ENGLISH TEACHERS.

From what I hear is that currently there are a lot of white folks there, and you know discrimination against color, they prefer whites more. Wait and here from the people there though.

Kindly if you get your question answered I would be humbled to also know.
User name (neemak).
Kindest regards

Hi Martin,

I have worked for 4 and a half years in China as an English teacher although I am an Italian native speaker. From my experience it is possible for you to get a job there. One of my former colleagues was from Kenya. I also had a colleague from Zimbabwe. Therefore i think a chance is in store for you as well. My only suggestion is to avoid big cities such as Shanghai and Beijing. They are more strict when it comes to hiring. There is plenty of opportunities in many other cities. English teachers are in huge demand...so go ahead and good luck!

Daniel.

Thanks a lot Daniel. You've given me very vital information. Given more information, please, let me know it.Most well come. Regards. Martin.

Hi Martin,


You are welcome. All what you need to do now is to start sending your emails of application. There are many websites in which you can find several job postings. The one I used 5 years ago was tefl.com. You just need to post your online resume and start applying. You might find many job postings in which they say they only hire native speakers. Do not care about what they write and apply all the same. They state this because they have to. Writing ˇyou MUST be a native speakerˇ is a MUST but differently from all the other countries in the world, they donŽt really mean to say so.  Of course their first option are natives but even non natives are welcome.

I assume you have TEFL or equivalent. If not, as far as I know, you can get it online in a few days.

Good luck in your endeavours and let me know how it goes.

Daniel.

Hey Martin, I am in Shandong province in China, I know a number of Kenyan's teaching here.  Ashton English Schools has several working for them. Check em out.
Rick, Tengzhou China

Hey Rick,

I used to work for Aston Tengzhou about 16 months ago. Have you ever met Eldon? How is Bruce, the big boss, doing?
How many foreign colleagues do you have working there? What a coincidence!!!
Regards,
Daniele Donati.

Daniele, wow that is amazing, I am actually at Yucai Middle school.  I do hang with some of the Ashton group. I believe all of the teachers in Tengzhou are relatively new, I am senior with about 5 months.  There are getting to be more teachers here now.  Starting with the middle schools and the teachers move up as the students do. This program is about 18 months old now.  We have enough English speakers here now we can have some nice gatherings.  I know Frank (Chinese) from the school but not the other managers or owners.  I understand the pay here is much better now too. 8 to 12k  depending....

To bad you are not here now.  Did know any other towns close by with English teachers?  We would like to include as many as we can in our outings and ventures, it makes the quality of life so much better.

Thanks for the note.
Rick

Hi Rick,

It seems the situation has improved a lot recently. When I was in Tengzhou, there was only the two of us, me and Eldon from Canada who left last August. As for the local teachers I believe the ones I used to work with are not there anymore. Local teachers easy come and easy go.

Differently from you, I just worked inside the school. I wasnŽt asked to go to primary or middle or high schools.

I agree with you when you say the more you are the better it is.
Unfortunately, I canŽt be of any help as I wasnŽt acquainted with any other foreign teachers from other towns. But I believe in Jinan there is quite a big community of foreigners.

Anyway, to be honest, I didnŽt enjoy my time in Tengzhou that much. This is why I left after three months only. From my experience itŽs one of the most polluted Chinese cities I have ever been. I also got the worst food poisoning ever. I got it in one of the few restaurants that serves Western food. ItŽs a sort of English corner at the same time...maybe, if my memory serves me right the name is šcoffee languageš or something similar. I remember itŽs located along the pedestrian street in one of the corners of a small square. I will never forget that night so just in case...watch out.

I wish you a pleasant stay there and please do mention my name at school...maybe there are still some survivors from the time I was there :-)

Daniele.

I am having lunch with one the teachers from Ashton, I will pass on your hello. 
Things have changed, there are more teachers who don't work for Ashton than do.  Several are with a company out of Australia and have ladies from NZ and Australia on contract here.  I work for the school and am here on a Z visa.  We have two more coming to the school in June like me.  I live on campus, teach 2 45 minute classed 4 days a week, get all the holidays, 20 days paid vac, insurance and make over 10k rmb per month.  It is better than Ashton. 
Sorry you had a bad experience here, I know several others who did too, I think we have reached a critical mass where we can lean on each other and make it enjoyable.
Thanks for the heads up, I have avoided the food problems so far, knock on wood.
Nice to hear from you, all info is appreciated.
Rick

Gorgan wrote:

Hi Martin,

...There is plenty of opportunities in many other cities. English teachers are in huge demand...so go ahead and good luck!

