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Should I teach for a year or stay in the UK

 
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lordgosh43



Joined: 29 Feb 2012
Posts: 3

PostPosted: Thu Mar 29, 2012 9:29 am    Post subject: Should I teach for a year or stay in the UK Reply with quote

I�m a 25 yr old UK graduate considering teaching in Taiwan. At the moment I�m in a low level accounts role here in London; while I don�t hate it, it offers little prospect of advancement. Of course the market is v-competitive which means landing a new job isn�t so easy. To complicate things, I'm not entirely sure
what I�d like to do, which is stalling my job search.

The most exciting prospect for me is to take the TEFL route for a
year. Although I�ve visited many different countries, I�ve never lived
abroad for a sustained period which is a challenge I would be up for. I would also like to get the Celta/ Trinity qualification as it opens up opportunities for jobs abroad to fall back on, should I need them in the future.

I have no commitments here apart from the band I play, which I would
be sad to leave. I have some savings and believe it would be a good time to
do something like this.

I have friends in Taiwan and visited Taipei, Tainan, Hualien, Kaohsiung
and some other places during a 3 week trip earlier this year, enjoying it very much.

The persistent nag is that by going away I�m potentially putting off a decision about my future. It�s possible that I�ll go away and be none the wiser about what I�d like to do long term. On the flip side I may well have a fantastic time away, and at the end of the day enjoyment of life is what�s important.

How did you guys go about deciding what you want to do with your lives? Did some time in teaching abroad/travelling help you gain more insight into yourself and what you want from life?

Many thanks
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Rooster_2006



Joined: 24 Sep 2007
Posts: 984

PostPosted: Thu Mar 29, 2012 11:33 am    Post subject: Re: Should I teach for a year or stay in the UK Reply with quote

lordgosh43 wrote:
I�m a 25 yr old UK graduate considering teaching in Taiwan. At the moment I�m in a low level accounts role here in London; while I don�t hate it, it offers little prospect of advancement. Of course the market is v-competitive which means landing a new job isn�t so easy. To complicate things, I'm not entirely sure
what I�d like to do, which is stalling my job search.
Advancement will be just as hard in Taiwanese EFL. At most cram schools, you will start as a teacher making 550 ~ 600 NTD per hour, and you will finish as a teacher making 550 ~ 600 NTD an hour. Promotion at a cram school is extremely unlikely. Once you have lived in Taiwan for a long time, you can start your own cram school or get an MA TESOL and make more money, but both of these steps will require years of hard work, and most people aren't willing to put in that much time.

Quote:
The most exciting prospect for me is to take the TEFL route for a
year. Although I�ve visited many different countries, I�ve never lived
abroad for a sustained period which is a challenge I would be up for. I would also like to get the Celta/ Trinity qualification as it opens up opportunities for jobs abroad to fall back on, should I need them in the future.
CELTA and Trinity are certificates in teaching English to adults. I can't speak for Trinity, but I can for CELTA (I am CELTA certified) -- it has virtually nothing in its curriculum on dealing with kids, discipline problems, etc. that you will encounter in Taiwan. Most teaching jobs in Taiwan are teaching kids, not adults, so a CELTA does very little for you in Taiwan in terms of improving your teaching.

They are nice certs if you're going to teach immigrant adults in the UK. However, they are not very applicable to a Taiwanese buxiban classroom with kids (at least CELTA isn't, I don't know about Trinity, but I somehow doubt it).

Furthermore, one of the big problems with TEFL cert programs (and I should know, since I have done both CELTA and CTEYL as well as some other misc. educational training) is that they only cover what should happen in an ideal classroom. They seem to ignore real situations that crop up quite frequently. What if a kid runs under the table and refuses to come out? What if a kid breaks something? What if you spend 20 minutes teaching vocabulary words, and despite your best efforts, most of your kids are still completely unable to retain them? You learn these things through experience, but the TEFL courses like to pretend these things never happen.

Quote:
I have no commitments here apart from the band I play, which I would
be sad to leave. I have some savings and believe it would be a good time to
do something like this.
Yep, it probably is.

Quote:
I have friends in Taiwan and visited Taipei, Tainan, Hualien, Kaohsiung
and some other places during a 3 week trip earlier this year, enjoying it very much.

The persistent nag is that by going away I�m potentially putting off a decision about my future. It�s possible that I�ll go away and be none the wiser about what I�d like to do long term. On the flip side I may well have a fantastic time away, and at the end of the day enjoyment of life is what�s important.
You know the expression "life is short?" Well actually, that's no longer true. If you're from a developed country, chances are that you'll live to be 70 or 80. Life is long. Go ahead. Take a year of your life to try a new thing. It'll hardly matter. That's what, just over 1% of your life? I have met so many people who insist on the career fast track, and then all of a sudden they're 50 and have never lived overseas, never learned a foreign language, some have never even done basic things like rented an apartment!

