New to HCMC

Finding an English teaching position is just like any other job. You need to contact potential employers and apply with your CV/resume, which doesn't need to be to fancy but should have a professional-looking photo.

You can send e-mails to schools that are looking and maybe post your CV/resume here (scroll down for the jobs):
https://vietnamteachingjobs.com

Otherwise, dress up a bit and knock on doors with some hard copies of your CV. Almost every school has a website/facebook page where you can get names and addresses. Just search for 'english school hcmc'. Lots of expats/teachers groups on FB, too. Basically, network, find some English teachers (go to bars), get some leads.

Most of the work is teaching kids and teens, or IELTS test prep. There will be some demand for p/t teachers in public schools when the school years starts.

Finally, with your background as a credit manager, If you can get some teaching experience and also look into how to create a course (needs analysis, placement/level testing, content selection, syllabus creation, scheduling, assessment and evaluation, etc.), maybe you can land some corporate classes in the banking/finance/business sector.

What hometown city is your wife from?  If she is from a smaller city, you might consider looking there, as schools there may have fewer native speakers available and be more willing to consider teachers who do not meet all work permit requirements.

The only area where I would take exception to johnross23's comments is in the area of public school work.  This is the only area where the government has real leverage as they can ask for paperwork on all teachers placed in public schools.  There was a crackdown when I was employed (with a permit) and my school had to be sure all public school teachers had all their work permitting in order.  For the ineligible teachers working at the center, they simply took their names off the scheduling board and had them lay low for a few days.

Private tutoring or corporate jobs are possible but more likely once you have a regular job and some experience to make yourself more attractive in that respect.

Thanks for the great info on this.

So I heard in the news that they are raising standards for English teacher. Does this mean additional credential and certification will be needed in the future?

QuidProQuo wrote:

So I heard in the news that they are raising standards for English teacher. Does this mean additional credential and certification will be needed in the future?

This could be the case, but haven't seen or heard anything about this.

If you have a link to the news, please post it.

In general, language schools, which are privately owned businesses, are free to hire whomever they choose, which is not necessarily based on qualifications but on availability and personality.

QuidProQuo wrote:

So I heard in the news that they are raising standards for English teacher.

Probably wishful thinking on the part of government bureaucrats.  They don't even have 100% compliance with the current standards of a 4 year degree plus a TEFL course.

THIGV wrote:

QuidProQuo wrote:

So I heard in the news that they are raising standards for English teacher.

Probably wishful thinking on the part of government bureaucrats.  They don't even have 100% compliance with the current standards of a 4 year degree plus a TEFL course.

I think you will find it relates to Vietnamese teachers more than foreigners.

CamtheMan wrote:

I'm a Credit manager back in Canada and Just finished my TEFL Cert.

I inferred from the above that you do not have a 4 year degree but that is not necessarily true.  If you have a 4 year degree, my apologies for reading into your statement.  You should be able to work legally.  Whether you can overcome hiring prejudices against people who appear to be Asian is another problem.  Hence my comment about looking for work in smaller cities.

colinoscapee wrote:

I think you will find it relates to Vietnamese teachers more than foreigners.

Just before I left, my school wanted me to do a two week stint in Ben Tre, my wife's home town.  The goal (in two weeks?  ) was to get local English teachers up to the current standard which at  the time was to pass the the FCE exam.  This only signifies a CEFR B2 or upper intermediate level.  It is about the same as IELTS 6.0.  At the time a significant number of English teachers, particularly outside of HCMC and Hanoi were not passing the test.

THIGV wrote:

colinoscapee wrote:

I think you will find it relates to Vietnamese teachers more than foreigners.

Just before I left, my school wanted me to do a two week stint in Ben Tre, my wife's home town.  The goal (in two weeks?  ) was to get local English teachers up to the current standard which at  the time was to pass the the FCE exam.  This only signifies a CEFR B2 or upper intermediate level.  It is about the same as IELTS 6.0.  At the time a significant number of English teachers, particularly outside of HCMC and Hanoi were not passing the test.

Basically, still the same.

Heard and seen it briefly from one of those VTV network. And it specifically stated foreign instructors

Maybe they were referring to non-native teachers.

It's nice to meet you. Im a local from Hochiminh city

Government is planning to introduce some stringent knowledge norms with respect to familiarity with Wren & Martin grammer. Government finds the present teaching staff sub standard on grammer and only good on speaking skills.

andidips wrote:

Government is planning to introduce some stringent knowledge norms with respect to familiarity with Wren & Martin grammer. Government finds the present teaching staff sub standard on grammer and only good on speaking skills.

Vietnamese government?
What's your news source?
thx

QuidProQuo wrote:

So I heard in the news that they are raising standards for English teacher. Does this mean additional credential and certification will be needed in the future?

I don't know anything about that, but I do know that the changes in Visa policy which will require a maximum 30-day permission to stay on tourist visas is primarily intended to ferret out illegal English teachers, according to my visa agent in Hanoi.

OceanBeach92107 wrote:

QuidProQuo wrote:

So I heard in the news that they are raising standards for English teacher. Does this mean additional credential and certification will be needed in the future?

I don't know anything about that, but I do know that the changes in Visa policy which will require a maximum 30-day permission to stay on tourist visas is primarily intended to ferret out illegal English teachers, according to my visa agent in Hanoi.

Yeah, worry about those pesky teachers,but turn a blind eye to all the illegal Chinese workers....makes sense.

gobot ....This was told directly by one of the heads of a frontline english school in HCMC when one of my acquaintance appeared for an interview. it was told that institutions would like to concentrate more on grammer than speaking abilities. A written test was taken which was also heavily grammer loaded. Thanks.