Daniel.

Vital information, thanks a lot. But could you please be more specific about the cities? I guess French is not as much in demand as English, but is there opportunities for French tutoring?

Thanks again.

I need a native english speaker to teach my children American History from this September. I am a Chinese in Nanjing, Jiangsu province.

Hi ,

Normally there is a strict requirement for native english speakers here as most of the parents look forward to make their children learn American english or british english. Even if people from other countries get a job as a teacher they wont get paid well because of this misconception among Chinese people that only native english speakers are good to go.

American history is easy.  We came, we saw, we conquered, we went broke.

Ok, so you have a big event coming soon. What do you want? Your message means nothing at all. It is as vague as a mud. State your message clearly.

Perhaps your grammar needs to be reviewed as it is riddled with errors. I hope your students are a lot better than your English writing.

My name is Dionne (a Canadian living in Jamaica). I hope I can get some information about English teaching positions.
The Ministry of Education in Jamaica has announced that they will no long be hiring teachers due to IMF stipulations. There are so many teachers graduating from teacher colleges and many unemployed teachers here in Jamaica yet there is a huge demand for English teachers in China but whenever I make contact with schools in China or recruiters, they tell me that Jamaicans are not eligible for English teaching positions in China because they are not considered native English speakers and aren't eligible for work visas. I don't know if anyone know anything contrary to that - or if  anyone knows language schools/companies that recruit Jamaican teacher.
~Any info will help

Douglas, the best way to find out is for the teacher to apply in person here in China as there are rules like what you stated that currently exist in some Chinese cities. Schools normally prefer white skinned teachers with blue or green eyes as they are marketed to the parents as clowns.
Your Jamaican teachers, if they are really good, can find schools that will hire them for their skills and knowledge.

Thank you so much for the information - I really appreciate it. and if anyone happens to know of any country who will accept teachers from Jamaica, it will be highly appreciated

dmdouglas1 wrote:

My name is Dionne (a Canadian living in Jamaica). I hope I can get some information about English teaching positions.
The Ministry of Education in Jamaica has announced that they will no long be hiring teachers due to IMF stipulations. There are so many teachers graduating from teacher colleges and many unemployed teachers here in Jamaica yet there is a huge demand for English teachers in China but whenever I make contact with schools in China or recruiters, they tell me that Jamaicans are not eligible for English teaching positions in China because they are not considered native English speakers and aren't eligible for work visas. I don't know if anyone know anything contrary to that - or if  anyone knows language schools/companies that recruit Jamaican teacher.
~Any info will help

I replied to this same post in another thread.

Hi there,

What you heard from those schools is totally untrue. I am Italian. Despite my nationality I easily managed to find schools in China. During my stay in China I had colleagues from many different countries...I could mention Zimbabwe and Kenya, which means thee color of the skin is not that crucial.

What's more, if I got it right, you are Canadian, which definitely makes things easier for you. Btw, this is the right time for applying since schools start in September. If you get negative answers keep applying and applying...something good will crop up soon.

How is living and working in Jamaica? Is it a safe country? Are there any chance I get hired as an English teacher there?

Daniel.

Gorgan, Zimbabwe and Kenya are in Africa and with China' keen Internet in Africa, they have softened their policy with that continent. You might have seen blacks teaching but you clearly forget the other side of the story.
Jamaica is not in Africa. And the writer is Canadian in citizenship but Black Jamaican in race and color.
Furthermore, he is not seeking a job. Instead he is trying to help his fellow Jamaicans find a decent teaching job outside Jamaica.
Besides, have you seen an Ugandan or Congolese or Tanzanian teaching in China or Thailand?
Italians are different too. They have white skin so you stand higher in category.
Try to speak with immigration officials and probably you will understand more how the system in this country works.

I don't know how it works between China and Jamaica. But of one thing I am certain, which is the colleagues from Zimbabwe and Kenya I was writing about were black skinned and not white with blue eyes. They didn't have to struggle to find a school. They applied until they got what they aimed for. This is what they told me. I don't have any reason not to believe them. Aside from that it's not unusual to find black skinned teachers in China. I had the opportunity to get acquainted with them when I was there.

From my experience discriminations are made in most of the other countries of the world. For istance despite both my certificates and long teaching experience the only country where I can pursue my goal of teaching English is China. In all the other countries (Italy included) what counts is the passport I hold in my hands. Meritocracy is not taken into any sort of account...anyway, this is a different story.

