With a degree in education, a teaching license and years of experience teaching English to Korean students in his homeland, Filipino teacher Angelie Sawyer thought it would be easy to find a job in Korea, the country where demand for English teachers outruns supply.
Sawyer came to Seoul last February, joining her husband, American lawyer Michael Sawyer, but has not been able to find a teaching job purely because of her nationality. She had applied for teaching positions at the programs run by education authorities in Seoul and Gyeonggi, but was rejected.
``When I saw some ads, I would send my resume. But they would call me and ask about my nationality, and if I said I’m Filipino, they would say it’s hard to get a visa,” Sawyer told The Korea Times. “I feel really bad about it. It’s unfair. Koreans go to the Philippines to learn English, but here in Korea, Filipinos can’t teach English.’’
Sawyer has yet to get a teaching job. She and her husband are volunteering at the Seoul Global Center to teach English to underprivileged kids.
She says it’s obviously “racial discrimination” issuing English teaching (E-2) visas for the mere reason people are white rather than verifying their qualifications as a teacher.
The article closes by saying Mr. Sawyer is hoping to raise awareness about the issue through the complaint.
It's an issue worth considering, and certainly we've talked plenty on this site and on the messageboards about the issue of "qualified" English teachers and Korea's peculiar relationship with them, most recently with the Indian English teachers and with the word that public schools and agencies like EPIK, GEPIK, and SMOE aren't willing to pay for older, experienced foreign English teachers. In short, though, it should be reiterated that because South Korea has chosen to hire large numbers of "native speaker English teachers," there are naturally restrictions on who it accepts and limits to the "qualifications" needed. That brings up an interesting point made in the report filed by Mr. Sawyer, reprinted here with permission:
It is interesting to note that many of these aforementioned seven countries have more than one official national language and, furthermore, that English is not the mother tongue of more than a few South Africans, Canadians and Americans. On the other hand, English is one of two official national languages in the Philippines, where it is the lingua franca of government, academia and science.
26 comments:
I was just about to bring up that South Africa has 11 official languages, of which English isn't the most widely spoken mother tongue, and that obviously there are plenty of people born all over the world who are now citizens of the US, Canada, the Uk (various recognised regional languages), Ireland (which also has 2 official languages), Australia and NZ (2 official languages), for whom presumably English might not be their mother tongue.
Again it's the same old problem of who decides, and how.
Sorry, I meant to say:
I was about to bring it up, but then I saw you said something about it at the end of your post anyway.
From the OP:
Koreans go to the Philippines to learn English, but here in Korea, Filipinos can’t teach English.
Hmm... If I were one of those "follow the money" suspicious types, I'd start wondering if some nebulous association of language schools geared for Koreans in the Philippines was pushing to keep the Philippines off Kimmi's list of approved countries.
And Brian, you forgot to mention that this was written by Kang Shin-who, Korea's worst journalist. ;)
I work 200 meters from an Elementary school that has two Philipina women working there. The difference is I guess that they are married to a couple Korean guys and already have their visas.
An elementary school I worked at in 2006-2007 had a woman from the Philippines teach grades 1, 2, and 3 in the afternoons. She was married to a Korean. And I was told one of my former middle schools in Suncheon was going to use a Filipino teacher rather than a NSET twice a week, but I don't think they went through with that.
Perhaps the Sawyers should consider Jeollanamdo, or more specifically, Hampyeong County.
It's my understanding that there is currently 1 Filipina (o?) employed at each elementary school in Hampyeong County to assist with the English language classes...I've been told that their responsiblities are similar to those of the native teachers, but they apparently make about 1 million won less/month.
It's interesting to note that as these women have been accepted (at least partially so) as wives and mothers in Korean families in the rural areas, the job opportunities also appear to be opening up. Again, I'm curious to see how much more successful Ms. Sawyer could be in finding work in Jeollanamdo. That is in no way an endorsement of the status quo, but even for a (gasp!) young, white teacher such as myself, the opportunities in the Seoul area tend to be less desirable and more difficult. If you don't believe me, it's now imposisble to work in Seoul on an EPIK contract as a Level 3 (entry-level) teacher.
1 more thing, I met a South African couple at a new teacher orientation who said that they had spoken more English in the last week at the orientation than they had spoken in the last several years combined...
"It’s unfair. Koreans go to the Philippines to learn English, but here in Korea, Filipinos can’t teach English."
I brought this point up with my students. They explained to me that the people who go to the Philippines to learn English dont have the money to go anywhere else. If they had the option they would be going to Australia or the US. They felt that it wasn't that they "wanted" to go there to learn English but instead they "needed" to go there because they didnt have any other options. They saw it as settling. Same as schools with Filipinas. They would only go if they couldnt afford any "better".
Though I do agree that this is discrimination somthing seems a little suspect to me. The husband was already living in Korea and has a law background so you would think he would know about the E2 Visa regulations. Why then would she think it would be easy to find a job here? And then apply for jobs that specifically request people from certain countries of which she is not a part and be supprised that she didnt get the job?