Well, it's now very much a moot point with regard to qualifications, visas, grammar, NES vs. NNES, etc. since that virus thing you may have heard about occurred.

Until the borders are opened and int'l flights resume, the labor pool available for foreign teachers in public schools/language institutes/unis/etc. comprises exactly those who have remained here. That's it.

Schools are going to start the reopening process on Monday:

"Over 1.7 million HCMC students will resume school from Monday after a three-and-a-half month break, and Hanoi has similar reopening plans."
https://e.vnexpress.net/news/news/saigo … 89182.html

Not sure when language institutes will reopen but a number of them are already advertising for foreign teachers.

Should be a massive teachers' market until the country opens back up. Schools are probably going to plea that they're "broke" after 3+ months of being closed during any salary negotiations, but if you're in the teaching field, you should play hardball with them because there's likely to be a lot of desperate HR people around.

andidips wrote:

gobot ....This was told directly by one of the heads of a frontline english school in HCMC when one of my acquaintance appeared for an interview. it was told that institutions would like to concentrate more on grammer than speaking abilities. A written test was taken which was also heavily grammer loaded. Thanks.

Since you seem to be a grammar stickler, you might want to avoid using the pronoun "it" to describe your acquaintances.   "It was said" might be considered correct but you clearly chose the verb "told" which is different.   Also English should be capitalized and grammar is spelled with a penultimate letter "a".  The spelling is true in both US and UK English.  Sorry to seem pedantic but if you are going to be a grammar advocate, you have to live up to the role.

Somehow I suspect that this is all mostly wishful thinking on your part.  Many well educated Indians have apparently perfect grammar but are difficult for Western English speakers to understand because of their accent.  I used to give my students digital examples of Indian speakers, along with people from other places, to encourage them to broaden their ability to understand a range of English speaking voices.  Perhaps the school was looking for a discrete way to reject your friend's application.

Your allusion to Wren & Martin displays a certain parochialism.  I had never heard of it so I looked it up and found that it was a grammar that was developed for the teaching of the children of British military officers  who were posted to India.   I suppose it may have become the standard for the Indian upper castes but that by no means makes it a suitable grammar book for modern times, as it was published in 1935.  Several modern grammar textbooks should be available in any bookstore or bookstore section that focuses on ESL.

THIGV ... Since the thread had a discussion on English teaching, I just shared what I heard recently.

I think the poster simply made a typo -- "It" for "I"

paulmsn wrote:

I think the poster simply made a typo -- "It" for "I"

That would make no sense as he apparently was relating what his acquaintance who was the one being interviewed had told him.  I have a few time been accused of being a grammar scold, but if you want to be one, you need to proofread.  That was not his only language error.  His invoking a 1935 grammar book that was used as a tool of colonialism and adopted by India's uppermost classes demonstrates his insular elitist attitude.  His entire proposition makes no sense for, as johnross23 pointed out, it should be a "teachers' market" now particularly once public schools are open.   In fact, foreign English teachers in Vietnam have been valued more for teaching conversation and pronunciation than for teaching grammar.

THIGV wrote:

...foreign English teachers in Vietnam have been valued more for teaching conversation and pronunciation than for teaching grammar.

That's the great need, from my unprofessional and anecdotal viewpoint.

Most Vietnamese can learn a list of words and short phrases; enough to communicate on a basic level, but pronunciation appears to be the major stumbling block for many.

I've lost count of the number of people who have asked me to help them learn English.

Let's say 55 out of 60 have had no desire to have their pronunciation corrected.

I don't doubt that the government would prefer that vocabulary, pronunciation and grammar all be taught equally well to all students, and as I mentioned, the new visa rules may be one way they believe they can ferret out the non-professionals who would hold themselves out to be true teachers of the English language.

But native Vietnamese teachers can teach grammar and vocabulary.

I personally think (selfishly) that the government should consider making use of Expats as "teacher assistants" who focus solely on pronunciation and conversation skills in tandem with a Vietnamese teacher who focuses on the 'nuts and bolts' of English.

You might recall I was asked to teach in Tam Ky, even though I don't have a degree (my RN license is based on AA military equivalent education and experience under previous California law).

We eventually decided to list me as a Teacher Assistant for 30 days.

I always worked paired with a Vietnamese teacher of English.

IF the government were to make an exception to the 'expert law' and allow for employment in that limited role (likely at a lower salary) it could be the way many native English-speaking retirees could live here legally on a TRC.

Just spitballing...

johnross23 wrote:

QuidProQuo wrote:

So I heard in the news that they are raising standards for English teacher. Does this mean additional credential and certification will be needed in the future?

This could be the case, but haven't seen or heard anything about this.

If you have a link to the news, please post it.

In general, language schools, which are privately owned businesses, are free to hire whomever they choose, which is not necessarily based on qualifications but on availability and personality.

Thanks for that info, I'm new too.

EricNgk wrote:

Thanks for that info, I'm new too.

Welcome to the forum.

Anyway, if you are looking for teaching work, the situation is quite the same as it was 4 months ago: closed borders, foreign teacher shortage.

Plenty of schools advertising. Contact them and name your price.

THIGV wrote:

paulmsn wrote:

I think the poster simply made a typo -- "It" for "I"

I have a few time been accused of being a grammar scold, but if you want to be one, you need to proofread.

Pot, kettle, black...

hi Cam the Man.
Jefferson here. jcsaunders 50 at  hotmail.

Are you still living in Vietnam?
How is life going?
You have any more good questions ...

Been here a few years, retired.