How international are international schools?

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Bij Bam
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Joined: Thu Mar 20, 2014 9:08 am

How international are international schools?

Post by Bij Bam »

I've been wondering about this lately: how international are international schools *really*?

As a non-native speaking teacher, I confess I get a bit frustrated sometimes. There are lots of interesting international schools hiring here in Europe, but many of them put up one damning requirement: you have to be a native English speaker in order to apply.

Now I have my CPE, I've lived, studied and worked both in the UK and in the US and I'm absolutely fluent in the language both in written and in oral form, with but a minor, apparently rather indeterminable accent. In fact, I *think* in English. And apart from that, I've got all kinds of goodies on my CV that tend to be high up on the list of desirable or required skills, experiences and qualifications.
So why won't they at least give me a chance to present myself?

I can understand and accept that British schools prefer to hire British teachers and American schools prefer to hire American teachers etc. But why should international schools limit themselves to native English speakers only? How does that reflect on their internationality?

Schools' websites often proudly announce that their school has a student body representing (say) 30 different nationalities and 25 languages. Well, that's very interesting, but that's hardly the school's own merit. It just depends on who happened to move to the area. If you really want to advertize your school's internationality, let me know how many nationalities and languages are represented in your teaching staff! If they're all native English speakers, you might as well call yourself an Anglosaxon school, because it's not just the language, it's also the school's culture and teaching approach that are affected by the teachers' cultural background.

Besides, what message does it convey if you *only* want native English speakers as teachers in your school?
First of all, apparently you seem to think that anyone who is not a native English speaker is unworthy to teach at your school. Native English speakers apparently are automatically seen as superior. But if we have superior teachers based on their nationality/native language, then we also have *inferior* ones. So much for the laws against discrimination based on nationality...

Secondly, most of the students in international schools tend to be non-native English speakers. And no matter what fancy international education they will receive at your school and elsewhere, by definition they'll never, ever become native English speakers. In other words, they'll always remain *inferior* (see above) to the native English speakers. Wow, that's a great message for the parents, isn't it...

Instead, if both native and fluent non-native English speakers are employed side by side as equals in an international school, students and parents can see that even if you're a non-native, you can achieve the same as native English speakers. Isn't that far more inspiring?

Okay, so we non-natives might (might!!) lack a *real* American/British/Australian whatever accent. But apart from it being preposterous to simply presume so, I also wonder why a slight non-Anglosaxon accent would be considered worse than for example a Texan drawl.
And besides, students hardly ever keep the same teacher all through their entire school career. They're bound to encounter a different accent in their teacher's speech every year. So what's so bad about including a few non-Anglosaxon accents in that? Why should the whole world need to learn that specific Anglosaxon accent? And *which* Anglosaxon accent in that case? They vary widely!

The most grating example of this narrow-mindedness IMO is when IB schools will only accept applications from native English speakers. That doesn't quite go with their much valued Learner Profile and its component of open-mindedness, does it? An IB *World* school? Forget it - those are IB Anglosaxon schools... (Not all of them, mind you - far from it. There are lots with a real international teaching staff. But there are also too many that insist on having native English speakers for their teachers. I even came across an IB school the other day of whom I know the director - he's a former colleague of mine. I recall for a fact that he was no native English speaker; he is a national of the country in which we worked together. And now he's inviting applications for teachers for his school - but only native English speakers need apply. That's what I call hypocrisy...)

So what should I do? You think it would work if I moved to for example Australia and get Australian citizenship? Lots of my countrymen moved there after the war, so my last name wouldn't be all that odd coming from there. And then 'englishize' my first name a bit... I know it'd be rather impossible to try it as an experiment, but it'd be interesting to see whether in that case these Anglosaxon 'international' schools suddenly *would* accept my application...
shadowjack
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Re: How international are international schools?

Post by shadowjack »

Bij Bam,

I would assume that if I were to apply at the German International School of Singapore, they would prefer to hire German trained and native-speaking teachers over me, who, while I can speak German, didn't go through the curriculum and for whom German is not my first language.

The bottom line is that schools want teachers from specific countries because those teachers are 100% fluent in the language, presumably (note that word) have a far greater understanding of the nuances of the language, and the informal uses, and who have gone through that curriculum themselves.

I am not discounting your training, or your English ability (God I wish I spoke more than one language totally fluently), but just laying it out as it is.

That said, there ARE schools out there who WILL hire non-US/Canadian/British/NZ/Australia/South Africa teachers. But are you applying to those schools?

If you PM me, I can likely give you more information.

Shad
Trojan
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Re: How international are international schools?

Post by Trojan »

All good points, Bam.

Have you ever just thought about saying you ARE a native speaker of English? Your word against theirs, right?

Or does this then turn into what a native teacher LOOKS like?

That would be even more damning, but I imagine, in some schools, thats part of their advertising too.
sid
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Re: How international are international schools?

Post by sid »

Every school I've been in, as an employee or a visitor, had at least a few teachers who were not native speakers. I'm a little surprised to hear that so many schools apparently have rules against even applying.
My advice is to flaunt those rules. Apply anyway. If the recruiter reads your application and doesn't even notice that you've got English as an additional language, well, you're in with a shot, certainly. You can either not mention it at all, or hit the nail on the head towards the end of your cover letter (after you've wowed them with the quality of your prose), and see how it goes.
As a recruiter myself, I feel it is important to differentiate between those who are fully professionally fluent, and those who have a good smattering of a language, but not enough to be truly comfortable in complex, professional communications, whether in writing, in the classroom, talking with parents, and understanding PD offerings. Every year I receive a good handful of applications from people who are well intentioned, but who clearly are not truly fluent, and would not be able to thrive in our school. As with any other applicant, if they don't have the chops, it's not in anyone's interest to offer them a post.
Based on the OP's post, I think he deserves a shot at an interview, at least.
Trojan
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Re: How international are international schools?

