Hi Lee,

Cannot agree with you more and I think it would definitely be an awesome post grad dissertation topic. If you need to get more info, or need people to interview - let me know and am more than happy to help. I went through hell with my MA dissertation and know how difficult it is to get data!

S

Was that the i-to-i internship you were rejected from? Seems rather poor.

Considering that most English communication (internationally) occurs  between/among non-native speakers of English (approximately 74%, around 2006), does it really matter whether the teacher is native or not? Intelligibility and comprehendability are the key concerns for our students, not which accent they use. This is a continuing issue in TESOL. The number of non-native English speakers on the MA TESOL course I'm doing outnumber the natives significantly, and they are all teachers of English. Maybe I can write my dissertation about this subject. Something to think about.

All the best,

Lee.

Oh no. It's my greatest nightmare comin' alive!

I'm a Malaysian-Chinese(non-native English speaker) currently living in Singapore and I've been wanting to take up this TEFL course but am quite concerned about finding jobs cus I've seen alot of job offers in China & Korea give top priorities to native speakers.

Well at least u've been in the UK the majority of ur life Sandy, I wish u all the best! I'm sure u will find a good job. Keep us informed! :D Good Luck!

Hi Robert,

Thanks for your posts below. Your advice is definitely helpful. I can now see the light at the end of the tunnel! I shall most definitely get in touch with your contact. Thanks again for your help. Hope all is well in China.

S

Ooops forgot to mention the school in Dongguan is also looking for teachers so maybe drop them an email the DOS is Wesley Phillips and the email address is ef_dongguan@live.cn

Hi Sandy, I hope I can offer some sound advice but I think it is more of a reassurance that you have been doing the right thing. The best thing you can do is apply to agencies, I prefer those to going direct to the school as you have a bigger target, they can also help those who have problems getting a job in that country because they know the system and have contacts who are willing to bend their rules slightly. If you can prove that you have been in the UK most of your life like sending your GCSE transcript (if you have it) with the initial email and explain you were born in HK etc then you should hopefully get more responses.

The record check is usually done in the country you will work for, so they will check with the international police database to make sure you are not a risk to children or have an outstanding warrant for your arrest etc. So unless you were planning to work in the UK their is no need to get a CRB done.

If you have any questions just let me know and I will try and direct you, a good agency is Start Consulting (chinateachonline@yahoo.com.cn) I dealt with Robyn and have just secured a job working in Dongguan to start in April. Let me know how you get on with them and good luck with the rest of the i-to-i course!

Thanks for your help Honor and definitely will keep everyone posted on what's happening now I know how to write a blog.

P.S: Great job on the site! Love it!

Hey Sandy,

Think your determination is great - hope you get some joy with your job applications.

You can apply for a CRB form direct from the Criminal Records Bureau - they're to check that you don't have any unspent convictions (which I'm sure you don't!) You can apply here: http://www.crb.homeoffice.gov.uk/

Best of luck with your search - look forward to hearing how you get on!

Honor