Quote:
How did you guys go about deciding what you want to do with your lives?
I haven't decided yet. See "life is long" above. But I've spent the last few years teaching English in Taiwan and Japan. It's not really a career unless you get an MA TESOL or open your own school or get promoted to a management position, anyway. It's a job that most people do for 1 ~ 3 years. A few like it (or don't have any other options) and stay on, but most people only stay in it a short time.

What caused me to start teaching English? Well, I was 20 years old, living in Korea (my dad worked for the US Foreign Agriculture Service and I spent five years growing up in Asia when we were on overseas assignment, and after I graduated from high school, I wanted to return to Asia), and I was studying at Yonsei University and needed money, because Yonsei University and Korea in general aren't cheap. So I got CELTA certified and at 22, I moved to and taught in Taiwan. Helped alleviate my financial situation. Now I've graduated from college and teach in Japan for over $3,000 a month (God bless the exchange rate).

Quote:
Did some time in teaching abroad/travelling help you gain more insight into yourself and what you want from life?

Many thanks
Considering that I've spent over 11 years abroad (44% of my life) now, it would be strange if I hadn't gained any insight into myself during that time...
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lordgosh43



Joined: 29 Feb 2012
Posts: 3

PostPosted: Thu Mar 29, 2012 11:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ok thanks for the reply. Yes TEFL is not something im considering long term. If I was to teach abroad for 1-2 years it wouldnt be about the money or the advancement, more the experience.

Thanks for the heads up on the courses btw. I still think it'll be worth getting a TESOL qualification under my belt.

I guess spending one or two years abroad wont come at such a cost in the grand scheme of things.
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Rooster_2006



Joined: 24 Sep 2007
Posts: 984

PostPosted: Thu Mar 29, 2012 12:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

lordgosh43 wrote:
Ok thanks for the reply. Yes TEFL is not something im considering long term. If I was to teach abroad for 1-2 years it wouldnt be about the money or the advancement, more the experience.
Okay. Yeah, if you go into it knowing that in advance, you won't be disappointed when that is what ends up happening. The lower you place your expectations, the more you'll be pleasantly surprised when things work out the same as or better than your expectations.

Quote:
Thanks for the heads up on the courses btw. I still think it'll be worth getting a TESOL qualification under my belt.
Yeah, I agree that it's better to come with one than without.

You will learn some useful things from these certification courses, and it will give you a (probably minor) CV boost. At any rate, having one is better than not having one.

Some people on these forums claim "employers don't give a crap about TEFL certs." NOT TRUE. When an employer has 20 people beating down her door for a job, most of which have several years of teaching experience and bachelor's degrees, how does she decide who to hire? A TEFL certificate is one of the things that employers will look at when faced with lots of eminently qualified candidates (I know -- I determined who got interviews and who didn't at my buxiban using TEFL certs as one of the criteria).

Quote:
I guess spending one or two years abroad wont come at such a cost in the grand scheme of things.
Probably true. I mean, unless you're planning on becoming a model or a sports player, you've got at least until you're 30 to make a definite career decision, and many people these days are entering new careers in their 40s, 50s, and beyond... So I say "go for it!"
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JZer



Joined: 16 Jan 2005
Posts: 3898
Location: Pittsburgh

PostPosted: Fri Mar 30, 2012 4:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

lordgosh43 wrote:
Ok thanks for the reply. Yes TEFL is not something im considering long term. If I was to teach abroad for 1-2 years it wouldnt be about the money or the advancement, more the experience.

Thanks for the heads up on the courses btw. I still think it'll be worth getting a TESOL qualification under my belt.

I guess spending one or two years abroad wont come at such a cost in the grand scheme of things.


The only problem is that your 1-2 years may very likely turn into 3 to 4 or maybe you meet a cute girl and you will be there much longer.
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creztor



Joined: 30 Dec 2009
Posts: 476

PostPosted: Fri Mar 30, 2012 1:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Looks like someone "woke" up and is very bitter about the years gone past and time forever lost.
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yamahuh



Joined: 23 Apr 2004
Posts: 1033
Location: Karaoke Hell

PostPosted: Sat Mar 31, 2012 4:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

JZer wrote:


The only problem is that your 1-2 years may very likely turn into 3 to 4 or maybe you meet a cute girl and you will be there much longer.


You make that sound like a bad thing...
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JZer



Joined: 16 Jan 2005
Posts: 3898
Location: Pittsburgh

PostPosted: Sat Mar 31, 2012 12:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

To me it is not a bad thing, however some people have complained about getting stuck in Taiwan!
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