Just to cut a story short It's really hard for me to believe Jamaicans are not going to be given a chance because of their colour. I want to keep encouraging all those who want to move to China not to give up their fight (as legendary Bob Marley used to say)and keep applying. I am sure there is an opportunity in store for them as well

I don't think an English teacher from Kenya can be needed in China. They Usually like them from America or Canada and they like the standard accents of English.

I have stated that I WASN'T REFERRING TO COLOR. I NEED NOT be told about what it is like for a person of color to find a job. I AM referring to China's work visa policies and being offered a position BEFORE entrance into china for persons in Jamaica. I am a recruiter as mentioned, so I'm in contact with numerous schools and recruitment agencies in China. I don't think you understand at all what I am saying. I AM SEARCHING FOR LOOP HOLES that anyone may know of as it relates to work visas - other than to tell my clients that I need them to buy a ticket to China and search for a job by themselves:

Please see the following conversation between myself and one of the many recruitment agencies in China to catch my drift:
Nice to meet you Dionne
Malisa Chen: Are you an agent?
Dionne Douglas: I'm a TESL teacher and and an agent - I do both
Malisa Chen: oh i see
Dionne Douglas: I'm from Canada and I am living in Jamaica right now.
Dionne Douglas: The Ministry of Education in Jamaica has stopped hiring teachers so there are many unemployed teachers.
Dionne Douglas: Jamaica is the biggest English-speaking country in the Caribbean
Dionne Douglas: we have many resumes from teachers - I was wondering if I could send you some of their resumes.
Malisa Chen: but those schools we have need teachers from usa ,uk austrailia ,ireland Nz
Dionne Douglas: oh, I see.
Dionne Douglas: Do you think any of the employers would do a telephone interview or a Skype interview? to hear how the teachers sound. If not, I understand.
Malisa Chen: normally all schools do skype interview
Malisa Chen: the main problem is working visa
Malisa Chen: who hold other countries passport except those  countries i listed
Malisa Chen: would be hard to get working visa

Douglas, it is all about color here and there is no way you can go around that kind of wrong system that prevails here in China. As I have said, anyone who is not white with blue eyes and golden hair will find it hard to teach here. The best way is to apply in person and chances of getting a job will be I'm remote areas of China.

I understand the color issue - it exists in many places - I was responding to Gorgan's message. More specifically, I wanted to know about loop holes to the work visas so I could know how to get teachers placed there if possible. I receive emails like this:

I am a recruiter for ChinaESL, a professional employment and visa agency based in Beijing, the capital of China. As China opens up to the world, the demand for English in the curriculum all across China has risen drastically, and ChinaESL has been at the forefront of helping to meet this demand for over nine years.
With that said, we are now recruiting ESL teachers to fill over 20 available positions in our schools. Please find information below, detailing benefits, requirements etc.


Requirements for the candidates:
1)Native Caucasian English speakers from the US, Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand or Ireland(Europeans with a good command of the English language is also acceptable)

If I were you I would change recruitment agency. Keep trying and trying...as I said never give up. It will take some time and a lot of efforts but I believe you can succeed.

The skin color issue is a minor one. I have lived in China for almost five years and in different locations. I have had black skinned teachers and met some others from other schools. They are a minority but there is still a chance for them as well.

Chinese ESL market is booming. Language schools pop up like mushrooms everywhere. There is a huge demand of teachers. It's impossible for them to fill all the positions with native speakers only.Teachers who belong to other nationalities are still welcome especially in the smallest cities (when I say small cities I mean cities with 5 million people at least).

In big metropolises such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou it's a different story since the aforementioned cities are the preferred ones by Westerners. Recruiters have no problems finding teachers from native speaking countries. But in other cities the situation is pretty different. Not all foreigners are that eager to have a go in other cities. Some of the colleagues I used to work with told me something like: "Or Shanghai or nothing. Or Beijing or nothing. Or Guanzhou or nothing" which is not the right approach in my opinion. Therefore recruiters have no choice but to consider applications coming from other countries. This is how I got my first job five years ago. My first destination was Wenzhou and it was a very good experience.

China is a huge country with many big and comfortable cities to live in. I could mention Wuhan, Wuxi, Chongqing, Nanjing, Chengdu, Wenzhou, Xiamen and many others. My suggestion is to expand your research as much as you can...something good will crop up soon for sure. I hope my encouragement is of help to you. Good luck!!!

Thanks - any ideas about the work-visa issue?