I'm a level S ranked teacher in Gyungido now. This year, after 5 years of service, my contract is not up for renewal.
So far I've been told by recruiters that the schools are not interested in hiring me because they don't want to pay the salary a level S teacher would get.
It is definitely racism. Not discrimination based on qualifications or accent... but racism. It's the same reason my black friends can't get jobs.
Kudos to the Sawyers for standing up for the rights guaranteed them by the Korean Constitution. I tried to convince my black friends to sue each and every hagwon that told them they "don't hire blacks."
Rock on!
Now all we need are a few good English-speaking lawyers that can work on commission / speculation... Classic American-style justice. The first 'my coffee was too hot' lawsuit, however, will probably get laughed out of court...
Just because the hubby's a lawyer doesn't make him an expert in another country's legal proceedings.
South Africa has the situation where many of the people coming to Korean now studied in a time when there were only two official languages, Afrikaans and English. Also, international test scores show that Afrikaans speakers completely outscore speaker of other languages in reading and writing and totally blow them out of the water with speaking and listening.
There are many reason for this and some of those reason will be completely valid for the people who will be teaching English out of these "other" countries.
Indians have their own brand of English, just like any other country, but I would never think about calling their brand inferior to any one else's. Same for the decent Filipino brand.
I say bring them in. The more the merrier. To many Americans and South African here anyway ;)
If two people of the same country meet and speak in English, then I'd say okay let them teach English. I see that with the South Africans here.
But when I see Filipinos meet they don't speak English to each other.
And good luck to Immigration on spotting the fake degrees from India and the Philipinnes:)
I'm with Andrew on this.
But for those from countries that are not "socially anglophone," like the Philippines or India, I think it would be fair to require some sort of "credential" like TOEIC or TOEFL score above a certain threshold in order to get a visa, so that there is an avenue for the truly qualified from such secondary anglophone countries.
I don't agree that it's "racial discrimination" to only provide English-speaking visas to people from socially anglophone countries, but it is problematic if that's the only way to get a visa.
Frankly, I think this was also sloppy writing by Mr Kang, and I'm surprised no one has really jumped on that.
@Stuart: That's why they're looking at teachers from India
@Andrew: I'm Australian but of Greek ethnicity. If I meet a Greek in Ulsan I speak Greek to them even though we both can 'speaka tha English'. Yet the only issue I had when I was a teacher was 'You're accent isn't American' which I'm sure anyone except a few from a very small part of the US would have heard countless times.
For the record, Australia doesn't have an official language. Most government announcements are written in several languages depending on the demographics of the ward.
"With a degree in education, a teaching license and years of experience teaching English to Korean students in his homeland, Filipino teacher Angelie Sawyer thought it would be easy to find a job in Korea, the country where demand for English teachers outruns supply."
I like how the Kang douche can't get the pronoun right.
What does Korea now do for visa applicants from Quebec? I thought they had been burned before and have since instituted some policy.
Anyway, clearly Korea is using an expedient. The speed and minimal qualifications with which E2s are issued point to the function of their use: native speakers of English with experience speaking their language, not necessarily teaching their language.
It's not unreasonable nations where English fluency is below a certain percentage E2 applicants have to jump through a few more hoops. What do Canadian or American universities expect for foreigners? Do people from the UK or NZ have to pass an english fluency test?
However, for the E2 program to institute some kind of fluency test for all to be "fair" only serves the purpose to decrease the supply and increase the cost, an end point I can't see anyone wanting.
@fattycat
That's a disheartening fact, but i agree with you, from what i know, its true. Its economical, practical and cheap, and these are the driving forces that propelled them to travel to the Philippines to learn English, instead of going to US, UK etc.
Frankly, I think this was also sloppy writing by Mr Kang, and I'm surprised no one has really jumped on that.
Jumping on it would just be beating a dead horse, no? Nothing to be gained by doing so again. The only news worthy of mention would be if he were NOT Korea's worst journalist.
What does Korea now do for visa applicants from Quebec? I thought they had been burned before and have since instituted some policy.
You have to have a degree from a university where English is the language used in class, but how they go about knowing which is which I don't know. At McGill (in Quebec), for instance, courses can be taken in EITHER English or French--your choice--and transcripts don't specify which you took. Carleton (in Ontario) is similar.
The point I was making my post was that schools have chosen to hire native speaker English teachers, which of course excludes everyone who isn't a native English speaker. That really isn't saying native English speakers are better English speakers . . . but since the job title is "native speaker English teacher" it of course isn't up for debate, and we know a native English speaker is a better native speaker English teacher than a non-native speaker. There are some holes, such as people from Canada or South Africa or wherever who don't speak English natively, but that's not really the point. Not saying I agree with it, I'm just pointing out the job title.
