Yeah,
great blog Phil. I agree with almost all of what you said. I would say though that it’s not strictly true that only Brits can get work in Saudia - all nationalities are catered for (on the native speaker scale that is). You’ll find a lot of Americans, Canadians, Irish, Australians, indeed it’s a fairly normal mix of nationalities represented across a broad spectrum.
As you rightly say, “...there is a chronic English teacher shortage in Asia, things will look up sooner or later as schools get desperate to put teachers in the classrooms.“
I’m not sure I share your optimism as there has been a shortage for many years, and I wrote about it in an article for the English Language Gazette highlighting the fact that there are at least 100,000 teachers needed in Thailand. This was confirmed by the then Minister of Education, so it beggars belief that schools will not employ perfectly competent individuals regardless of age, colour, gender, native or no-native etc., etc.
This is a blip on the radar of the supply/demand dynamic too which ensures that gaps get filled where and when they are needed, but that is not and has not been happening here, and it’s something that needs to be radically changed IMHO. It also knocks on the head the monetarist idea in economics that markets always correct themselves if left unchecked, but in Thailand with such a shortfall of teachers this has not happened at all and many students are being taught by local Thai teachers with barely a passing knowledge of English.
This means that the students are being taught all the mistakes the local teacher makes which worsens the problem. In this scenario, it would be better that those students were not taught at all rather than by someone wholly incapable of teaching that subject as the damage is often irreparable and the incorrect grammar and pronunciation, for example, is often reproduced by the students for the rest of their lives.
I’ve seen this first hand e.g. the bigotry of Asian parents who discriminate against even members of their own racial group.
“Not only black teachers can encounter bigoted parents and school administrators. Foreign born Asians such as ABCs (American born Chinese) or ABTs (American born Thais) will often have a difficult time persuading schools to hire them.“
What better teacher could you have? One that has been taught Asian values and who can also speak as fluently as a native speaker?
“Sometimes these teachers - who carry foreign passports - don’t even speak their parents’ or grand-parents’ tongue anymore. Again, ruling these job seekers out - even if they’re qualified - is a parochial approach that doesn’t have a place in our globalised world.“
Absolutely spot on with the growth of International English which I’ve talked about on my blog.
Finally, I also agree with the following:
“The funny things when looking at job boards is, job requirements are usually very rigorous but salary is often a complete joke.“
I always laugh when I see the list of requirements in the job description. The only thing seemingly missing sometimes is that you have to clean the boss’s toilet, or paint the building green every six months or some other equally ridiculous task. But then when you look at the salary of say, 25,000 baht you fall down with laughter.
I just saw an ad on jobs.ac.uk, an education site where I also contribute articles, and I saw the following article. Here are the jobs requirements (which are called “emoluments” don’t you know!):
III. JOB DESCRIPTION
Members of the ELI are expected to be at the university for five working days per week during academic terms, normally from 9.00 am to 5.00 pm or 10.30 am to 6.30 pm.
All members are involved in the following:
1. Teaching eight one-and-a-half hour classes per week in each of two fifteen-week terms per year
2. Working in the ELI Conversation Lounge or adjacent skills practice areas for 2 one-and-a-half hour periods per week
3. Participating as a member of a research team in one of the institute’s research projects
4. Participating in the ELI Professional Development Programme
5. Attending scheduled weekly meetings and activities of the ELI and other special meetings which may from time to time be called
6. Attending special ceremonies and events conducted by the university including entrance exams and ceremonies, the graduation ceremony and the Open Campus Day in July
7. Participating in functions organized by the ELI including the student welcome party and the administrations of the Kanda English Proficiency Test (KEPT)
8. Cooperating with the Public Relations section of the university in the promotion of the university to high schools students and other interested parties.
God! If I was doing all of that, I’d never have time to teach!!
Thanks for your post Phil! Keep ‘em coming.
Tom
After reading your article, I would like to state that not everything is always what it seems.
Status(Loss of face)
One of the most important aspects in Thai Culture.
It may be perceived as discrimination by foreigners.
“It dont matter if you’re black or white”, but
“It matters if I (school/parent/etc) lose face or not when hiring you”
One could check the Human Development Index. The Philippines are ranked below Thailand. Maybe that is why Thais believe it lowers their status.
Most countries would not hire people from less developed countries to teach them.
I was born and grew up in Belgium, and I am against any form of discrimination and injustice. But unfortunately, Thailand is not Belgium, and my rules do not apply here…
The ads just reflect what increases their status. Whether that is discriminating, right or wrong, depends on whether you interpret it the Thai or Western way I guess.
Excellent blog Phil!
I can only admire and applaud the clarity of issues that really need to be raised from under the carpet. By stating the issues and the benefits of related attitude changes, your blog is definitely a must for both admin and teachers who perpetrate these mindsets. It also encourages those who consider them outdated and out of place in our brave new world.
As you rightly pointed out, a major driver of these issues is the ‘client’, the parent(s) therefore if their tuition value-views alter, the service providers will also need to change.
Great blog Phil!
I’m sad to say we still do get the occasional job ad that says ‘white teachers only’ or worse still - “no black teachers” but they are now very few and far between compared to past years. Perhaps the penny has finally dropped. I do make a point of sending an abrupt, some would say ‘rather nasty’ e-mail to such advertisers and they usually apologize and feel overwhelmed with embarrassment. In most cases, the person who has been given the task of posting the ad is some lowly admin person who genuinely feels there is nothing wrong in putting “no black teachers please” in a job description. It’s all about educating people and explaining that you are not allowed to do these things in this day and age.
I have always sympathized with older teachers who are struggling to find work and realising that age is definitely the barrier. I’m fast approaching fifty myself (OK I’m 46 but time just flies) and I do feel less marketable, at least as far as teaching is concerned. I once worked with a teacher well into his 70’s and while he wasn’t God’s gift to the teaching profession (we could never knock the lecturer mindset out of him) you could never fault his energy level.
Good article Phil, and well thought out.
My own reply is based on a small section of your article: age discrimination.
I can assure you from my own present personal situation that Thai employers discriminate against 60 year-olds.
I turned 60 in December 2009, and in March 2010, the private school I had been working at for the last two years, suddenly decided to replace me. Nothing wrong with my performance, in fact the Principal and the kids loved me, but it was the manager (a Thai male) who decided that I was out, even though he had never once watched a class of mine during those two years.
Since then I have applied for countless jobs, and received nothing. My agent (a Thai female) suddenly seemed distant when I asked her to notify me if a position came up. Then one day, I telephoned a government school in Thailand with a vacancy, and the Principal informed me that the Thai government has told government administrators not to employ anyone over 60!
That hit me really hard. I had just wasted countless hours applying for jobs, and not one single employer had the decency to inform me of the Thai age discrimination rule, including my own ex-boss!
It’s true that I am 60, but my friends don’t believe me, and tell me I look 50. I am physically fit; have a full head of hair; no beer-belly; and I speak the Queen’s English.
At this moment in time, I have decided more or less to pack up and go home. In my native land I would have another five years to work productively, but Thailand decides that I am too old to be a teacher.
By Philip Bennison, Thailand on 2010-05-31