The place to ask China-related questions!
Beijing Shanghai Guangzhou Shenzhen Chengdu Xi'an Hangzhou Qingdao Dalian Suzhou Nanjing More Cities>>

Categories

Close
Welcome to eChinacities Answers! Please or register if you wish to join conversations or ask questions relating to life in China. For help, click here.
X

Verify email

Your verification code has been sent to:

Didn`t receive your code? Resend code

By continuing you agree to eChinacities's Privacy Policy .

Sign up with Google Sign up with Facebook
Sign up with Email Already have an account? .
Posts: 415

Shifu

1
3
You must be a registered user to vote!
You must be a registered user to vote!
4

Q: Why do non-native English teachers in China complain?

I have had this said to me, "Why do we get paid less, We majored in English" etc.
Firstly ; If I majored in your language would I deserve the same money, and respect as you?
Secondly; Is your English better than a native speaker?
Thirdly; Why can't you understand things I say? am I incompetent?
Wink

13 years 5 weeks ago in  Teaching & Learning - China

 
Highest Voted
Posts: 1300

Shifu

6
7
You must be a registered user to vote!
You must be a registered user to vote!
1

They complain because they constantly get shit on, by the Chinese for paying them less, and by the native speakers for bringing down their wages. Although granted some are more qualified than some of the native speakers I've come across. 

Report Abuse
6 years 18 weeks ago
 
Answers (13)
Comments (15)
Posts: 1932

Emperor

0
1
You must be a registered user to vote!
You must be a registered user to vote!
1

I guess they feel they are more special than the dime-a-dozen Chinese people who majored in English and make 1500-2000 yuan a month teaching English.

Alex66:

I was suggesting they feel more special than a native English speaker

13 years 5 weeks ago
Report Abuse
Report Abuse
13 years 5 weeks ago
 
Posts: 783

Shifu

2
1
You must be a registered user to vote!
You must be a registered user to vote!
3

Because they have to kiss ass a lot where as native speakers dont really need to

Report Abuse
13 years 5 weeks ago
 
Posts: 371

Shifu

4
6
You must be a registered user to vote!
You must be a registered user to vote!
2

Grammar isn't really needed in China. There are thousands (literally) probably more very competent Chinese teachers in China that probably know English grammar better than most native speakers. The only thing they really need help with is pronunciation. You don't need a degree to pronounce the English language, only to be a native speaker. Now a non Native speaker in China with a degree of English is wasting his time believing he is a teacher. We are foreign experts because we dominate English pronunciation and if a non native speaker is working in China in this kind of job he is wasting his time and talent and I dare say that if his listening and pronunciation are not up to par, he deserves to be paid less.

A lot of non native speakers become jealous and even resent native speakers (I speak from experience). They are basically in the wrong job but don't realise it. If they thought about it calmly and logically they would understand but they just think inside a box (mostly), and who wouldn't. This does not change the fact that they are not as skilled, in general or as apt for the job as a native speaker.

I suggest you find a nice way to explain these things to those who resent you and make your life difficult for being native. If they are really studied as they say they will understand that it is not your fault but rather China and it's system.

Everything I've written is generally true but bound to be completely wrong if applied to all cases. Some English jobs expect grammar and such and these are obviously an exception. I am not posting this to upset anyone nor to suggest that all non native speakers are the same, quite the contrary. I've had bad experiences with non native speakers being jealous but also good experiences with, to name one, my girlfriend, who I met working in China. She is a non native speaker but up to the date still the best teacher I have met in China.

yosuke88:

its*** not it's!

12 years 50 weeks ago
Report Abuse
Report Abuse
13 years 5 weeks ago

Tired of dirt and lies.

 
Posts: 57

Governor

2
2
You must be a registered user to vote!
You must be a registered user to vote!
0

It's a simpleIn fact is, if they don't pay the expats differentially, we would be somewhere else doing money....

GoldenBoy:

Hahaha, never a truer word.

13 years 5 weeks ago
Report Abuse

GuilinRaf:

I hear Vietnam pays pretty good...?

13 years 4 weeks ago
Report Abuse

den1027:

looking at your English,I believe you are not native English speaker yourself also,right?

12 years 49 weeks ago
Report Abuse
Report Abuse
13 years 5 weeks ago
 
Posts: 83

Governor

3
3
You must be a registered user to vote!
You must be a registered user to vote!
0

I have found that many Chinese English speaking teachers who majored in English actually speak very poor English. As goes with many student who studied abroad, they seem to be very proud of how well they can speak, however I often find many difficult to understand. No reflection to all.

