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Q: how can i get an english teaching job?
I am a student from nigeria coming to school in a university spring 2012. Do they consider nigeria a native english speaker.
12 years 27 weeks ago in Teaching & Learning - Beijing
First, if you aren't a teacher, than look for something else. If you are, you can search the answers section just by typing in teach. You'll get several posts.
Second, I don't think Nigeria is considered a native english speaking country in China.
This is my answer to a previous question... there are other answers on previous posts as well... all with some good advice.
Google TESL or teach English in China. Youll get a ton of websites, including places to get your certification. You need the certification, no matter what. They're usually 100 - 120 hour courses. There are even some you can take online, or some of the franchise schools offer their own certifications you can take when you arrive. I'm not sure if they are good for just that school, or if they are accredited.
http://www.oxfordseminars.com/esl-country-information/countryataglance.p...
http://www.teflonline.net/index.htm
My niece is going through Buckland International Educational Group, and you can go all over China. She has a 2 year degree, and is working on her BA, but taking a semester off and going with me.
These sites also have ideas of other agencies, and other suggestions for going abroad to work.
http://www.eslcafe.com/
http://www.eslteachersboard.com/cgi-bin/tesol/index.pl
http://www.onlinetefl.com/tefl-chalkboard/
I think for a first timer, going through a reputable agency isn't the worst idea. You just need to do your research. There was a question posted a few days ago that had some info about what to look for... http://answers.echinacities.com/question/13763#answer13836
lchickman:
"First, if you aren't a teacher, than look for something else. If you are, you can search the answers section just by typing in teach. You'll get several posts." ---Umm are you in China yet? Do you know the number of people who had never stepped foot in a classroom until they reached China? To inform you, they're all over the place. If you're saying that because you desperately want to improve the standard of teaching in China and you go around telling all people who aren't licensed teachers to "look for something else" then okay. But if you're saying that because you think non-teachers can't find work, you're mistaken. Are you coming to teach? If so, might wanna review "then vs than" :)
lchickman:
Oh btw you don't need a certification at all. I've seen schools make certificates for their employees after they hire them and post them on the walls alongside those of all the employees who actually have certificates.
HugAPanda:
Nope, I'm not in China yet. And I don't pretend to know what is really going on there as far as english education. I do know on this site, several people will offer that advice. and I agree with them. If you can't teach, you shouldn't be. To do so is selfish, and not really doing anything to help those who are actually trying to learn English. . And legally, you do need at least a TEFL cert to teach in China. If you want to risk your time in China working for some unscrupulous school willing to fake your documents, more power to you. I do believe the teacher will get into more trouble if found out than the school will. . That being said, I do know there are way more chinese students, either forced or with the actual desire. learning english than (properly used, tyvm) there are actual teachers willing to spend the time there, for the amount of pay they would be making. . I do know the difference between then and than. I am human though, and sometimes make mistakes. Don't you? The college in which I have taught English for 11 years now doesn't seem to mind the occasional error. DId you want to complain to the Dean?. . BTW, BarQs has bite... thought maybe you'd want to fix that ;)
Traveler:
Ichickman: You are actually proud of the fact that you came to China and deliberately broke their laws? That you are an unskilled illegal immigrant? Then you flaunt it publicly, and challenge the PSB to do something, because you know they can trace you and your school from the post you made, if they want to. That's like telling the whole country to get stuffed, and makes it harder for everyone else. Good luck with that.
