{"id":8244,"date":"2021-02-07T14:28:14","date_gmt":"2021-02-07T14:28:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/?p=8244"},"modified":"2021-02-07T14:28:17","modified_gmt":"2021-02-07T14:28:17","slug":"the-native-english-speaker-teaching-scam-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/the-native-english-speaker-teaching-scam-2\/","title":{"rendered":"The Native English Speaker Teaching Scam #2"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

My previous blog post (The Native English Teaching Scam #1<\/a>) described the deceptive and possibly racist distinction between Native English Speakers (NES)<\/strong> and Non-Native English Speakers (NNES)<\/strong> in international teaching job ads. Even if this distinction could be rectified, what advantage does an NES have over an NNES teacher in an international school? Four common and interconnected excuses are used by stakeholders:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Parents, the customer, want NES teachers<\/li>
  2. Schools require NES to market \u201cinternationalness\u201d to parents<\/li>
  3. Recruiters can\u2019t or worse, won\u2019t, recommend NNES to schools<\/li>
  4. Some countries have regulations restricting visas to NNES teachers<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
    \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    The first excuse is either a genuine\nconcern about the quality of the language of instruction (English) or racist\nattitudes held by parents. Qualifications like IELTS<\/a> are internationally recognised and allow\nteachers to prove their English language capability. Racism from parents\nrequires schools to lead their community and educate parents about the benefits\nof diverse staffing. The parent is the customer but racist attitudes cannot\ndefine the makeup of the faculty or, most distressingly, imbed negative\nworldviews in their children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The second excuse deals with the historical image of White, Western teachers being fundamental to an international school. The irony of international schools defining themselves in this narrow, anti-global way defies the meaning of \u2018international\u2019. The missions of accreditation agencies IB<\/a> and WASC<\/a> state international-mindedness is a core value, demonstrated by diversity and inclusion, in the classroom as well as the staffroom. While accreditation agencies could and should do more to enforce this mission, schools can take the lead now, rather than perpetuate an outdated image of international schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    It has been well established that\nrecruiters are facilitating discriminatory practices<\/a>, mostly,\nthey say, to meet client demand. An influential recruiting agency, Search Associates<\/a>, admitted after the George\nFloyd protests in 2020 that they needed to review their own practices. They\nhave removed the NES requirement from all their job advertising and are working\nto increase diversity within their business model. If it is simply easier (and\ntherefore more profitable) to place White teachers from the 10 \u201capproved\u201d NES\ncountries, recruiters must examine how they can overcome this unfair and\nprofit-driven motivation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The final excuse is the most difficult to\naddress, particularly during a pandemic. Despite the 10 NES countries having\nlaws outlawing discrimination<\/a> on the basis of\ncountry of birth, hiring practices in the global context follow the countries\nin which they operate. Countries, like China, can have hard to change\nregulations, particularly when they wish to protect and promote their local\ncitizens in the education industry. However, enough pressure from all\nstakeholders can change regulations, as some Chinese\nprovinces<\/a> have already done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I believe international schools and their\nleadership must guide this change. They can strongly influence parents and\nrecruiters, as well as eventually the countries they are located in through\nbest practice and promoting equity. Does your school have tolerance, respect,\nequality or global mindedness in its mission or values? These don\u2019t just apply\nto the students. International schools can start through a diversity, equity\nand inclusion (DEI) statement on their website. Great schools and recruiters\nlike here<\/a>, here<\/a> and here<\/a> already do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Oliver\nEscott is the Director and Co-founder of <\/em>Staffroom<\/em><\/a>, whose core purpose is to help teachers create a job and life they\ndream about. We provide international teacher career coaching and support\nservices. Our products include the <\/em>$1 Job Club<\/em><\/a>, a curated list of progressive\ninternational schools and recruiters. We are active advocates of NNES teachers\nand are passionate about creating the same job opportunities for all\ninternational teachers.  <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    My previous blog post (The Native English Teaching Scam #1) described the deceptive and possibly racist distinction between Native English Speakers (NES) and Non-Native English Speakers (NNES) in international teaching job ads. Even if this distinction could be rectified, what advantage does an NES have over an NNES teacher in an international school? Four common […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8246,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[9],"tags":[2839,33,2840,2837,2838,2633],"class_list":["post-8244","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-discussion-topics","tag-discrimination","tag-international-teaching","tag-job-requirements","tag-native-english-speaker","tag-racism","tag-recruiters"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/art-2026073_1280.png?fit=1280%2C640&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2flVT-28Y","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8234,"url":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/the-native-english-speaker-teaching-scam-part-1\/","url_meta":{"origin":8244,"position":0},"title":"The Native English Speaker Teaching Scam (Part 1)","author":"ISCommunity","date":"January 22, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"There is a clear form of racism - based on your country of origin - apparent in international teaching today. Recruiting educators can be based on their passport, rather than their skills, qualifications and experience. This is discrimination that everyone involved in international teaching must protest and actively renounce. The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Discussion Topics"","block_context":{"text":"Discussion Topics","link":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/category\/discussion-topics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Screen-Shot-2021-01-22-at-14.47.26-1.png?fit=1114%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Screen-Shot-2021-01-22-at-14.47.26-1.png?fit=1114%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Screen-Shot-2021-01-22-at-14.47.26-1.png?fit=1114%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Screen-Shot-2021-01-22-at-14.47.26-1.png?fit=1114%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Screen-Shot-2021-01-22-at-14.47.26-1.png?fit=1114%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8886,"url":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/selecting-an-international-school-tip-1-local-vs-international-school-systems\/","url_meta":{"origin":8244,"position":1},"title":"Selecting an International School Tip #1: Local vs. International School Systems","author":"ISCommunity","date":"September 25, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"What reasons do parents think about when selecting a school for their children when they move abroad? Are they similar reasons why teachers choose to work at a school abroad as well?