Report Abuse
12 years 8 weeks ago
 
Posts: 4397

Emperor

2
4
You must be a registered user to vote!
You must be a registered user to vote!
2

  Because they know the rules of English grammar better than MOST native English speakers and feel that qualifies them as teachers of an equal standing, but the truth is people don't learn a language by learning its grammar; I didn't know the difference from a noun and a verb when I came here, but I speak fluently and without fault. I know teachers, and students with knowledge of the rules of English grammar which outreaches my own, but when they open their mouths it's a different story. Foreign teachers are here to bring a natural understanding of the language to English students, and for that, plus the distance they make between themselves and their home countries, they deserve a higher wage. Whether the wages they have as things stand are excessively high is a different question, but they do deserve a higher wage.

Report Abuse
12 years 8 weeks ago
 
Posts: 1201

Shifu

0
0
You must be a registered user to vote!
You must be a registered user to vote!
0

because in my opinion they are treated so much unfair......salary and benefits are much more low sometimes compared to some chinese teachers......if someone got a good accent and good english knowledge that's enough..........but some don't think so and to say the truth...That's bad...and i wish those teachers all the best....God Bless

Report Abuse
12 years 8 weeks ago
 
Posts: 887

Shifu

0
0
You must be a registered user to vote!
You must be a registered user to vote!
0

Haven't 'kissed anyone's ass', 'being jealous' or had 'salary and benefits that are much more low' (now this one coming from an UK citizen). I am not ashamed of where I am from, actually the opposite smiley

I work in a public Uni (my second year now) and make the same as everyone else. But maybe I'm just lucky!? Yes I am English major and I have lived in the US for several years and I do know that a LOT of people there cannot speak and spell their 'own' language properly...which is not the case where I come from. So if a native speaker that was, say, a nurse in the US, comes here to teach English, I don't know how 'native' exactly this is, she can't even do transcription...if that matters or explain anything grammar related (which again doesn't matter?)...We all have accents yes...So I don't think that any slight Euro (any country) accent is much worse than a kiwi accent...where 'six' becomes 'sex' and 'bed' become 'biid'. So all this native/non-native BS is a bit relative.

manasyt:

Did I say something that's not true?

12 years 8 weeks ago
Report Abuse
Report Abuse
12 years 8 weeks ago
 
Posts: 2186

Emperor

0
0
You must be a registered user to vote!
You must be a registered user to vote!
0

Like many things in China this is a market driven cause and effect.

 

The market wants native English speaking teachers, there aren't enough native English speaking teachers because a. this is China and b. the salary compared to our home nations is very low, therefore you have to pay us more if a. you want to attract us and b. you want to retain us. There is an over supply of non-native English speaking teachers so that drives the cost of them down.

 

Result jealousy. Sometimes justified, sometimes not.

Report Abuse
12 years 8 weeks ago
 
Posts: 3269

Emperor

2
2
You must be a registered user to vote!
You must be a registered user to vote!
0

Why do non-native English teachers in China complain?

Because they are human beings. There are only two certainties in life: death and taxes. And during life, complaining.

Report Abuse
6 years 18 weeks ago
 
Posts: 827

Shifu

1
1
You must be a registered user to vote!
You must be a registered user to vote!
0

chances are they complain for the same reasons Native-English speakers did 5 years ago.

I was in ShiJiaZhuang back then

Report Abuse
6 years 18 weeks ago
 
Posts: 1300

Shifu

6
7
You must be a registered user to vote!
You must be a registered user to vote!
1

They complain because they constantly get shit on, by the Chinese for paying them less, and by the native speakers for bringing down their wages. Although granted some are more qualified than some of the native speakers I've come across. 

Report Abuse
6 years 18 weeks ago
 
Know the answer ?
Please or register to post answer.

Report Abuse

Security Code: * Enter the text diplayed in the box below
Image CAPTCHA
Enter the characters shown in the image.
  • Allowed HTML tags: <a> <em> <strong> <cite> <code> <ul> <ol> <li> <dl> <dt> <dd> <img> <br> <p> <u>
  • Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically.
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
  • Textual smileys will be replaced with graphical ones.

More information about formatting options

Forward Question

Answer of the DayMORE >>
A: Good question!  I'd say, if you study at Uni in China beside
A:Good question!  I'd say, if you study at Uni in China beside working full-time as an E.T. with Residence permit, you don't interfere with your full-time employment.It's your free time and you can do anything you want, with respect to the Chinese laws and customs. Have a look at terms of Z visa/Residence permit and ... ".. you cannot work (and earn monies!) with another employer ..."That's all it is! Your RP sponsor title is written on the RP stamp in your passport, I think. It's in Mandarin, so I've heard about that from someone ...At I.D.-ing by cops, they know where you work and than more details about you are just a phone call away ... and it happened in person ... LOL ... during the day-time stroll through Wulumuqi, Xinjiang, 2012/13 semester. Now under RP, you're free to surf Internet, jog, ... and study, too. I suggest, you look and ask at the Uni, you plan to study in the future. Have a detailed look at requirements for studying and attending chosen Uni.Good luck! -- icnif77