Untold truth about teaching english certifications if you’re an Indian working abroad.

While living abroad for few years now, and trying to move  up the teaching ladder, fine tune my teaching and speaking skills. No one will deny when you’re trying to make an ESL teaching career abroad , if you’re South Asian who grew up with English, but have that flat native speech sounds, stretches and pauses that come with it the world will look down on you. The other half truth being , the recruiters would suddenly put on the tag “We’re Racist” and obviously rule your application out just because you’re Indian.

Generally speaking, if your CV has been worked on splendidly well using an updated canva.com frames and makes a great first impression to your recruiters and you outsmarted them by hiding your nationality. You’ve a chance to get an interview call if you’re sending teaching applications for other countries. However, unless you’ve a decent neutral accent, or the one that of Shashi Tharoor or the BBC news readers. Surely, you’re just a dime a dozen.

What these teaching agencies do not disclose while selling their teaching certifications in India are the facts about the suffering and constant stress that’s going to come  with it, while you stay unemployed.  If you’re taking this career forward in a light  that you want to travel the world, and teach at the same time. They don’t tell there are thousands of others who pursue these qualifications with you, who are natives and will obviously be picked for the job . You may have to face harsher circumstances than an engineer would.

Sure, these hefty teaching English certificates are internationally recognised qualification. It gives you confidence and effective toolkit when you stand in the classroom full of foreign learners who know few words of English. It’s going to do wonders for your students , if you’re pursuing this career to teach in your home country as you already know the work culture.

This is a wake up call for the Middle-easterns, Arabs ,  Asians or Balkans that these certificates won’t do wonders for you, least of all make you earn equally well. What’s more important these days is what passport you hold for a career like this. If you shook yourself out of your comfort zone, and took an education degree from Europe or from one of the native English speaking countries.

Teaching career abroad comes at a huge cost. One of the truths being, if an employer is hiring you, he sees that you got one of the criterion met with these teaching english license, and with some relevant teaching experience. Whatsoever, you won’t be paid at par. Unfortunately, the truth of the day is you’d still be hired cos’  you’ll cost them low.

Sure, if you’re a warrior enough as I’m. If you don’t easily give up and are willing to work on yourself,  compromise your comfort zone, shed off your native Indian english accent  and know few other languages.

You may go places! 😉

 

*P.S the opinions are totally based on the real life experiences of the author of the article and doesn’t support or reject any sort of education .*

 

 

 

The feeling of being answerable.

I have recently joined as a Teacher of English in a school. I have always been precise and curious about Grammar rules as a student and would point out to my classmates and colleagues whenever it was necessary.
When I started my journey as a Toastmaster during my college in Chandigarh. I got acquainted to the budding Grammarian inside me, whenever I would take the Role of it in the meetings. But as soon as I joined as an English Teacher and stood before those curious and not so curious eyeballs. I realised how important it is for me to be delivering my best. Everyday I come back from school take a nap and start reading WREN & MARTIN. Honestly, I had shirked reading the book all my life when I was a student. But now the feeling that I’m answerable to some 250 lives daily. It has become a constant need to reach out to the best of resources available around me . And trust me, that does not only make me answer well , while I stand before my classes but also is making me a well informed and more confident person.

I had always kept the idea of becoming  a teacher at bay, but seems life takes you by surprise by throwing you up especially in the same situation which you would like to avoid. But I throw my hands up now and am ready to admit that I have started to love the profession because it isn’t just a 7 to 3 job for me anymore. Coming back from school, preparing myself for another day, reading much more than I used to.If it hadn’t been for those curious , restless eyeballs who look up to me as someone who is going to inflate more curiosity in them , I would have never changed my ideas about it.

It only takes me to wonder more , if we would all just begin drilling passion to our work and not just see it as a mere means to earn, how fair and just things will transform into. To top it all, we will all end up satisfied and happy!