Teaching english in a foreign country

I found out I get laid off in September/October, so I am thinking of trying a job teaching english in a foreign country for a while when this job ends. Does anyone have any info on this, or any personal experience? I do not know if I'd like the cultures in southeast Asia (China, S. Korea, Japan) because my impression is those are very workaholic, image conscious societies (yeah insult me for saying it), and I am not. Culturally I'd fit in much better in western europe than S.E. Asia. But I'd still like to consider this as something to do for 6-12 months.

southeast Asia is the area around Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, etc. Those cultures in those countries are different (sometimes very different) from those of Japan, China or Korea.

I have friends who have lived and taught in both Cambodia and Thailand, and neither one of those cultures are workaholic-- or anything like those of Japan, China or Korea.

Cambodia and Thailand are not the same as Korea or China, never said they were. My understanding is the culture in S. Korea or China can be very workaholic, especially for children in academics.

I've always considered everything south of mongolia to be southeast asia. But perhaps that isn't the official definition.

I've 'heard' that Thailand is harder to get into since Mark Carr, who was working in Thailand and molesting children while working as a teacher, made a false confession about killing Jon Benet.

by their standards... yet, every weekday he does homework from after school until 11pm. Then, he spends the whole day on Saturday and half a day on Sunday doing his weekend homework. He is Chinese.

Not sure what it would take for him to be considered a good student.

They're looking at options to sending him to high school in the US if he does not get into a good high school in China. In China, students take a huge standardized test at the end of the the last year of middle school/junior high. Students are then sorted by scores, with the higher scores getting into the better high schools, and so on and so forth.

He has been there for about four years now and loves it. I've never spoken with this guy, so I have no idea what it is like but I've been told he really enjoys it there and does not plan on coming back except for visits. Don't know if that helps but it is the only person I've heard of that is there.

...who came to our country, but I have no idea about teaching in other countries.

Well,if you insist:

Ookiosewada minikui kusatta inoshishi !!!

-Kin Tama

:P

http://www.insults.net/html/swear/japanese.html

antya baka de yo?

anta wa choubakari de yon...

hayaku shinde kudasai, namagomi.

Didn't get a good start (very lonely) but looks back on it as a great experience.

pretty sure there is a whole forum for teaching/working (haven't been on there in a while but it is a good site for all kinds of travel info)

teaching English.

He loved what he was doing. Brillaint, wonderful, amazing book in which he details out all the struggles and pains and frustrations, and all the wonder, glory, and excitement of teaching English in a ery foreign land.

http://www.amazon.com/River-Town-Two-Years-Yangtze/dp/0060953748/ref=cm_cr-mr-title

next few months.

if we moved the family there for a couple of years. I told her that I would tutor all the young college women in English.


:P

but some years back i did do extensive research into it (i was even accepted into a program in Taiwan, but did not go)

for starters, depending on the country you go to, it is NOT as simple as showing up and expecting to get hired just because you are a native english speaker -- this is a VERY overcrowded field filled with wannabe expats with little or no experience...Do you have teaching experience? Are you accredited? More and more schools/companies are using that as a requirement now...If you get a freelance/nonaccredited job, don't expect the paycheck to cover anything more than local living costs...

Research the country you're most interested in -- the people, culture, education methodologies, and legal/tax/visa issues...Some countries in Asia are conservative or repressive culturally, while others are pretty westernized...either way, there are tons of online resources to help you with your research...good luck...

It doesn't have to be teaching english, it can be working in hostels or doing volunteer work. I just don't want to immediately jump into another science job after this one ends.

However I wonder if I spend about 5 years overseas or doing various jobs, would I be able to break back into science afterwards?

I worked as a volunteer on an Israeli kibbutz in the early 80's. We were an international group and not Jewish. It's a good way to mix with people from all over. Though I'm not sure if they still use volunteers due to the bad economy. A Dutch girl I knew, who has kept returning, said our kibbutz stopped using volunteers, but others may still use them. You won't earn any money, but you won't spend any either - unless you're a boozer. It was a nice life for a while, even if the work was dumb.

and it's in the back of my mind as an option for getting a visa to a foreign country if I become overly disgusted with this one.

First of all, Western Europe is nearly (not entirely but nearly) impossible for an American, because there are so many Brits and Irish who can work there without a visa, thanks to the EU.

Eastern Europe is easier, but living conditions can be poor.

NE Asia is not as easy as it used to be, but there appear to be a large number of jobs in China and Korea. However, judging from the discussion forums at Dave's ESL Cafe (THE go-to source for ESL overseas), the cultural adjustments are huge. Either the school owners are cheating bastards OR the teachers are brats who expect everything handed to them. Probably a bit of both. Japanese schools are still recruiting, but not as much as they used to.

Southeast Asia doesn't pay well, but there seem to be a lot of jobs in Thailand and Vietnam.

Also, if you're going to be writing cover letters to schools, be sure to work on your capitalization and punctuation.

But check out Dave's ESL Cafe on the web for discussion boards with posts from teachers working everywhere in the world, as well as job listings.

I'd kinda like to do it in Japan.

nearly all in JET or a similar program in Japan. All have loved it. It is an adjustment but Japan has so many things to offer. I would like to do this in Japan as well.

That was my impression. A friend of mine who got into medical school couldn't get into the JET program.

In fact even harder than some grad school apps.

Here is an interesting discussion of this:

http://renshuu.org/forum/index.php?action=printpage;topic=162.0

The interview process is extremely intense (One of my interviewers was a high ranking member of the Department of Defense. Humor did not work on him.), but JET, by far, is the best ESL program you can get into in Japan.

I think you've missed the application deadline for the upcoming school year, though.

You might want to check it out. I asked why the Spanish needed English lessons since they were taught English in their own schools and was told that it's mainly Spanish businessmen who are kinda lazy. I don't know if that's true but that was this person's take on it. This was last September. I think she said she had been teaching in Madrid.

Spain is absolutely marvelous. I was there last October and I just loved it. Madrid was fabulous and it has 3 wonderful art museums. You can zip around Spain in their high speed trains. The food is marvelous, I think I could eat tapas for the rest of my life and be happy.

It would help if you had some training in teaching ESL. I tutor a Chinese woman and have attended seminars in the aspects of teaching English to speakers of other languages. There is defintely a lingo that would be good for you to know. For instance, before training I had no idea that English is a "stress timed" language, unlike, say, Spanish which is "syllable timed." PM me if you'd like a little more information on teaching ESL.

They desperately need teachers.

It's a nice job; good pay (approx 2K a month USD), low prices, interesting assignments, dynamic work environment (Yesterday was Teacher's day and so we drank beer, hard liquor, ate sushi and pancakes, met old co-workers, and played volleyball. Try doing THAT in the states.)

The drawbacks are lonliness if you get a rural assignment, spots of racism, weird/difficult bureacratic hiccups/issues, language barriers, and the occasional annoying food allergy.

Most assignments here are 1 year, but there are short term assignments if you want to "test the waters".
Note: your pay and prospects increase if you have some sort of certification like a TEFL, TESOL, or CELTA.

Yes, you can even vote. You'll have to arrange with your Department of Elections in your state to get an absentee ballot, but it's doable. I was able to vote overseas in 2008 twice-once for a state vote and once for a federal vote.

PM me for further details.