lchickman:
Hahahahaha moi, unskilled, illegal immigrant??? I am a college educated native speaker with eight years of teaching experience (not to mention a valid z visa you moron), a TEFL certificate and I speak Chinese (and spent time in China several years ago before returning this year to teach). If I'm not qualified to teach English then we need to expel 90% of the foreign teachers right now. PLEASE show me where I said anything about coming to this country illegally? I guess it's a good thing you can SPEAK English because you obviously can't read it very well, but I'm guessing your job doesn't care about that! =)
lchickman:
Oh and Hug .... BARGS (intentionally no Q) refers to Black Appomattox Regional Governor's School .... it's a pun. Good effort though, glad to see I'm getting you on your game! You might be ready for China after all ;-)
Traveler:
Ichickman: Please accept my apology. I assumed, because you appeared to be supporting fake teachers working here, you were one as well. Reading your post again, I admit I read wrong. As with yourself, and others, I make mistakes sometimes. I am glad you were understanding enough to simply call me "moron", and not to go into a vexatious spiel like many on here feel obliged to do. Thanks for that. I am still uncertain as to whether you are, indeed, supporting illegal teachers. You certainly seem very accepting of them, and seem to think they have a place. In some posts, you tell people that it's acceptable to work here as a non-native speaker, and you have friends from Africa who do just that. But in other posts, you say that you are critical of the Chinese for hiring unqualified teachers (except, it seems, your friends from Africa). I note that you state you are college educated, but not whether you are degree qualified. You also state you have 8 years teaching experience, but not whether that is in China, or in other countries where you are qualified as a real teacher. Also, you don't state whether your degree (if you have one) is in teaching. I know this is not a requirement in China yet, but I am weary and wary of fake teachers thinking they are teachers. They aren't. These are exactly the things that fake teachers do to scam schools. They speak in halves. They fool the schools into hiring them. Another way is to say they are native speakers, because English is an official language in their country. Often, this is true. There are more than 40 countries, mostly ex-British colonies, that list English as an official language, but only a few that have it as their dominant language. Many of these countries are in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and Oceania. The Chinese just accept it, because they don't know the truth, or because it suits them. These are the very points that are in contention here. Clever people like yourself (though not including you, of course) can use words to misrepresent and remain ambiguous about the reality of a situation. Telling a Chinese person you have a college education could be a way of misrepresenting to them that you have a degree. Telling them you have eight years experience as a teacher, leads them automatically to believe you are a real teacher. I am not saying this is the case with you, but I have seen this done many times in China, and also when I did fraud investigation in Australia. I assume you had your reasons for not writing clearly and fully what your actual college education was, whether you actually completed a degree or where your teaching experience happened. I am sure, in your case, this was not intentional. Perhaps it was just an oversight. Or an honest mistake. We all make them. If this person is coming from Nigeria, where English is the second language, they are not a native English speaker. If they are not qualified as a teacher, they are not a teacher. If they are a student, then they probably don't have a degree, as required by China. They should look for a job they are legally qualified for, if in fact qualified for anything. There are too many fake teachers here already.
lchickman:
Traveler, I appreciate your lengthy, detailed response explaining yourself more clearly. (I will choose to ignore your sarcastic undertones, but know they were duly noted). To clarify, I do not support "fake" (as you call them) teachers here. To be more honest, I really don't even care about fake teachers here, so I do not NOT support them, either. What I do care about is equal opportunity, be it equal opportunity for unqualified teachers or for qualified teachers. I responded as strongly as I did because having been on this website for a couple of months now I have seen many of the questions people pose about teaching and how they can get into it. That being said, I have never seen people advise any of the other white posters that they should not teach simply based on the poor grammar, mediocre vocabulary, dismal syntax or whatever else they displayed in asking the question. I strongly feel that this guy got the response he did because he said he was from Nigeria. As English teachers with sub-quality English is a pet peeve of mine, his lack of capital letters (especially for his own country) and poor grammar bothered me as well. I chose to overlook it, however, and give him the response that many of the posters here have given dozens of others who ask the same question with bad grammar and overall poor English. As for my friends who teach English here I don't recall saying I supported them, I simply stated that they have been here for several years and now have teaching positions. Those are just blanket facts that I gave to help support my answer to the OP that realistically, yes, he will most likely be able to find a teaching position here. (If you noticed, I mentioned being shocked that they were able to find work being francophone, but concluded saying that at least the Chinese were being semi-fair, as they hire many white non-native speakers as well. And again I say, I could care less if the Chinese hire qualified teachers, I'd just prefer it be equal opportunity.) Now to answer your questions: Yes, I finished my undergraduate studies and received a degree. No, it was not in education, but according to my knowledge of the standards here it does not need to be in order for me to be deemed a teacher. As for my eight years of experience, they range across the United States, Congo and China. I posted on a different thread that when I came to China three years ago as part of a language program I worked as a volunteer teacher in poor, rural areas outside of Nanjing where the schools could not afford even Chinese teachers who spoke English. That would be my experience in China. I have also taught in the United States and [the Republic of] Congo. I am an American and to my knowledge we are native speakers. We were, after all, colonized by the Brits :) I believe these are all the points on which you challenged me. Normally I would refrain from responding to such questions as they are quite beneath me. You are not my employer and I have satisfactorily proven to both my employer and the Chinese government that I meet all of the requirements necessary to be a teacher here. However, I do also enjoy proving people wrong so for that reason I have chosen to humor you. Let me also point out that as you, like myself, seem to notice the many errors that people make on here I notice you have not yet commented on any from my posts. Let that alone prove to you that I do indeed speak English quite well, better than I daresay the majority of the posters on this forum. I do not deny that I [rarely] make mistakes but they obviously are not the egregious ones you see here that even the Chinese teachers who are ridiculed and criticized daily for their poor English would not make. Now tell me, did I pass the final hurdle in becoming a teacher here in China?? Do I have a stamp of approval from the wise, learned Traveler?? Oh, please say yes! ;-)
lchickman:
BTW English is indeed the official and first language in Nigeria. The other languages are simply national languages, which I am sure being so educated you know is different. That being said I cannot defend this individual's own poor use of English. I do view him, however, as being just like the many Americans and others here who speak English poorly, although it is their native language.