I've read the letter and have a copy of it. It mentions racism but not to the extent mentioned in the article. Both she and her husband make clear that the complaint is about the visa being issued based on nationality instead of qualifications. We know there's discrimination against Filipino teachers---phone English companies have advertised they use native speakers rather than Filipinos---and against other dark-skinned teachers. But the point of the letter is that the discrimination here comes from the visa being issued based on nationality not qualifications. Ms. Sawyer may be more qualified than a native speaker---I dunno, I never met her and have never spoken with her---but again "qualified" is a loaded word, since the job title and the job requirement are to be a native speaker English teacher.
"She says it’s obviously “racial discrimination” issuing English teaching (E-2) visas for the mere reason people are white rather than verifying their qualifications as a teacher. "
?? She's wrong. 'White people' have to present the qualifications Korean authorities want: a diploma and transcripts from a university located in a country designated as having English as it's native language. Assuming she's got her degree from the Phillipines, it's not evil whitey who's without qualifications - it's her.
I had some sympathy for her until I read this line...why does every non-white with a racial grievance against Korea feel utterly compelled to insult or slam whites, who have nothing to do with Koreans attitudes? Yeah, screw you right back.
Im not really sure if that's what exactly she said, since its possible the writer himself made some mistakes in transcribing her words.
And yes its wrong, since i've seen a couple of teachers who are either black, hispanic or asian who happens to hold passports from the big 7. Chances of employment is a different story though, so there you can stick the "racial discrimination" issue.
Based from posts above, i think the big debatable issue here is the phrase ......"designated as having English as it's native language".
'Assuming she's got her degree from the Phillipines, it's not evil whitey who's without qualifications - it's her.'
That's a rather ethnocentristic statement...
Dunk wrote:
why does every non-white with a racial grievance against Korea feel utterly compelled to insult or slam whites, who have nothing to do with Koreans attitudes?
Well, not sure if it's "every non-White," but I think one of the things at work here is that English-speaking Whites tend to enjoy the benefits of the so-called halo effect while in East Asian countries such as South Korea, just by virtue of being English-speaking Whites. Were it not so, there would not be a flood of work opportunities based just on that criteria and having a bachelor's degree.
And while one could argue that you didn't create the game, the fact is that you willingly sat at the table to play even though you knew it (or at least didn't leave the table when you found out the game).
I'm not knocking English teachers who then take that opportunity to work hard and show their true worth, but I do find myself more than a little disgusted by those who think or act as if the fact that they were born the right skin color in the right country gives them a license to do a less than effective job.
@Brian
"Ms. Sawyer may be more qualified than a native speaker---I dunno, I never met her and have never spoken with her---but again "qualified" is a loaded word, since the job title and the job requirement are to be a native speaker English teacher."
Exactly. I'm not unsympathetic toward Ms. Sawyer and others in her position. However, I do get a little tired of hearing complaint after complaint about the fact that Korean employers don't value teaching credentials or experience, when I don't think that anyone on the Korean end is really trying to hide that fact. Job advertisements usually make it very,very clear that the priority is to find a native English speaker from certain countries, not an experienced or certified teacher. That's just the industry. If lawsuits are going to be filed, they should instead be filed by people who ARE from the specified countries, and are illegally denied employment because of the colour of their skin.
Dear Readers,
I find this topic very interesting in my current situation.As of two years ago I began teaching English in China.I am forty two years old now and am a born and raised Canadian(parents，Austrian). My wife is Filipina from Cebu. Quite often I look for teaching positions that may be available in Philippines, for the aforementioned reason, my wife. Unfortunately, it seems many Filipinos view themselves as “native” speakers of English and there is no desire to hire people such as myself.Also the fact I am forty two also works against me in the Philippines.Job ages are specifically stated ,usually no older than 30 years old is acceptable . In Canada that is also discrimination. Although I have met many Filipinos that excel in English,both orally and written, in my opinion it is not the majority of the populous. In Canada we refer to Philippines as the only Asian,English speaking country. Does this equate to being native speakers of English is the question. I would have to say it’s close in some areas but alas the answer would be no. Should it be a requirement to teach English as a second language, I would say the answer is also no. There are some extremely talented and hardworking Filipino teachers doing just that. There are also some inept "big 7" country citizens that are teaching. I believe it comes down to what the students and schools goals are. Furthermore just as I would only wish to learn Visayan or Tagalog from a Filipino because of their native sense of the language and knowledge of their culture, I think the same can be said about learning English. Some schools wish to have lessons include English culture be it,American,Canadian ,English or Australian. Again this is where a truly native speaker of the said countries would be preferred. Does Korea openly discriminate and behave in a racist manner? I haven't been there。 In China the answer is yes. Also having spent some years in the Philippines I must say I have witnessed numerous forms of age, race and sex discrimination not just to foreigners but also against each other. We need to take these racist and petty factors out of the equation and hopefully as the world globalizes this will be true.
Best regards to all, Peter
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