Ask Headmaster Ken

Hello,

First of all, let me thank all who contribute to this very informative and at times sobering eBook and companion blog, too bad it took me so long to find it.

My story:

Back in 2005 I did a four-month internship as an ESL teacher at a vocational college in Qingdao. It was one of the best experiences of my life and since then I've always planned to go back after completing my studies. My goal is to teach English in China professionally for about a year. I also hope to improve my Mandarin while I'm there.

After completing the first year of my ESL teacher training and (short) teaching internships in several countries, I attended university to study the English language and culture and have since gotten my BA degree in American Studies. Currently I'm working on completing my master's. All in all, I'd say I'm pretty well qualified to become a foreign English teacher in China, wouldn't you agree?

There is one potential problem however: I'm a Dutch national, my native language is Dutch, and I obtained my degree from a Dutch university. From what I read in Middle Kingdom Life, my nationality might pose a problem.

I'm a native-level speaker of English, able to converse in General American or RP without even a hint of a Dutch accent. But what if I don't get a chance to prove that because of my nationality?

Am I right to be concerned? Can I expect serious difficulty in finding a decent TESL job as a Dutchman?

Hello,

There is no doubt that you will have a harder time finding a job than a native English speaker.

You will need to offset this perceived handicap in the minds of employers.

One suggestion is to include an MP3 or video file of your speaking abilities.

Also, you may want to include a photo in your resume too. You want to let employers know you look and sound like the candidate they envision.

Unfortunately, many employers, and their customers, sometimes have closely held notions of what a foreigner should look and sound like.

So, your task will be more difficult, but by no means impossible.

I completely agree with Headmaster Ken that including a photograph and MP3 file would improve your chances.

In my experience I think you will still find yourself to be very employable. I actually work with a guy from Eindhoven in Holland and he has never had any problem securing good positions, I work with a man from France also. It pains me to write this, but it has always seemed to me that being white is much more important than being a native speaker. This is related to the Chinese obsession with face and perception and like Ken said, fitting in with their preconceived ideas of what a foreigner looks like.

Good luck in your job hunt.

Hi, perhaps I am too cynical, but I think it would be better to include both an MP3 and a video. The MP3 would be more convenient to listen to possibly, but the video would eliminate the possibility of anyone thinking that you recruited a friend to do the recording for you.

Good luck to you. Very interested in hearing how this turns out.

Gregory