Post by Trojan »

Sid, i agree.

With so many possibilities of being a native speaker of English in so many different circumstances, i say put the ball in the interviewer's court.
Bij Bam
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Re: How international are international schools?

Post by Bij Bam »

Answering everyone in one message here :-)

Shadowjack:
As I mentioned, I can understand the reasoning of such 'national international schools', and I can accept their logic. Although I wouldn't say nationality is quite an assurance when it comes to the applicant having 'gone through the system' himself. His parents could have been missionaries, and he could have grown up in the jungle of Africa! CVs usually don't go *that* far back, do they.

For the rest you seem to give a nice account of how the schools and the recruiters in question might think, but it doesn't change the fact that they're *presuming* an awful lot, based on nothing but plain prejudice. Just because the average Anglosaxon has trouble becoming truly fluent in another language (probably first and foremost because there is no real need for them to do so) doesn't mean those of other linguistic backgrounds have the same problem by definition. If we want to participate internationally, being fluent in English is a *must*. We have *reason* to learn English to perfection, both professionally and colloquially - that makes one hell of a difference.

As for where I'm applying - so far only to those schools that *don't* require their teachers to be native speakers, but reading Sid's comments, I might just become bold and broaden my field. :-) (Thanks for the tip!)

Trojan:
Being of a general honest nature, it had never even entered my mind to do that, but it sure is tempting! I admit my brain was immediately conjuring up a cover story which would explain my having grown up bilingually. However, I know I'm a very bad liar and I'm not so sure I could keep up that charade all through my years of employment at a school. But perhaps I can keep it in store as a last resource...
Fortunately for me, I doubt it has anything to do with looks though. White skin, brown hair, blue eyes? Nah... That shouldn't be a problem. Besides, if that was what they were judging their applicants on, I don't think I'd want to work for that school!

Sid:
Thanks for the heads-up! :-)
The problem does exist indeed. In the past few weeks only, I've come across at least a dozen ads stating this requirement. And all from European non-national international schools. Actually, I'm considering taking it up with the IB, for as I said, this Anglosaxon bias really doesn't correspond with their philosophy. (Unless I totally misinterpret their philosophy, but I don't think my English skills are bad enough to be *that* far off...)
sid
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Re: How international are international schools?

Post by sid »

Good luck!
I think (I hope?) that some schools might be attempting to attract only applicants who have 'native language proficiency', as opposed to actual 'native tongue' status. There can be good reason for that, as I alluded to in my earlier post.
Unfortunately, with awkward and inappropriate phrasing, these ads reveal the linguistic and conceptual shortcomings of the ad-writers. For the record, those ad-writers might not be the people who actually do the hiring. Oh, the ads I've seen over the years, with such bad prose I'm tempted to judge the school as a place I wouldn't want to be. But over time I've learned that a) the ads are often written by office functionaries without elevated understanding of the school's requirements or the factors that make good copy, and b) once written, ads are often butchered by the publishers, who re-type badly, redact, and sometimes just make bizarre changes for no discernible reason. I've pulled my hair out to write good copy for my own schools, only to see the final publication of a truly embarrassing ad after the publisher did their 'bit'.
Which is a long-winded way of saying that perhaps the ad suffered from a copy-writer or publisher attempting to shorten 'native speaker proficiency' to 'native speaker' and save a few pennies without realizing the importance of the difference.
As for those who are small-minded enough not to consider the difference as they write an ad, well, I would still hope that if confronted with a truly fluent speaker, they would not hesitate to hire, since the only thing that really matters is having sufficient language to do the job properly (along with all the other job requirements, of course).
And don't get me started on some 'native speakers' I have worked with over the years, whose language falls far below many people who have acquired English. As teachers, or ad-writers, I'd far prefer to relegate certain natives to the back benches.
fine dude
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Re: How international are international schools?

Post by fine dude »

@Bij Bam
Here are a few solutions:
- Get solid references from parents and former students. Let them vouch for your expertise.
- Showcase your students' success in a digital format and publish it.
- If you still haven't got one, get the much coveted American teacher license or the UK PGCE.
- Visit schools and meet up with the admin in person.
- Become an IB examiner or workshop leader.

Most of all, don't give up. When we expect our students to be gritty, we need to model that both inside and outside the classroom.
redrider
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Re: How international are international schools?

Post by redrider »

Bij Bam, From what I have seen, the preoccupation with 'native speakers' is a bit of... caving to parental, shall we say, expectations? I've heard a head of school say, in his decision-making process, that he couldn't have three non-native English speakers in a row, that is, for a teacher of year three, because the year two and year four teachers already weren't native speakers. This HoS didn't have anything against non native speakers or the teachers already at the school, I'm sure he would have liked to have had greater freedom in hiring the best candidate. But the parental pressure and the circumstances at the school made paying attention to the way this little breeze blew important. At that same school, we had non native speakers of English with master's degrees in it, who spoke it better than some of the native (and monolingual) speakers who were teaching there. (They have since been able to leave local-hire serfdom for much more lucrative posts elsewhere.)

At the end of the day, I would say, don't give up. There are schools out there who truly do have an international ethos and actively look to hire as wide a range of nationalities as they can. Don't give up. Look to better schools. They're out there.
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