“In the early '90s, some East European countries naively hired many such people, and they caused so many problems that for a while a lot of schools in the Czech Republic, for example, would not let any native speaker teach an English grammar class, no matter how qualified he or she was.”
Is this true – were ganja-brain-fried backpacker hippies from the US (perhaps named ‘Skyler’) making fools of themselves teach eastern european’s bad ingleesh?
I’m not sure about the story you mention in particular, but it is worth noting that Christian missionaries often need a pretense to get into countries that would otherwise prohibit them. My church currently supports a doctor in Morocco and an English teacher in China - both places where being a missionary openly would be illegal. They’re both providing services that are in huge demand in those countries, so it’s an arrangement that works well.
Given that the Eastern Bloc was not open to missionaries during the early 90’s, I think this may be the reason behind such a policy… or the reason behind an urban myth about it.
Purely anecdotal, but I lived in Prague for a while in the 90’s, and had several American friends who taught English. I was asked once and a while if I was interested if any openings came available, but I was a little worried my Czech wasn’t good enough yet (and was perfectly happy in the bar I worked in).
My cousin, who like me, grew up in the US went to teach English in Czechoslovakia. When he finished he was teaching English in the Czech Republic. Our great grandfather was originally from that area so our last name is a common Czech name. On the first day of class when he wrote his name on the board the students we excited because they thought it meant he was Czech and could speak Czech they were a little disappointed when this turned out not to be the case.
Most countries have laws preventing foreigners from taking jobs if natives can be found to fill them. This might mean that natives, even with limited English skills, might be given preference.
I have definitely noticed this in America where I have met quite a number of Spanish teachers whose Spanish was so utterly limited that one could not say they spoke Spanish. Even at the university level they were not up to any standard I would consider acceptable. I have also met a guy who worked for the government in DC translating publications into Spanish and his Spanish was also quite limited which explains why some publications leave somewhat to be desired.
The only explanation for this is that it is easier to hire Americans than foreigners. But even then I find it difficult to comprehend that one cannot find Spanish speakers in America.
Yes what he said again but employers don’t waive the need for qualifications just because someone is foreign. There is a difference between employing native English speakers (qualified or not) as teachers in language schools which is both logical and legal and employing native English speakers to teach within the school system when they do not have a local qualification to do so. Perhaps this is where the confusion comes in.
I’ve almost 15 years of EFL teaching under my belt but could no more walk into a job in a French state school than I could become a doctor - both would require a LOT of training.
Having said that some nominally English- speaking countries have had strange rules to ensure jobs for locals. Applying for jobs in Malta in 1998 I discovered that you needed English A level* in order to teach there - despite being EFL qualified and four year’s teaching under my belt it was a non-starter. (I don’t know if this is still the case.)
*school exam taken age 18, you select 3 or 4 subjects to study to this level - English wasn’t one of my options.
Very true and I forgot to mention this. Being a native Spanish speaker and speaking perfect Spanish does not qualify me to teach Spanish in an American school. On the other hand, an American with very slight knowledge of Spanish but the right teaching qualifications and credentials would be eligible.
An American “with very slight knowledge of Spanish” cannot obtain “the right teaching credentials” in most states in the U.S.
BGSU, where I got my teaching license coursework, requires the language candidates spend 6 mo. living and working in a country that speaks the language they are to teach as the primary language. There is a very rigorous examination of their abilities before they are certified in Ohio. Most such teachers teach their classes almost exclusively in the native tongue, with only enough English spoken to ensure necessary understanding of directions, etc.
Now I’ve looked at the link in the OP & call BS however if you have any Lonley Planet type books from 10-15 years ago look at the “working” section, they suggest you can just pick up work as teaching English as a matter of course. These days they at least recommend getting a qualification first and this reflects changes in attitudes to and demand for EFL.
I taught English in “Eastern Europe” from '94 to '97 and met my fair share of “I can speak it so I can teach it” types, saw a lot of small language schools started by bright eyed English speaakers to meet the new demand … some were well managed and cared about the quality of their ‘product’ others weren’t. I also knew qualfied teachers who did the best job they could providing a quality service. Doubtless some learners or companies provding training for their employees got stung by smaller cowboy outfits and became a bit leery.
