Page 10 - ELG1601 Dec Issue 442

Page 10 ELjobs December 2016

Issue 11 | December 2016

Brand marketing, talent recruitment, student enrolment

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teacher? When they China turns to interns English teachers in local interna-

hen is a teacher not a
Ware an intern. tional schools.
Asia is addicted to native
Internships are increasingly speakers, though the actual
being offered to native-speaker Melanie Butler looks at Asian coutries’ fixation with native speakers and reasons why are not clear. The
graduates who have completed general reason given is they have
some kind of Tefl certificate. questions whether they can recruit enough expatriates to fulfill demand the best accents, but the ground-
In return for funding their own breaking work by Professor
airfares they are offered free Patricia Kuhl reported on the
accommodation and stipends to If we count in the online tutors, front page shows that the advan-
work overseas. In effect, these another 150,000 in China alone as tage of a teacher’s accent alone
are gap-year programmes for well as Korea, Japan and Taiwan, is of limited use to any learner
graduates. we are looking at a demand for over the age of six, and of most
The Chinese government is the well over a million native-speaker advantage to children under
latest to launch such a scheme. ‘teachers’ – or one in every 400 three. Older learners cannot
Having banned the use of third- citizens of all the anglophone discriminate foreign language
country non-native speakers and countries in the world. sounds and do not naturally
no longer able to recruit enough This is demographically acquire them by hearing them.
native speakers with certificates impossible. They will not get After that, pronunciation can
and two years’ experience to them, and the ones they do get only be taught by teachers who
work in its state schools under will not be ‘teachers’, at least not have been specifically trained
its long-standing foreign-expert trained to teach children in state- to discriminate sound and how
programme, the Chinese have school environments. They will, to teach the sound system of
launched internship programmes. if they are lucky, be graduates English explicitly. Most native
Applicants, who must have a Tefl with a nice accent and a four- speakers, even those with four-
certificate, will get free accom- week course. If they are unlucky week certificates, simply have
modation, subsidised food and a Courtesy Michael Goodine they will get backpackers happy no idea how to do that.
stipend. They need to fund their to pretend to be teachers. These Ironically, the teachers most
own travel costs, including return people are not teachers. They are likely to have studied how to
fares and travel insurance, and not even Teflers, native speak- teach English pronunciation are
will not get any help with learn- PARENTAL CHOICE? Parents often welcome expatriate native-speaker teachers for their children ers with a degree and a basic the very non-native teachers
ing Chinese. qualification for teaching adults China has decided to ban.
What kind of Tefl certificate Demand by Asian governments compare destination countries. doesn’t seem to realise is that the in language schools. They are And whether Asian govern-
doesn’t seem to matter much. for native speakers of English We think that any opportunity to Asian demand for native speak- just untrained, unqualified back- ments like it or not, non-native
According to Post Study, an to work in state education is far gain an international experience is ers far outstrips supply. China’s packers, with the right passport, teachers are the only answer that
internship agency representing the outstripping supply. Although worth considering, particularly in private language schools, now acting the part. exists to the question of where
Chinese programme in the UK, numbers in Korea, Japan and Tai- those countries with an experience estimated to number around And they may include people Asia is going to find a million
‘any Tefl certificate can in theory wan are falling slightly, they are very different to life in the UK, 50,000, are required by law to who present a risk to others. In foreign teachers. After all, there
be approved. We would carry out more than matched by growing such as China, Japan and Korea.’ recruit only experienced certi- this issue we report on two such are 125 million English speakers
due diligence if it was from a pro- demand in Thailand, Vietnam and Japan and Korea both offer fied native speakers – that’s a teachers found working in differ- in India – twice as many as the
vider that we were not familiar China, to name but three. These Western-level salaries, and Japan conservative 500,000 experi- ent parts of Asia (see page 4). In 60 million in the UK – and 75
with. The Chinese government are not volunteer positions, but doesn’t even require a Tefl certif- enced teachers. Thailand a British convicted pae- million in the Philippines.
department responsible for these salaries are low in Western terms icate. By contrast Taiwan, which Thailand has another 50,000 dophile has just been deported for There are early signs that the
matters also offers a Tefl course and some of the destinations are also pays well, only accepts state- employers, both in the state and the second time having been found Chinese are beginning to get
with delivery within China.’ challenging. qualified school teachers – an private sector, totalling perhaps teaching English in the country that message. According to the
No mention is made on the Post When we asked why anyone eminently sensible requirement 200,000. Vietnam is trying to again. Meanwhile in Myanmar a Filipino press, during the recent
Study website of any need for can- would choose China when there for teachers intending to work in recruit teachers for 2,000 state former ski rep from Scotland has visit of their president to Beijing
didates to obtain a police check were so many other – and paid state schools, but often little more schools, while its private sector is fled the country leaving the dead the question of redefining Filli-
required under English law for all – options, PostStudy told the than wishful thinking. fighting to attract good candidates. body of a fellow teacher in his flat. pinos as native speakers was on
adults working with children. Gazette, ‘We would rather not What the Chinese government Myanmar is coming on stream. Both were working as unqualified the agenda. n

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