Traveler:
Ichickman: Thank you for clarifying my curiosity in this matter. I am sorry if you found my reply sarcastic. That certainly wasn't my intention. I simply wanted to make sure you knew I wasn't judging you. Just as I won't judge you now. I am sure that you have told me the truth. You have a legitimate degree from an internationally recognised college, that would allow you registration in your chosen profession in your home country. I am surprised that a non-teaching degree also allowed you to be a qualified teacher in the USA, however I will accept what you told me as truth. There is obviously no need for you to lie to me, as I am not your employer. Fake teachers only ever lie to their employers, not to their peers. The letters "qual" in "equal opportunity" and "qualification" mean "same". The letters "un" in "unqualified" mean "opposite", so in "unqualified" it means "not the same." How can you possibly claim that unqualified teachers are the same as qualified teachers, and deserve equal rights? Unqualified and qualified are opposites, not synonyms. Equal rights refers to considering people on the basis of their qualifications for the job, not their capacity to defraud the Government with fake qualifications. As for typing mistakes, you are right, they are generally inconsequential, except when the writing becomes almost unreadable. Then it indicates a person who shouldn't teach. For my own typing, I never really cared about it too much, as my editors got paid much more than me to correct that sort of thing. Also, thanks for pointing out that the UN and Nigeria are both wrong about the status of English in that country. Both state that English is the second language, even though an official language. As you pointed out, Nigeria, like many undeveloped countries, has a multitude of official languages, so no one language is spoken by the majority of the country. The Chinese Government do not recognise Nigeria as a native English speaking country.
lchickman:
Funny, each of the following websites says English is the official language (and recognize the other languages as being spoken as well): http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/country_profiles/1064557.stm https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ni.html http://nigeria.usembassy.gov/nigeria_education_profile.html http://unstats.un.org/unsd/environment/nigeria.pdf And those would be websites from the CIA, the U.S. mission to Nigeria, a UN report on Nigeria as well as the BBC. They do not have a multitude of official languages, but several national languages. Once again, that is different. Where are your sources for your claims? While I do not deny that perhaps both you and the Chinese government feel differently, that is not grounds to fabricate facts and state that the UN or any other government or international organization believes the same. While there may be people in those countries who do not speak English well, that does not negate the fact that English is the official language, even if they have a second native language as well. Schools are taught in English, business is conducted in English, parents raise their children in English (as well as the language of their ethnic group at times. There are many people who only speak English, however, and do not know the languages of their ethnic groups.) I both know Nigerians and can read; I think I am qualified to make that statement. (And if not the sources I provided are.) As for the bit about equal opportunity, firstly thank you for that invaluable lesson on the definition of "qual". Again I do believe you either misread or completely misunderstood my point, however. I did not say unqualified people should be treated equally with qualified people. I said if unqualified white people are hired, why not hire unqualified black people? Do you dare suggest that there is some sort of rank amongst the unqualified? Are unqualified white people somehow more qualified than unqualified black people? Let's not be ridiculous. Unqualified means unqualified. At this point I am sure that you fully comprehend my logic, although you may choose to act as if you don't. I have made myself clear and there is really not much of a counter argument to my point, unless you are just racist. Any further argument would be a waste of intellectual energy on both parts. So let's just put it to rest. Good day.
