Dear members,
One of our aims as an Association is to share members' concerns for all the rest to be aware and act if necessary. We are passing a mail by member Elena Brosed who raises a very sensitive issue. The question of "native" English Teachers being given priority by employers.
Should you like to contribute to the debate write to us with "Native Fever" as the SUBJECT/ASUNTO
Dear APAVAC
I´ve been doing job interviews and/or applying for teacher positions in some private or semi-private schools (not bilingual) but they can only offer you a position in Primary education because they have a policy that states that only native teachers can teach in Secondary education. And not only happens this in schools but also in language schools (academias), it seems we have the "native fever", mostly in Valencia; I met once an English teacher from Salamanca and she told me that the demand for native teachers is higher here than in other regions (Salamanca or Soria, for example) and the below link shows that Madrid is suffering from this virus, too, although I shouldn´t be surprised since Valencia and Madrid have so many issues in common.
Am I the only one who feels that English teachers from Spain are being underestimated? didn´t we receive a good training at University, most of my teachers were Spanish and highly qualified. I understand that a student who has a C2 level needs a native conversation, I did it but only when I reached that level not before and only for conversation. I´m not saying that native teachers are not qualified but it seems to me that private schools think (and persuade parents to think the same) that English teachers from Spain are less qualified and this is a huge problem for us, I mean, if this goes on, what´s the point in studying "Filologia"?. I wish this was only an issue happening to me, not applying for the right schools or whatever but I have the feeling that it is a contagious virus.
Best regards,
Elena Brosed (desperate non-native teacher)
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