about it. However, I learned that I need to add to my competencies in order to bring new things to the table for my students so that I make difference in my teaching which will lead to my affirmation as an ESL speaker and teacher.
Hi Max, thanks for sharing your experience. Personally, I don’t deny the necessity of “nativeness” in language learning. And there is undeniable difference between a language teacher who is a native speaker of the language and who is not. Recalling my personal language learning experience, I’ve been constantly looking for language learning resources that are more “native”. However, my language teachers are all Chinese who have successfully turned me into a fluent English speaker. Associating with my own experience as an ESL teacher, what I want to express here is that let’s rationally view this “nativespeakerism” issue. Let’s not deny the importance of “nativeness” in language learning, and not exaggerate it either. Let’s not deny the importance of non-native languages teachers and not exaggerate it either. They both have their strengths and weaknesses, and as language learners and also teachers, let’s make use of both to our advantages.
Yiling