Interview guide
Interview Guide
Part A
Name: _JOLENY VI L. OQUENDO Age: 23
Residence: Brgy. Mangan Banga,
Aklan
Birthdate: Dec 11, 1984 Sex: F
Civil Status: Single
Teaching experience:
Country/ Countries
worked/working in: Inclusive date(s)
China
October 25, 2007
to the present
Company/
School:
Address
Position/Job
TDM
Language College
Wuhan City , Hubei , China Teacher
Aklan
State
University
Banga, Aklan College Instructor
Hello
English School
Iloilo City Teacher
Part B
Guide Questions
- What are your
reasons for teaching English in other Asian countries? (you may choose
more than one.)
- High compensation?
How high is it compared to the salary you may get if you have the same job
in thePhilippines
? ( 2x,
3x compared to what you can get here?) Is it a good amount in
relation to the cost of living inChina
?
i.3x-4x
higher than Philippine salary
- Experience living
abroad? What do you consider as the perks of living abroad?
i. Experiencing different cultures, mingling Canada .
with Chinese and other foreign teachers form Africa, US, Europe and
ii. Living the easy
life with free accommodation and less working hours. (usually below 21 hours a
week).
ii. much cheaper food
and commodities
iii. stable weather conditions. China , Wuhan City experiences no floods, nor heavy
Geographically placed in the center of
rains and hurricanes.
- Expanding
professional/ educational experience? How will working abroad expand
your professional/ educational experience?
- Promising position/
job promotion? Why did you say so?
- Others
____________________________________________________________
- At first, what were
your expectations about your job? Were they eventually met?
- Country and its people
Yeah, no problem with the
country and the people. In a way, people of different countries are basically
much the same.
- Nature of work
I personally believe that working conditions are way much
better here. Work is easy once you get the hang of it (which you will after a
month of working). Every teacher gets a Teaching Assistant to translate some
vocabulary and instructions in Chinese and assist you in class. That spells for
an easier teaching environ for the teacher.
- Work Atmosphere (with
students, co-teachers, administrators)
I didn’t like the previous headmaster
much, but I do like the new one very much. Students are quite easy to teach, though they’re rowdy at times. I have
no problems with my co-teachers.
- Compensation
The pay is more than sufficient.
- What were the
difficulties you encountered?
- Country and its people
I think it’s just the language barrier. With
the people, I have no problem absolutely.
- Nature of job
- Work atmosphere
- Lifestyle
- What were the
adjustments you had to make while teaching in other Asian countries?
(Dealing with people, food, language, lifestyle, etc.? how did you
adjust?)
I hated the
food (tofu, mushrooms and their spices) at first. It’s not that I love it now;
I just learned to tolerate eating it. Some dishes are quite good too. Some
dishes are somewhat akin to Filipino food.
- What were the
social/ professional issues you (and other Filipino English teachers)
encountered?
- Discrimination against
Non-native speakers of English in the workplace? (What were your
experiences/ observations on this? How did you cope?)
They give priority to the native speakers, even Philippines I’m
though some of them barely know how to teach. I find it quite stupid. Discrimination is everywhere, even in the
sure. It’s a fact. You just have to live with it.
- Racial discrimination?
(What were your experiences on this? How did you cope?)
To be candid, they don’t like African or Asian teachers Spain , Hungary ,
Poland and
that much, though they can teach well. They would prefer a White to teach their
kids. Now, that is somewhat inane to me because not all Whites are native
speakers. Some come from
English is spoken there just as a second language. Some whites, especially the
native speakers, don’t even know how to teach.
- Other observations
__________________________________________________
- What were your
motivations as an English teacher abroad? (the good points that have
been your inspiration…)
Honestly, I was motivated by the high salary plus the
chance of experiencing something new.
- After working in
other Asian countries, do you still want to come back abroad and teach
English? Why?
Sure. It’s a good place to earn money .Living and
working conditions are above par. Sometimes, we call this job, a holiday with
pay. J
Additional data:
1Educational background and year
graduated
MA in English (WVSU) - November 2005-2007
Bachelor of Arts in English - March
17, 2005
(WVSU)
Aklan
Catholic College
(AB Pol Sci) - 2001-2002 Undergrad
Aklan
State University
Lab High - 2001
2Work experience.
TDM Language College Hubei ,
China October 25- to the present
Aklan State University Banga, Aklan June 2007-October 24, 2007
Hello
English School
Iloilo City May 2005- June 2007
3How did the opportunity in
China come and why did you decide to grab it?
I decided
I was not yet ready to teach in a university forever so I decided to explore a
little first and give myself a taste of what is like teaching in other
countries.
A friend who is teaching in TDM urged me to apply with Aklan State University .
his recommendation. I was accepted readily and I decided to fly as soon as I
finished submitting students’ grade
sheets at
4.Describe the nature of your China .
work in
We work 21 hours a day, but usually less than that, at a
fixed salary. Saturdays and Sundays are the busiest.
I teach adult and teenage conversation classes. We have a
tie-up with public schools so I teach 3 or four classes a week in the primary
school as well.
