What’s your mother tongue?
Posted by admin | Posted in Posts | Posted on 22-06-2009
Tags: Arabic, Bahrain, Bahrain Polytechnic, English, Labour Rights, Language
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Bahrain Polytechnic's Ad
Qualifications
• a recognized qualification in tertiary teaching;
• ENGLISH tutors must have a recognised qualification in teaching English for speakers of other languages;
• a relevant technical specialist qualification or a bachelors degree (minimum);
• a native speaker of English with excellent communication skills in English, both verbal and written;
I came across a very disturbing advertisement for tutoring posts in Bahrain Polytechnic. The Advertisement was for multiple tutoring vacancies in subjects ranging from Accounting to Electro Technology for degree-level students, and I found it really shocking that they would blatantly state that “Native speakers will be given preference” on the website, and reiterate that in the application document under “Qualifications”.
There are way too many things that are wrong with this I’m not sure where to start. First I’m unsure how being a native English speaker is a “Qualification” as such. Fluency and good command in English are things that can be thought of as qualifications, but a person’s mother tongue?
Second, I have absolutely no idea what being a native English speaker can possibly add to an Accounting, Mechanical Engineering, IT or Marketing tutors, and would really love to hear the insights from the Polytechnic about maybe revolutionary studies that they came across that shows that successful, renowned higher education institutions only hire“native English speakers”, in a country, I shall add, where English is commonly spoken yet remains a second language for most?
I tried to look at this from so many ways to make it look less disturbing or put a positive spin on it but I just couldn’t. They could have easily demanded good command of English, fluency, had proper criteria to measure or quantify that, and even if “native” was their shortcut into all of this I don’t think it’s acceptable. It is offensive, to my “non-native English speaking” Bahraini self and others.
I wrote to the Polytechnic, I don’t know if my email would mean anything, especially in terms of actual change of recruitment policy, but I sure hope they get the message that, despite English being my second language, I sure can manage to articulate how I feel about their advertisement.
I wouldn’t go as far as calling this “disturbing”.
If lessons are to be delivered in English, naturally native English speakers will be at an advantage.
Your delivery can sometimes be hampered by your thought processes if your thoughts are in a language other than English as you need to translate on the fly.
Your correct in pointing out that this should have been enlisted as a preference rather than a qualification.
I know many Bahrainis that grew up in English speaking households where they consider English to be their mother-tongue (albeit with an accent) but that’s not important.
I wouldn’t let this get in your way. Apply anyways.
Mike
Thanks for dropping by. I’m not interested in the job, but had I been, I would apply anyway.
You say because the medium of teaching is English, then it’s fine to give “preference” to “natives”. I’m sorry but that is not true. For that you need good command of English, sure, I don’t disagree there, but it helps to be a native? You are discribing how someone is “translating” form a language to another, and that’s the very first stage of learning a language, anyone with a good command of English (or any other language) would probably be way past that.
I did my undergraduate and graduate education in English-speaking countries where the medium of instructions was of course English. The professors had different “mother tongues”. They spoke Spanish, German, Indian languages, you name it. They still spoke English fluently and it did not hinder their teaching ability (in English). They were hired because they were good at what they did, and can deliver the material to students, not because they were “natives”.
I see vacancies for professorships and teaching assistants everyday, and I assure you that I haven’t ever seen “Natives will be given preference”, nor with it be accepted if it ever did.
I think you misunderstood me, I did say it is not a qualification, but I didn’t say they should write it as a preference. That is equally wrong.
If two applicants apply, both with similar qualifications, both speak very good English, both write very good English, it does not matter if one was a “native”, and that “native” should not get “preference” simply because of that. That is blatant discrimination. The job goes to the person who can do it best. Maybe that is what they want to say, but they sure used the WRONG phrasing.
I agree, some Bahrainis consider English their first language, that is why I said “most” and not “all” Bahrainis consider it their second.I don’t think it matters, though.
Pretty cool post. I just came across your blog and wanted to say
that I have really enjoyed reading your posts. Anyway
I’ll be subscribing to your feed and I hope you post again soon!
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