Topic: news Jobs for Non-Native English Speakers in China

Hello, My name is Ashley Barlow. I'm 24 and Nigerian. I'm really interested in teaching English in China. The first time I heard about it was back when I was in the university- the Department of Asian languages -Chinese used to hand out flyers , inviting us celebrate different Chinese festivals with them at their Confucius Institute - Dragon festival,Spring festival etc I fell in love with the culture (at least,the little part I was seeing) ,the colours, dances and all. My friends thought it was boring ,but I kept going back and eventually I made friends with a Chinese teacher. I used to help her polish her English and make proper pronunciations (her English was fair enough but her pronunciation sometimes went off). She told me she would soon be leaving as she was on a one year contract and that China was trying to establish a stronger relationship with Nigeria- so teachers were sent to Nigeria from china and also Nigerian teachers also went there to teach. "China really needs English teachers, Ashley. It doesn't matter if you don't speak Chinese,you're not required to. You should apply. They'd take you,since English is the official language in Nigeria." She left a few months later, and I lost communications with her as she said she Facebook wasn't used in China. However,I was looking forward to this opportunity to do what I loved doing most and that's teaching,and more so, doing it in a country whose culture I admired seemed wonderful. Maybe it's because I'm from a continent rich in cultures and traditions,I can't say. Altogether,I have about 4 years of English teaching experience. I have a BA in Philosophy. While I was iin school ,I studied Chinese Philosophy and took minor courses from the department of English Language. I assumed all these would be enough to teach in China, but then the shocker came when I started applying for jobs and I would see "Native English speakers " preferred. This was like someone slapped a wet towel on face, jolting back to reality. Is this how it actually is? When did English start to differ from English? Would it be appropriate for a school to reject teachers from Mexico or Colombia and maintain that you believe only a teacher from Spain can teach Spanish just for the sheer fact that he or she comes from Spain ,where Spainish originated. Language is a shared possession of humankind. And language is artificial, not natural , so any one can master it to fluent levels. Nigerian parents speak English as a first language to their kids and leave the environment to teach you native languages or you can learn it in school as a subject. But English is used to teach all subjects (except traditional languages) in schools. . .Nigerian has over 250 languages which have zero similarities so the only way we can communicate is by speaking English to facilitate understanding. So speaking English is kind of inevitable. I basically make all my mental calculations and thoughts in English. While searching for jobs, ,I saw job ads that said "Native English speakers- no experience necessary, no certificate holders also welcome,just hold a passport from any Native English speaking country-Australia,New Zealand,Britian,Canada,American or South African (since when is the english spoken in South Africa better than the english spoken in Ghana,Liberia ,Uganda or Nigeria? We were all colonized by the British except for Liberia which was colonized by America. Even though,I'm really interested in ESL jobs, it doesn't seem to be enough to get them as my search has (and still is) been filled with disappointments and rejections. After sending my details to the email provided,I'm guessing they usually assume I'm white because of my name, they'd ask for my picture and that's where the rejections emanate. It's obvious there's an image issue going on about what they think the traditional English teacher should look like- light skin,straight hair and white. Apparently,it's a marketing strategy-what the children want triumphs what the children need. The irony is that the Chinese in my country are treated with the same amount of prestige and respect we give to visitors both within and outside Nigeria. There are Chinese / Oriental hotels around, Chinese restaurants, Massage Palours , Chinese institutes. . .all around Nigeria. Goods are constantly being imported and exported. Nigeria has the largest economy in Africa (larger than Egypt or South Africa) and this attracts millions of foreigners. There are millions of Asians here in Nigeria ,Chinese ,Indians and Lebanese make a large part of that number. . And that's just Asians . .Europeans are way more. Nigeria has a "live and let live" mentality. It's such a shame that the Chinese don't see us the same way. I haven't given up but the confidence which I built over the years is waning. Any advice?