The other aspect to consider is that the whole discussion type, don’t be afraid to exchange ideas and experiment with the language aspect of EFL was far removed from any previous learning experiences under communism and some learners felt it wasn’t serious enough and they weren’t getting their money’s worth. (I had one learner who preferred to consult his pre-WW2 English Estonian dictionary than try to follow my explanations).
I have a friend who graduated from the Monterey Institute of International Studies with a Masters in ESL. She got a job teaching English in the Czech Republic and I know she doesn’t speak a lick of Czech or Slovak. This was around '04 though.
Yes - and the phrasing in the OP, ‘no matter how qualified he or she was’, can be interpreted in different ways, and even I might have got it a bit wrong. (To be clear, for example, you can’t come here and teach in the English school system without jumping through a lot of hoops and possessing a lot of papers, whatever your background.)
The more I think about it, I think there might be just a grain of truth in the OP. The period right after the Velvet Revolution in 1989 was a very intoxicating time; the Soviets were gone and there was a new democracy, a former imprisoned dissident was the president, and the previously off-limits west was wide open. Czechoslovakia (and later the two republics) had a brief infatuation with all things western and American, and vice versa. Prague was supposed to be to the 90’s what Paris was to the world of the 1920’s. It was said that the city was gorgeous, everything was inexpensive, the women were impossibly hot, and the beer was delicious. Moreover, the demand for English speakers was said to far outstrip the supply, so that (so it was rumored) nearly anyone with a college degree in anything could get a job teaching English even without speaking a lick of Czech or Slovak. I can see how this might lead to some subpar teaching. By the time I got there in 1996, not all of this was entirely true anymore, except about the city, the women and the beer. The supply of English speakers was much, much higher than what it had been right after the Revolution, and getting a job teaching wasn’t a given anymore, although it was still possible.
It’s possibly to teach any language without knowing the student’s native language, but such “total immersion” instruction requires a well-developed lesson plan and skill on the teacher’s part. Experience with well-meaning anglophones who don’t have either one can easily lead to dismissing the entire idea.
Indeed, in most circles total immersion with a native speakers is the preferred way to do things. I’ve been doing it for three years, and have learned two languages that way.
There are still tons of places where you can easily pick up a job teaching with nothing more than an BA. But it can be pretty hard work and you probably won’t have much fun if all you want to do is screw around. Teaching quality can vary, but most of the people I know doing it are excellent teachers. Simply introducing Western teaching techniques (discussion, activities, etc.) really does a lot of good for students who are used to a memorization and book based curriculum.
My experience was in neighboring Hungary from 1998-2003. By the end of my stay there, it was certainly getting more difficult to find teaching positions in language schools (Berlitz being the big one) or the general school system, but somebody who wanted to find students to teach could find them, especially as a private teacher, where the money is significantly better. Being part of the expat community, I knew a fair share of English teachers, and many worked in the Czech Republic at one point or another, and I have never heard of such a prohibition. But it was a tricky situation. Only a small handful of those English teachers had proper work permits for those countries. Most flew under the radar, so it’s quite possible the “official” position was what is listed in the OP.
As for knowing the native language and teaching English, almost without exception, none of the teachers I knew were fluent in the native language of the country they were teaching in. As a related point of data, the big place to go in the early 2000s for English teachers wanting to make a buck and sick of Eastern Europe was South Korea.
Right, but lots of students worldwide have been taught basic English from a local, and what they want is advanced, modern, business English as spoken from a native English speaker.
:rolleyes: right back at you. I have met several schoolteachers in the DC area who could not follow a normal conversation in Spanish. I can imagine all they could do is read phrases from a book and translate them and I suppose that would be enough for teaching young kids if the demands are incredibly low.
Having talked to plenty of Americans who told me they had taken several years of Spanish and also could not remember more than a few words (cerveza being the most common) it seems to me the system is not very efective.
I have also met a woman who taught in a college in California and who had written some dissertation about catalan, Romance literature and some other obscure subjects but whose spoken Spanish, while it would get her around, was somewhat limited.
