Job Discussion Forums

[Glenski]

It seems that the forum has been deluged recently with quite a few threads asking the most general of questions: where should I go to teach as a newbie?

Help us to help you.

Thanks to everyone who tried to provide some background info (education, former job, age, nationality). However, other than pointing to a huge area of land (Asia, South America, Middle East), I would like to suggest that such posters do a bit more research before dropping this big question on us.

It's just too hard to answer. Your lifestyle now and your expectations abroad are just unpredictable. Most of the time the posts just say, "I want to earn a fair amount of money" or even something like "I want to earn the most that I can". How are we to know how well you will fare?

Ask yourself these questions first.
1. Have you ever lived abroad?
2. Have you ever lived alone in your own country, far from friends and relatives? Imagine your only contact with everyone you know being nothing but email or a phone call or Skype. And, further imagine that email doesn't get answered for a week or two. Sometimes you may not even have the luxury of email!
3. What experience do you have learning a foreign language, let alone one where you might be headed?
4. Are you willing to take little more than the clothes you own enough to stuff a suitcase and put everything else in storage (or sell it), in order to live somewhere else? Would you even fathom doing that in your own country? Are you willing to go back to living like a total college student with hardly any furnishings and with nothing but secondhand goods for daily life?
5. Research more than just a huge region (e.g., Asia). There are likely going to be more than one country there, speaking more than one language, and exhibiting vastly different customs. Seriously do this research and let it take time. Leaping into unknown situations unprepared is just a recipe for trouble.
6. Do you have enough money for plane fare and support for 3-4 months? If not, stay home. If you don't know how much it'll cost, do the research first.
7. Know what sort of teaching you might get into. Yes, this sounds elementary or too daunting, depending on your circumstances, but just as an example, let me explain about Japan. Too often I see questions like "how is the teaching there?" Teaching what -- conversation school, public vs. private JHS/SHS/elem. school? University? Junior college? Tech school? International school? Business English? Private lessons? Granted, most people will start out in only a small fraction of these possibilities, but do the research first so vets on these forums have something to go by.
8. Let us know how long you figure you might be doing this. Too hard to say? You have not thought about it enough. Yes, some people say 1-2 years and end up setting down roots, but the estimate is better than nothing. The answer helps guide other answers you will undoubtedly pose anyway, and it gives us something to go on with regard to advice on visa eligibility and employer qualifications (sometimes 2 vastly different animals).
9. Are you a judgmental person? Will you take your homeland's morals with you? Can you adapt to a new situation? Put yourself in the same position as a foreigner on your shores knowing zilch of the customs and language, yet trying to get by. Are you willing to face isolation and discrimination being a minority?
10. Ask yourself just why you want to do this? Running away from something (bad idea) or running toward something (define it) or running aimlessly just to find yourself (pluses and minuses here, so explain as much as possible).

And, the 11th commandment:
Have you made an attempt to do a search for the info here first, including reading the FAQs (if any exist)?

[DoubleDutch]

Good guidelines! Thanks for typing that up.

[natsume]

Might I suggest this be made a sticky?

[naturegirl321]

Great post Glenski, though I think more than pointing people in the right direction it will make them think if TEFLing's right for them.

[Glenski]

naturegirl,
That was an underlying theme. People can take it either way.

As many know, I've been on this board (and others) for over a decade, and I'd like to think I've dispensed a lot of good advice and information. Yeah, the same old questions have come up and will continue to do so, despite forums having their FAQs and stickies. But, I am of the opinion that newbies should really take heed of them. Not only can they be informative and keep the initial posts more well-focused and coherent, but it may also give them pause to consider just what they are getting into.

Some have criticized me for that last point, to mean that I don't want more teachers coming to my country (Japan) and stealing my business away. They just don't get it. That's not why I post like that. People, especially newbies, deserve the best info, of course, but they should also think about the consequences of what they are getting into. Lots of backpackers around. Lots of people still with the notion that Country X can be had for a song, where you can come with any qualification or lack of a degree and make a gazillion pieces of gold-pressed latinum just by chatting up a few random students in a smoky cafe. In the past couple of years or so, I've seen a growing number of people who want that, perhaps a return to the 80s mentality, or just the result of having talked to someone that used to work in Country X in a time of prosperity (and not stopping to think that times have changed).

[naturegirl321]

I hear you. I get annoyed when people ask the same questions about Peru, I created a blogspot about it and STILL get the SAME questoins.

[Teatime of Soul]

For questions about teaching in China, go to:

http://www.middlekingdomlife.com

[fladude]

[Glenski]

The point is, fladude, people do sometimes run away from some of their problems and get into TEFL.

Example:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/20/world/asia/20thai.html?ex=1350532800&en=a45957cff2aa11c4&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss

Let's not stray from that point with whether they should, ok?