Thursday, April 01, 2010

Article on Filipina English teachers

Korea Beat translated this article (original here) about Filipina English teachers in Korea and the discrimination they face (articles about such teachers have appeared before). Some tidbits:
Because of past problems in English education these teachers were given an opportunity[...] People in our country, they said, seem to prefer white people and discriminate against south Asians.

Hagwon instructors are mainly Americans, Australians, and Canadians, but some of them are unqualified, they said.[...]

We should reflect on our tendency to ignore certain countries and think too highly of others.
One wonders what 'past problems in English education' they're referring to, and it's nice to see 'unqualified' bandied about... again. It's interesting that, as far as lived experience goes, people in Korea "seem to prefer white people and discriminate against south Asians," but in the media that trend is actually quite the opposite.

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