大咖福利影院

mikeymyke wrote:

I was wondering how viable a job teaching English is for someone who doesn't know much Vietnamese, was born in Canada, and is married to a Vietnamese woman?聽 Does it pay well and have enough hours working?聽 Also are there a lot of opportunites?聽 English is being quickly adopted as a second language of choice, but I just don't know if that translates to lots of jobs for teachers.

If you are a Canadian Vietnamese your teaching opportunities are going to be limited. It can be done but you will have to work very hard at it. Most of the language centers do not hire foreign Viets and if they do they typically pay a lot less.

ssuprnova wrote:

TEFL is a dead-end industry. It's fine for a year or two, but after that it's time to branch out into something serious. I've seen way too many people who got sucked into the easy job/expat lifestyle only to wake up years later, earning the exact same salary and doing the exact same things for years.

On the other hand, if you're serious about self-development or just want to put away some money then TEFL is a good way to spend a gap year or two. Also, the flexible schedule makes it easy to explore Asia: lots of people here work only part of the year and then spend a few months traveling.

Just for myself, I have found teaching to be an enjoyable way to "act productive".聽 I am retired so needing a income is not my motivation. But I believe it is an excellent way to meet people and learn about the culture and traditions in Vietnam.

Teacher Mark wrote:

There's plenty of students, but an apparent shortage of foreign teachers that care about how effective their lessons really are, or ones that are willing to go that extra mile for their students.聽 Actually, forget that extra mile, because it's hard to find a foreign teacher that actually plans lessons, choosing instead to come in and wing it every time. Are they that good?聽 I can only use my experiences as a measure, which makes the answer "HELL NO!" I may be good for a few classes, but invariably I'll run into something during the lesson could taken it from good to great but in class is too damn late.

This is a product of the local TEFL market, which skews heavily towards hiring as many white foreigners as possible at the lowest wage they'll take. You can't honestly offer $15 an hour, often with classes that are as short as 35 minutes each, and expect any semblance of quality. This wage, of course, does not include prep time nor traveling time.

I agree that most teachers here don't deserve that title, however, there is a strong demand for them and you can't really blame 20-something kids (most of whom have left their country for the first time) for not knowing what they're doing. For most of them, the decision to come teach in Vietnam is a result of the poor job market back home, and they'd be on the next plane back if they could land a stable job there.

The old saying goes "if you pay peanuts, you'll get monkeys", and that's the general state of TEFL in Vietnam today (and, arguably, most of the world). Sure, there are serious institutions (such as foreign schools, the British Council, etc.) that offer quality language classes, but they also tend to pay much more than your typical language mill, as well as provide benefits.

In the end, however, the problem comes down to low local expectations from parents, who are willing to pay exorbitant tuition fees for sub-par education. The only people really profiting from the status quo are the owners of these English "schools". A cursory glance at the brand new buildings of chains like VUS, Apollo, or AMA (in contrast to their hiring requirements) are a solid indicator that the quality of education they offer is nowhere near being the top priority.

ngchuanyi wrote:

Hi,

First of all i am a malaysian working in singapore. I dont have white face or blue eye but english is my mother tounge.

Are you saying that its difficult to land an english teaching job eventhough i have the qualification? Ba and tefl.

Thank you

If you have the qualification (which actually is necessary but some people let it slide when u are caucasian) u are able to get a job but still imo it's easier when u are white.

Vietnamese people don't care whether the teacher is good. They think that a Native (aka Caucasian) know what he does. That's what I learned while living in Saigon.

I'm not sure whether many Vietnamese know that English is the first language in Singapore... imo Singapore English or Chinglish as we call it is still not AMERICAN or BRITISH English and that"s what they want. They want to send their kids to the States or Europe...

It might be harder for you to find a decent paid job. Other non qualified "white" teachers might be paid much more than u but if you're fine with it go:)

i wish you good luck!

ngchuanyi wrote:

I understand what you trying to see as a few people i talk to here tell me about the same thing. I guess this is their perspective on things which couldn't be changed in a short period and i cant complain if i am being paid lower than other who might not as qualified as me.

I am seriously moving to hcm so i guess i have to take what they offer

Would you mind doing another job besides teaching?Like working in tourism or Sales Marketing etc... There are some Singaporean companies and they are eager to hire professionals from Singapore:)

ngchuanyi wrote:

I understand what you are trying to see say, as a few people i talk I spoke to here have told me about the same thing. I guess this is their perspective on things [whose?] which couldn't won't be changed in a short period and i I can't complain if i I am being paid lower less than others those who might not be as qualified as me.

I am seriously considering moving to hcm so i I guess i I'll have to take what they offer

This will sound mean, but refer to the quote above for a primer on why non-native speakers tend to be paid less.

missmae wrote:

Hmm let me do some research. Cause my aunt works for a Singaporean Company but dont know the name. Its finance and logistic though:)

Great. Hope to hear from you soon