\u00a0 Many international school teachers are in teaching couples that have children.\u00a0 There are also international school teachers that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "12 Tips for Selecting an Int'l School"","block_context":{"text":"12 Tips for Selecting an Int'l School","link":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/category\/12-tips-for-selecting-an-intl-school\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/high-school-gc67acbf97_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/high-school-gc67acbf97_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/high-school-gc67acbf97_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/high-school-gc67acbf97_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/high-school-gc67acbf97_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1274,"url":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/highlighted-article-which-languages-are-the-hardest-to-learn\/","url_meta":{"origin":8244,"position":2},"title":"Highlighted article: Which languages are the hardest to learn?","author":"ISCommunity","date":"June 12, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"A look at which languages are easiest and most difficult for English speakers to pick up. \"The foreign service institute of the United States Department of State compiles learning expectations for many languages based on the amount of time it takes a native English speaker to achieve speaking and reading\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Highlighted Articles"","block_context":{"text":"Highlighted Articles","link":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/category\/highlighted-articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/06\/screen-shot-2012-06-12-at-10-39-19-pm.png?w=350&h=200&crop=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1534,"url":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/comments-and-information-about-hiring-policies-on-international-school-community-7-intl-school-of-kl-escola-internacional-de-alphaville-guangdong-country-garden-school\/","url_meta":{"origin":8244,"position":3},"title":"Comments and information about hiring policies on International School Community #7: Int\u2019l School of KL, Escola Internacional de Alphaville & Guangdong Country Garden School","author":"ISCommunity","date":"December 10, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Comments and information about hiring policies on\u00a0International School Community: Every week members are leaving information and comments about the hiring policies at international schools around the world.\u00a0 Which ones go to the Search Associates Recruitment Fairs?\u00a0 Which ones hold interviews over Skype?\u00a0 Which ones have hiring restrictions imposed on them\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Hiring Policies at Int\u2019l Schools"","block_context":{"text":"Hiring Policies at Int\u2019l Schools","link":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/category\/hiring-policies-at-intl-schools\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"index","src":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/12\/index.jpg?w=350&h=200&crop=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3488,"url":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/new-survey-school-official-english-policy-campus\/","url_meta":{"origin":8244,"position":4},"title":"New Survey: Does your school have an official English-only policy on their campus?","author":"ISCommunity","date":"July 13, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"A new survey has arrived! Topic:\u00a0\u00a0Does your school have an official English-only policy on their campus? Many veteran international school teachers have already figured out\u00a0that there are a nice \"handful\" of these types of international schools throughout the world. \u00a0Some teachers and administrators think this kind of English-only policy is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Surveys"","block_context":{"text":"Surveys","link":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/category\/surveys\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Screen-Shot-2014-07-12-at-9.46.09-AM.png?fit=563%2C402&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Screen-Shot-2014-07-12-at-9.46.09-AM.png?fit=563%2C402&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Screen-Shot-2014-07-12-at-9.46.09-AM.png?fit=563%2C402&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1286,"url":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/common-myths-and-misconceptions-about-bilingual-children-4-bilinguals-are-like-two-monolinguals-in-one-person\/","url_meta":{"origin":8244,"position":5},"title":"Common Myths and Misconceptions about Bilingual Children #4: Bilinguals are like two monolinguals in one person","author":"ISCommunity","date":"June 24, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"As teachers working in international schools, we are most likely teaching and working with bilingual children (or even, more likely, multilingual children).\u00a0 Many international school educators also find themselves starting a family; with potentially bilingual children.\u00a0 We all know colleagues that have ended up finding a partner from the host\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "12 Common Myths and Misconceptions about Bilingual Children"","block_context":{"text":"12 Common Myths and Misconceptions about Bilingual Children","link":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/category\/12-common-myths-and-misconceptions-about-bilingual-children\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/06\/img_0095.jpg?w=350&h=200&crop=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8244","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8244"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8244\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8246"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8244"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8244"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8244"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}