How to avoid being 'discriminated' for being a non-native English teacher.

"I guess my biggest problem so far was a kind of a "discrimination" of teachers whose native language is not English. Some of the schools even require the citizenship and passport of English speaking countries. I think this is highly unfair, because they basically hire the people without serious credentials... I find this very frustrating because I have a university degree, two Cambridge TKT certificates and over 5 years of teaching experience (along with neutral Mid-Atlantic accent)."

This reply is not from a Filipino teacher. And as you can see, she is also affected by the whole NES vs NNES issue. As with most companies who require native English teachers, I certainly agree that they are a part of our problem. But if you look at the root cause closely, and ask a few questions, you'd realize that it's not just because of the company's rules. It's also the laws in that company's country and its consumers.

Even if the company wants to hire you as an NNES teacher, it has to abide by some rules to do so, too. For example, the reason why some employers can't hire non-native speakers without degrees or certificates isn't just because they are non-natives, but because a certificate or a degree IS required to obtain visa.

Another thing is, most of their (the company's) clients/students WANT native speakers simply because they believe that native speakers are more effective in teaching than non-native speakers. So the companies have no choice but to hire native speakers IF that's going to provide more profit to them. Since most of their clients/students want native speakers, then they have to provide whatever their clients want.

This is not just the company's fault, it's also the clients' fault–because they're not aware that non-native speakers can also provide the same results (sometimes even better) than native speakers.

If you want to work for a company, you have to abide by their rules and policies.

That being said, if you want to work for a company, you have to abide by their own rules and policies. That includes agreeing to whether they need native English speakers, or non-native English speakers with a CELTA/TEFL and a degree, and how much they will pay you.

As long as there's a middle man–the company–between you and the English learners, the earning potential and the freedom you're gonna get will always be limited. You will never be 'in' control. If this is the problem, then why not remove the middle man instead?

The answer is simple and most probably it's this: Because you don't know how to.

If we don't take action, it will always be the same.

10 to 15 years ago, maybe the answer would have been "it's impossible". But today, with the internet, our current technology, and the overwhelming number of FREE resources that you can access online, it's not impossible anymore. In fact, I'd even say it's a must. The digital world is evolving and most people are given the chance to learn almost anything for free. Meaning, we now have access to information that 10 - 15 years ago, was not available to almost everyone. Now we can learn anything anytime, anywhere.

Even though it's sort of 'unfair' to non-native speakers, the companies have the right to hire only native speakers if they want to. We can complain all we want but complaining and talking about this issue can only do so much. If we don't take action, it will always be the same.

"From where you are to where you want to be, there is a gap. And that gap is simply a set of skills you need to learn."

Fortunately, there are many solutions to this problem. And I can provide one.

Because I've experienced the same thing, I understand how 'powerless' it feels to not be able to do something about your situation.

Years ago, I wanted to teach English abroad. I've applied many times and I got rejected simply because I'm not a native speaker and I don't have a degree. I only have a TEFL and a CELTA.

But since I understand that, for me to reach my goal, I just need to learn a set of skills.

So that's what I did. I studied, researched, joined programs to learn different skills.

I experimented, failed, and learned a lot.

Flash forward today, I have my own private students who pay me the amount that I want.

My enthusiasm for teaching and helping learners achieve their goals is always high. I enjoy my job because I have lots of free time to do what I want.

I never get bothered by companies' hiring process because I don't need to work for a company.

I never get bothered by working hundreds of hours a month only to get low pay because I have students who pay me the rates that I want. So instead of teaching 40-80 hours a week, I only teach part-time (10-12 hours a week) and use the remaining time for myself and also for my learners–by connecting with them personally.

The best way to avoid discrimination is to walk a different path

So, how do you avoid being "discriminated" in terms of teaching English based on nationality or other factors like 'having the right credentials'? You don't. Unless English learners become more 'aware' about this situation, that they don't really NEED native speakers to learn English, there will always be a demand for native English speakers.

And that's okay. It doesn't mean that you have can't get the same benefits and opportunities that natives have.

You'll just have to know how to do it yourself. You have to walk a different path.

I'm walking a different path. The path that leads to working for a company has its limits. The path that I take is the path to freedom.

You can do this too. In fact, I wrote an ebook about it. And I'd love to give you a FREE copy.

If you want to know the basics of teaching independently and starting your own business in teaching English online, then download a copy of my ebook. Just click the link below.

Download the ebook here.