Enough trash talk belittling Filipino English teachers teaching in Thailand or somewhere else for that matter.

The fact is: teaching English does not only entail having the native accent or using impeccable English grammar but also dedicating oneself to the "ins and outs" of the teaching-learning process ensuring that every aspect falls perfectly into a unified framework. Teaching is tedious and more often than not, the best teachers are only the most patient and dedicated ones.

They are the ones who devote long hours in preparing and organizing their daily lessons with wholehearted care and dedication; they are those who are the most approachable, caring and friendly to their students. Sad to say, the native speakers fall short in these aspects whilst the Filipino teachers show the highest regard for these characteristics despite the strong discrimination they experience everywhere they work.

English may not be the Filipinos' native language but they definitely are competitive with the native speakers whether the native speakers accept it or not.

Proof? I was in Thailand last year for a teacher training course. There were 12 of us: six native speakers from New Zealand, Canada, UK, USA and Australia, five from Asia (Philippines., China, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia) and one from Germany. You know what's funny though? Half of the class had to redo their research assignments and/or failed teaching demos (native speakers and other Asians) except their Filipino counterparts who passed all assignments and demos with flying colors.

How did it happen? I understood that the other Asians failed because it's not their native language after all. But the native speakers? I thought it's their language structure we're talking about. I was tongue-tied to realize that they've got no idea about their own grammar structure & language system especially when it comes to grammar analysis, lexis analysis and functions analysis. The shocking revelation of all: they cannot teach grammar! Why? Where is the "native speaker superiority syndrome" they are boasting about discriminating against the non-native speakers particularly the Filipinos?

And they had the gall to discriminate against me during class forums, group work and assignment writing. They didn't subscribe to any of my views during group forums and class inputs, but most of the time I was right when the trainers checked the group work. But who cares, I just worked on my own, wrote my own research and nailed all my research work and teaching demos (TPs) with high pass marks!. And their grades? Forget about them! Then they came to me in the end for some assistance in rewriting their research assignments. Duuuhhh! Brainless bullies!

What about class demos? One thing is certain: they're in awe whenever they saw me in action!

Need I say more?
Final Grade:
native speakers: Pass
Filipino: High Pass

Post Script: To my fellow English lecturers/teachers in Thailand. Go to the Middle East. They have high regard for Filipino teachers and they pay triple the Thailand salary.

A proud Filipino English lecturer