Native Speakers in Singapore

Alright my views are open to the whole web provided world so I must warn you that this may get a little racist. Sorry but if you are offended easily please read my other posts.

I don't understand why people are so for native speakers. In all the tuition centres for English or writing which are well known they are all taught by natives. If, I a Chinese were to apply for a job there I would have the job of an administrator or cleaner. Just because they are from England or America or goodness knows where doesn't mean that they are necessarily better than Singaporeans.

I'm sure that there are plenty of Singaporeans who are very good in English. Just because we use our common slang doesn't make us bad. We do it for survival. Anyone read To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee? Calpurina, their cook spoke in the Black's tongue at church. She did it so that people wouldn't say that she was sucking up or something and her normal speech was as fluent as any of the Whites. She knew better but she knew what was right.

I have that problem. I attended classes in a school where there were native speakers and loved (still do) to watch Disney movies. I somehow picked up their way of talking. I think that was further enforced by a few enrichment lessons till I was Primary Four. As a Primary one student most students found my accent strange. I was even bullied for it. Even now some people think that I've stayed in a place like Australia or America for a few months or years. The most I've been is two weeks to New York.

I find people as a natural instinct have the ability to lump people into a group. Like (no offence here truly) "Don't hang out with that boy, he's a Black." "Native speakers are better, this tuition centre not good one." "Foreigner? Must check his luggage a few more times!"

I myself fall prey to such thinking. I try not to by remembering my own plight. So why are people so biased against non Native speakers teaching English. They even say that Singapore local writers aren't good enough to be recognised. Yeah only because we aren't given the opportunities that we should be given to realise that we are good enough. In this kind of environment it lowers our self esteem to the point that we feel its a no hope cause we are trying for. As lustful and as impossible as a winter zephyr in the heat of summer.

Without papers certifying that we can teach we don't have much of a chance. Today's world requires papers and several years of training as a teacher in a tuition centre or a number of years working as a teacher in a government school just because no one is willing to take you on. I thought people would be more gutsy with this new age.

L'Chaim, To Life