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Opinion / Forum Trends

Should English teaching jobs be for whites-only?

( bbs.chinadaily.com,cn) Updated: 2014-10-30 08:09

Everdred (US)

There's absolutely no doubt that white teachers are preferred as English teachers in China, as well as several other Asian countries. My best explanation as to why: Chinese parents don't believe that their children are getting "authentic" English by learning from someone that isn't white. If their children were to learn English from an African-American, that isn't good enough for them, because in their eyes, English is a white-people language. Sure, many of them would accept a non-white teacher, but many of them would also expect to pay less, because in their mind they're not getting "authentic" English. There's also a face issue about learning English from non-whites. It would be much more impressive for a Chinese parent to tell their neighbors and friends that their child is learning English from a white American than it would be if they said their child was learning English from an African-American or Chinese-American. Bottom line: non-whites aren't "true" English speakers, nor do they give parents face, therefore they aren't preferred as English teachers, and they deserve to be paid less.

Should English teaching jobs be for whites-only?

Sean McNally from Britain teaches Chinese children how to learn English through paintings. Many students in China have trouble learning English and using it in their daily lives. (Photo source:Meng Zhongde / China Daily)

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