By Jim Korea
Saudi Arabia continues to grow in popularity as an ESL destination because of its high salaries. Some jobs pay over $4000 (US) per month, much higher than jobs in Japan, the previous leader for ESL salaries. Saudi Arabia also offers numerous benefits including, but not limited to, furnished housing. But with the growing demand for native English teachers, many schools are becoming less concerned about experience or even qualifications.
Arab News.Com states, “This tendency to hire English native speakers regardless of qualifications is, in [Muhammad]Altaweel’s view, encouraged by Saudi employers. These employers, as well as students and their parents, are usually more impressed by nationality and accent than by qualifications and experience.” Altaweel is the general manager of Al-Faisal International Academy in Saudi Arabia. This attitude is reminiscent of several Asian countries that hire unqualified teachers on a regular basis, example Thailand, Vietnam and China.
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=104142&d=30&m=11&y=2007
The country predicts to increase their foreign teachers 30 % in the next year. And there is a burgeoning awareness of the poor quality of English education. A teacher stated that if they [Saudi Arabia] wanted more qualified teachers they would simply have to pay for them. In the future, with the expected growth of the industry and already the highest salaries in any ESL market in the world, teachers are sure to come. It’s just about hiring the most qualified teachers.
However, Saudi Arabia is still rather new at the booming ESL business. Granted, they have been studying English for many years, but an ever-flowing community of English teachers is still a new concept for most businesses. Once teachers realize the demand and benefits of working in the Kingdom the market will grow. But what should be the standard qualifications for teachers, a 2 or 4-week TESOL/TEFL certificate, a University degree in English Lit or Education, 3 years teaching in China? Once a more uniform system of qualifications is implemented among the majority of schools, Saudi Arabia will have a stronger, higher quality education as well as being very attractive to international ESL teachers.
Saudi Arabia continues to grow in popularity as an ESL destination because of its high salaries. Some jobs pay over $4000 (US) per month, much higher than jobs in Japan, the previous leader for ESL salaries. Saudi Arabia also offers numerous benefits including, but not limited to, furnished housing. But with the growing demand for native English teachers, many schools are becoming less concerned about experience or even qualifications.Arab News.Com states, “This tendency to hire English native speakers regardless of qualifications is, in [Muhammad]Altaweel’s view, encouraged by Saudi employers. These employers, as well as students and their parents, are usually more impressed by nationality and accent than by qualifications and experience.” Altaweel is the general manager of Al-Faisal International Academy in Saudi Arabia. This attitude is reminiscent of several Asian countries that hire unqualified teachers on a regular basis, example Thailand, Vietnam and China.
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=104142&d=30&m=11&y=2007
The country predicts to increase their foreign teachers 30 % in the next year. And there is a burgeoning awareness of the poor quality of English education. A teacher stated that if they [Saudi Arabia] wanted more qualified teachers they would simply have to pay for them. In the future, with the expected growth of the industry and already the highest salaries in any ESL market in the world, teachers are sure to come. It’s just about hiring the most qualified teachers.
However, Saudi Arabia is still rather new at the booming ESL business. Granted, they have been studying English for many years, but an ever-flowing community of English teachers is still a new concept for most businesses. Once teachers realize the demand and benefits of working in the Kingdom the market will grow. But what should be the standard qualifications for teachers, a 2 or 4-week TESOL/TEFL certificate, a University degree in English Lit or Education, 3 years teaching in China? Once a more uniform system of qualifications is implemented among the majority of schools, Saudi Arabia will have a stronger, higher quality education as well as being very attractive to international ESL teachers.
1 comment:
While many teachers may perform well with no qualifications, the minimum requirement for useful teaching has got to be a Bachelor's degree, but if you really want to be effective in the classroom, an ESL qualification such as CELTA is a prerequisite.
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