I have recently discovered this website about ESL teaching and I do consider it interesting and useful for all the brave ones who choose to leave their comfort one and go and teach in another country, most of the times on the other part of the world.

I have noticed a discussion about the old controversial topic, native ET vs non native ET who come to China, or even Thailand and have the guts to steal, yes actually to steal the ESL jobs who were originally given only to those who came from a country where English is the first language. Are they thieves? are they impostors? are they not in their place??

Personally I do not know the answer at this question, but I am asking your opinions regarding this topic. Is a native ESL teacher better or much better than a non native?

I have met both native and non native teachers during my stay in Asia and some were good and some not.
I remeber three examples of non native English teachers in China I personally met and, surprisingly they were and I suppose they still are successful and apreciated by the schools they worked for:

- the first case is a Romanian English and German teacher from Romania, Diana who has been teaching ESL at the same college in Jiangsu, in one of the most beautiful and visited cities in JInagsu, Sushou for about 8 years. Can you believe it? a non native teacher has been staying and working at the same school, public college for 8 years?

And, as I know, she' s still there at the same college hoping to retire from China. I mean from Romania but to stay and work in China until the retirement age .

- the second case I knew was a woman, a teacher from Serbia, who has been working for a private school EF English , somewhere in a city in northern China, in Shanxi I think and who has become the headmaster of that school, got a higher salary like 12000 rmb a month, and has been moved to Shanghai now. And she is from a non native ex communist country, Serbia.

- and the third case I pesonally knew was a female teacher from Philippines, somewhere at a training center in a richer province in the south of China who has been the headmaster of that school for about 9 years at the same school.

These are only three examples of successful non native ESL teachers in China. I suppose they are still there doing well for themselves and for their students. And it seems the schools are thanked by them even if their accents, probably, are not American, British or Kiwi. But all of them are hard working and had taught English in their own countries before their coming to China . So all of them are professional in teaching but still non native of English.

And, on the other hand, I met many native English speakers too some good ones and some bad apple too. But , only few of them had taught in before their coming to China.

About the original post about the bad experience that ( probably) non native ESL teacher had with the school in Thailand:

I do like Thailand as a country and a great holiday destination. Is Thailand hell? are all the school owners in Thailand racist and assholes? I do not think so.

If someone had a bad experience in a bad school this doesn t mean all the schools are bad and all the Thai school owners are evil and diabolic.

In conclusion I just mention my humble opinion about this topic waiting for some opinions from fellow ESL teachers..

Thanks