The International Schools Review Forum

@Smoko

Not that interesting, considering 99% of all university courses in South Africa are delivered in English. I think there's a general misunderstanding among outsiders who assume that South Africans simply cannot be first language English speakers, because, well, it's Africa man.

Let's look at some numbers:

South Africa's population is roughly 50 million.
9.6% of the population are first language English speakers.
That's about 5 million bona fide, born and bred Englisher speakers.

New Zealand, on the other hand, has about 3.8 million first language English speakers. I've never heard anyone question the legitimacy of their qualifications in an international context.

It's worth mentioning that, even though only 10% of SA's population are mother tongue speakers, the country pretty much runs on English. Go to any South African website and I guarantee it'll be in English (seriously, type "*.co.za" into google and see what pops up). Street signs - English. Adverts - English. Walk into a restaurant and grab a menu, 100% English. It's the one language that all South Africans are guaranteed to understand, regardless of mother tongue.

Sorry for the rant, but Korea is full of smug, ignorant Yanks who can't seem to wrap their heads around any of this. I'm constantly having to defend my right to be an English teacher here.

@PsyGuy

Many thanks for your detailed reply. I'm going to take the plunge and hope for the best. It's a little scary, as my wife and I currently make about $4300 monthly between the two of us (we're able to save about $1700 of that). I'm not sure what international teachers earn (I've heard wildly conflicting accounts), but hopefully I can get us back into this ballpark before long. First things first though (PGCE).

TCH12 wrote:
> @Smoko
>
> Not that interesting, considering 99% of all university courses in South
> Africa are delivered in English. I think there's a general misunderstanding
> among outsiders who assume that South Africans simply cannot be first
> language English speakers, because, well, it's Africa man.

I was referring to the perceived quality of education, not the English proficiency. They don't seem to have any universities in the top global 100. I'm also not saying that this matters much in reality (there are obviously plenty of bright South Africans out there), but perceptions matter, especially in the international education market.

Also, that general misunderstanding that you're referring to has real world consequences. I'm confident that there will be schools and parents out there who don't want "African teachers" due to these preconceived notions, but I'm curious as to how common this is. That's why I found it interesting.

Smoko wrote:
> I was referring to the perceived quality of education, not the English proficiency.
> They don't seem to have any universities in the top global 100. I'm also not saying
> that this matters much in reality (there are obviously plenty of bright South
> Africans out there), but perceptions matter, especially in the international
> education market.
>
> Also, that general misunderstanding that you're referring to has real world
> consequences. I'm confident that there will be schools and parents out there who
> don't want "African teachers" due to these preconceived notions, but I'm
> curious as to how common this is. That's why I found it interesting.

You're right, my rant was misguided. Clearly a bit of a sore point. My apologies.

At any rate, my uni (University of Cape Town) is consistently ranked in the top 200, according to the link below.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rankings_ ... uth_Africa

That might not sound like much, but I looked at the list, and it's higher than many other reputed institutions. Not that parents/employers give a crap about that, as you said.

@Smoko

Its not just a PGCE, its PGCE and registration with the regulating authority (Teaching Council), that a credential. A PGCE is half a masters, thats a graduate academic pathway and credential vs. skills based credential. That route is going to provide substantially more longitudinal utility than Teach Now and that credential. The LW will be able to take that to a number of options including HI, and the GTCs in Ireland and Scotland, etc. then they will with Teach Now. Then theres the Masters issue, a PGCE is somewhere around half a Masters he can apply towards a low cost degree like UPe. Teach Now (Moreland Uni.) isnt worth anything in credits for the certification program. If a US/American credential was the route the LW wanted to go, they would spend less coin and resources just taking the exams for th MA provisional credential, at least then they wouldnt have to worry about PD and renewal, spend a year of their time, find an IS to do field work in and cost them about USD$5K less in coin.

@TCH12

I concur with @Smoko, while you recognize its not the issue of English, perceptions do often matter more in IE than reality. There are real consequences and outcomes that come with that misunderstanding. The issue is if you dont get an interview you never get to explain anything, and if you got the interview you dont need to explain anyway.

Youre going to take a salary hit, the average IT salary is 32K/yr, but outside of SK youd get an OSH package so add another 10K on top of that and your looking at 42K, and your making (assuming you work 12 months) USD$51600 (more if your ES supplies commute costs, etc.). Thats average, your on the bottom of the salary scale, even in China at step 1 in the bachelors/first degree band, youre going to make less than you are now.

Then theres the whole white, non-white issue. If IE doesnt work out for you, the PGCE and registration (credential) is going to be worth more in EE, especially if you add a Masters and youll be closer to that with the PGCE route than you will Teach Now.