Traveler:
Racism. What people scream when they don't have substance to support their arguments. I won't go into all the details, but suffice to say I was well respected in the National Aboriginal Reconciliation movement, and part of the Canberra National Reconciliation Workgroup. My articles seeking Aboriginal equality and acceptance were published in the national press, including a national magazine I worked for. Branding anyone a racist is only an emotive appeal to others for support when you feel you have nothing else. Especially when you don't know the person you are accusing, and misrepresent them in other ways. I already stated Nigeria lists English as it's official language, but we both know only a small number of urban elite actually speak it. French is also an official language of Canada, but Canadians are not native French speakers. Nobody recognises English as the de facto language in Nigeria, not even Nigeria. Most importantly, China doesn't, and that's all that matters. If the guy comes to China, he doesn't fit the criteria set by the Chinese. We seem to be in agreement that unqualified people, whether white or black, shouldn't work here. Your argument is noble, and to an extent I admire it. But let's remember where we are. Chinese view blacks as less able to make money for them than whites. If we live here, we all have to put up with the intolerance and ignorance. We are all viewed as inferior. Unqualified people of any race do not qualify for equal rights. They simply take jobs away from the qualified, which in turn means qualified teachers have to also accept lower wages than they could get if the illegal teachers weren't undercutting them. Equal rights in employment only refers to equality among the qualified. If the guy comes to China, he might fool the authorities, and get a work visa. But I think you should be telling him the legal facts, not how easy it is to break the law here. I also just realised. Your friends have been students for five and seven years? Do they just use the student visa so they can stay here and work illegally, or are they incredibly inept students? Are people actually allowed to legally work on a student visa? Perhaps you think it is OK for the guy in question to also come here and work on a student visa? And I note you ignored my curiosity about whether your degree was officially recognised in USA, or how it helped you to legally teach in the USA, when it isn't a teaching qualification.
To answer your question. No they do not.You must come from the US, Canada and Great Britain.
You can probably find work but it will be hard . I have African friends from Congo and Cameroon (francophone countries) who teach English. They are students who were able to find part time work. However they have been in China 7 and 5 years respectively so they definitely had to build their reputations (and their Chinese) first and who knows what terrible compensation they may be receiving. It will take a long time of networking but it IS possible if you're diligent. I am black (American) and I applied to over 90 schools (seriously) in Shanghai while still in the U.S. before I found one that didn't care or even ask to see a picture of me. Strangely enough, I even found one job that specifically only hired Africans and would not hire me because I am African-American.
It's an irrational process. I've seen schools that want Americans but won't hire British or schools who don't hire Australians but do hire white South Africans. Heck, some schools hire French, Russians and all sorts of non-native speakers but wouldn't hire Barack Obama if he wasn't president (they probably wouldn't hire him now even AS president). They're paying for white faces and the outstanding English speaking abilities of most Chinese reflect the results of this brilliant strategy. *sarcasm*
To summarize, it's difficult. The process might thoroughly annoy or frustrate you before you actually find a job. BUT if you really want to as just a way of earning extra cash I say wait till you get there and are able to actually meet people. I've found that wealthy Chinese are usually more well-traveled and are accustomed to seeing black people/know that we are human beings. It's the less wealthy, can't afford to leave China ones that act like villagers and think only "white man speaka Engrish" 
lchickman:
This comment no longer makes sense with the question before it now removed.
Hansmas, you can't get an english teaching job at all, your attitude is really not very good. I say this because your other question got deleted. China doesn't need english teachers like you, grow up and think about it!
I'll say this as an African American, that has done teaching in the past. Most employers, especially the ones that ask for a photo before an actual interview or looking at your resume. Are going to solely go based on your ethnicity, i hate to think that i'm in a country that has people that think like that but it's true. I've went to job interviews with non-native english speakers( classmates, friends) but I did not receive the job but they did, do you know why? Because they were blonde here and blue eyed, English speaking television is mainly dominated by European faces so you can not blame them for being racial unaware of other races being able to come from a native english speaker country. Hope that helps, man.
Traveler:
While racism is no doubt a major factor in China, it is possible their spelling, punctuation, grammar and syntax was better. Based on your writing, do you really think you should "teach" English?
paullwall:
I didn't even spell check myself, ha. Well hopefully my point was made, in the end.
who went to england or america hundreds of years ago ,,, Irish and Scots , who is who? what dose it mean we al are here.
The fact that you omitted four capitals for proper nouns (including your own country twice), and the question mark in the question, casts some doubt on your abilities. The grammar and missing words are also a little worrying. Perhaps you could study English first, before thinking about teaching it.
Nigeria is not a native English speaking country (note the capitals for future reference), and you generally need a degree to teach here.
kchur:
Some parts are first language English, left over from the colonial days. But who cares, really? It's China.
981977405:
I believe that the FEB's and the PSB do actually consider Nigeria to be an English-speaking country. That being said, they are reluctant to issue Z visas for ESL employment purposes to citizens of Nigeria for a multitude of reasons.
I knew a Nigerian who worked part time for a training center in Jiangxi province. He was also a student.
It is possible, however, this was a very small city and there were almost no foreigners at all.
Go to Bai Du （百度), find the city you're going to study & make an ad. You can teach at school or do some private tutoring.
