Australian Born Chinese, do I even have a chance?
- Joined: Jan 28th, 2010
- Posts: 6
Hi,
My name is Michael and I'm a Australian born Chinese.
I've been looking for English teaching jobs in Beijing for a month after taking a leave absence from my Arts course at the University of Melbourne. I have not had much success.
The problem is, I've been shut down numerous times because the employers have said that the parents would prefer a white teacher. This is something I guess I could understand but I can say my English is heaps better than my ESL teachers I know in Beijing. I have French and German friends who are teaching English and they found their jobs on the 1st or 2nd interview. I've been to over 20 interviews and more than half of them have rejected me before we got into any details.
I understand that without a degree, this could be hard but I know plenty of other people without degrees who still got ESL teaching jobs, mainly students studying in Beijing.
I've tutored young kids in Australia, native and non-native speaker ever since I was 15. Those kids have gone on to get great marks in school. Why won't any firms from my mother country even bother giving me a chance? I can even speak fluent Mandarin, read and write. I have the certificates to prove it as well!
Can anyone help me with this predicament? Should I be approaching my jobs in a special manner? All the interviewers ask if I am Korean (my mother is from Yanbian). They don't believe me half the time when I say I was born in Australia, I am forced to carry my passport to all the interviews.
If I continue to fail to get a job then I'll have no choice but to go home. Having wasted a month of time and getting nothing but a lesson of self racism (is that even possible?) out of this.
zhenlai
Re: Australian Born Chinese, do I even have a chance?
Let me ask you this, are you a citizen of Australia? If you are then your mother country is Australia not China. You are not Chinese you are Australian.
You are highly unlikely to get a job in Beijing when parents view you as a banana instead of an Australian.
Why do people go to Beijing and try to get jobs when the jobs are plentiful in smaller cities? Get out of Beijing. Go to a smaller city where teachers are really needed and prove your worth. The pay won't be as substantial, the living expenses are quite a bit lower also, but no one gets into teaching to get rich. The smaller cities have so much more to offer in terms of culture and closeness to the community.
If you are serious about teaching English then forget about Beijing or Shanghai. Go to Hubei or Jiangsu or Jiangxi or some other less well known province where there are cities with populations from 500,000 to 1 million. I think you will find more prospects and more luck in these areas. Also, I think you will have a more satisfying experience.
美国鬼子
Enola_Gy
Re: Australian Born Chinese, do I even have a chance?
Thanks,
I'm going to make arrangements to move to Jilin province if my next batch of interviews go awry.
To answer your question, yes, I am a citizen of Australia and I was born and bred there. I am, however, quite different from the typical ABC as I can speak very fluent Chinese with a Beijing accent. Not to mention I have read up on all the classics and have a great interest in traditional culture and history. I am the opposite of a banana.
Cheers
zhenlai
Re: Australian Born Chinese, do I even have a chance?
The things you listed make you well read and intelligent. You are still Australian and your mother country is not China. Do not insult your Mother Country. You are Australian.
One of my heritages is Irish. I have a brother who if fluent in Irish Gaelic. He has studied the histories and literature of Ireland as well as anyone you will find. He took a long sabbatical there and passed easily as a local. That does not make him Irish. He is a 100% blue blooded American Man. Don't let your heritage get in the way of what you truly are.
美国鬼子
Enola_Gy
Re: Australian Born Chinese, do I even have a chance?
Thanks,
except even if I do consider myself as just a Australian and not a Australian Chinese, Chinese will think I am just Chinese when looking for English jobs. Chinese will just think I am a banana when I am looking for Chinese speaking jobs. I just going to have to accept the fact that it'll be harder more me to become successful due to skin colour. At least I am lucky compared to most of the population in this country.
backhouse
Re: Australian Born Chinese, do I even have a chance?
Of course, it is important to me, I need your help, I hope you will help me, thanks!
RemmyM
Re: Australian Born Chinese, do I even have a chance?
The term should be ABA.
Australian/American Born Asian.
Remmy be pimpin' in BJ, yo!
matty_muso
Re: Australian Born Chinese, do I even have a chance?
"I can say my English is heaps better than my ESL teachers I know in Beijing"
1. heaps better?
- So Australian *facepalm
2. Than my ESL teachers I know in Beijing
- Do you own the ESL teachers? Because you used 1st person genitive there...
Good on ya for havin a go!
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication - Leonardo da Vinci
iwishicouldfly
Re: Australian Born Chinese, do I even have a chance?
Michael
It seems strange to me that you cannot find an English teaching job in Beijing. You are right about a degree...it usually does not matter here anyway. The schools usually just lie to the parents anyway and claim that all their teachers are degree holders.
It is also true that Chinese parents almost always want to see a foreign looking English teacher in front of the class. Most of the time a foreign looking face is the most important qualification for getting an English teaching job in Beijing.
However, it sometimes depends on the type of school that you are trying to get into. If you are trying to get a job at a high quality school, then , no...you do not have a chance because you do not meet the most important qualification (foreign looking face).
However, if you want to settle for the low quality schools. There is an abundance of low quality training schools in Beijing that employ Asian looking English teachers.
I suspect that their might be another, less obvious reason why you are being turned down so often. It could be a Chinese cultural reason. It could be possible that you are simply over qualified. You look Asian, but your language skills are western. When you emphasize this fact it might intimidate your potential Chinese "boss" and he/she might feel threatened by your qualifications. Therefore, do not present yourself as so much more qualified as others. Get the job first, then you can demonstrate your skills.
Another, more practical, possibility is that your potential "boss" knows that you will probably not be around a long time anyway. You might want to leave out the part about being on a "leave of absence" from your university in Australia. A leave of absence implies a temporary time frame.
Why do you want to teach English in Beijing anyway? My thought is that someone with your bilingual language skills could be doing so much better than teaching English.
If you want to work in Beijing, you should be looking for a job in an international company. That is where the future is for someone with your language skills.
Just my thoughts. Good luck.
Bannoy
Re: Australian Born Chinese, do I even have a chance?
In Beijing this is the general pecking order in turns of a company's recruitment (Chinese managers):
White Americans/Canadians
White British
White Australians/New Zealanders and South Africans
European Non natives/Black Americans/Black British
American Asians/Black Aussies and Kiwis/Filipinos
Africans
This does not mean that the recruiter is inherently racist but unfortunately that in order to meet the demands of this market. The archetype is white american between 25 and 40. Your market value as a teacher is directly proportionate to how much you vary from this.
When I started as a DoS I would happily put ABCs BBCs etc on the books if they had a good demo. Then when we made a proposal for a client they almost always went with the white teachers offered regardless of qualifications. If I did not include a white face of the proposal we did not get the contract. Sad but true, all the best intentions in the world do not put money in the bank.
The funniest is even Half Chinese Americans have a tough time compared to their Aryan cousins. Craziness