Job Discussion Forums

[CaliforniaKid]

Hey all! My name is Casey Davis (Male) and I am a first time poster and I have a few questions to get my feet wet in the ESL world.


Background:

I am 27 years old and I will be graduating with a B.A. in World History soon. I am an Anglo, U.S. Citizen and will be graduating from an accredited university. I am a native English speaker. I will also have 0 debt to my name when I graduate.

Questions:

1.) I plan on taking the SIT TESOL Certificate Course from http://www.globaltefl.org/, which has a 4-week, 130-hour (with a guaranteed 6 hours of observed practice teaching) course based at a local California State University near my home. My question is, does this seem like a legitimate program? Is it the equivalent of say the CELTA?

2.) Which country would you say is the best place for a novice to begin teaching? I have some informal teaching experience, but overall I am pretty inexperienced. I do have a strong work ethic and I always put 100% in whatever I do, so I enjoy a good challenge. My reason for teaching ESL overseas is to teach first and travel/enjoy the culture second.

3.) I do understand that my first teaching job will have relatively low pay and it will be more about gaining experience. That said, after my first year of teaching does my options/pay increase? Or does it take a few years of teaching before I can start to really pick and choose the best job offers?

4.) Generally speaking, what would you say is the hardest part of teaching ESL overseas? Is it the homesickness? Dealing with the new environment/culture? Or something else?

5.) Last set of questions. My ultimate goal/hope is to make this a career and my question is what are the best countries/cities to do this? I am single, I do not drink, and I am well adapted to living within my means. My biggest expense would probably be traveling around exploring all the new places. What country/countries would allow me to save the most money as long as I kept my expenses to a miniumum? I am willing to go anywhere, I have not made a list of countries I refuse to go to. I do however get the need/desire to move every 3-4 years. Does switching jobs/locations every 3-5 years hurt your pay/hire-ability?


Thanks in advance for taking the time to answer some/none/all/a few of my questions.

[Zero]

1.) equivalent

2.) China, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Mexico, Russia. Anywhere except the Middle East, really.

3.) TEFL has no real "career" track like other normal careers so it could happen in any sequence of events ... depends on how entrepreneurial/creative you are. You can't expect to move up some totem pole with a series of merit raises and promotions like a state government job. Schools are looking to keep expenses down, and there is a constant influx of applicants just like yourself waiting to take your job, so not much incentive to financially reward loyal employees.

4.) Depends on where you go and what kind of person you are.

5.) If you are serious about building a long-term career, why not try Hong Kong? It has organizations and programs that reward long-term career development in EFL. It straddles the line between East and West culturally, so it can be less grating than a lot of places that are more "foreign." It has opportunities for permanent residency if you stay long enough. It wouldn't be a bad place to raise a family, if you could make enough money and get established.

[Denim-Maniac]

Id say the place to start teaching (many may disagree) would be in a training centre type environment rather than something in the school/college/uni sector. My reasoning for this is you are 'more likely' to have some support, materials and manageable class sizes. This is something I feel is quite important for a new teacher, and may be similar to your SIT TEFL course learning experience. Where I am (CHINA), people are often shoved into classrooms of 40 students without much support or materials and told to 'just speak English to them'. I think the structure that can exist in training centres is probably a better way to start teaching. Not all training centres operate as they should though!

Bearing the above in mind, one of the difficult challenges when you first arrive may be the teaching itself. Although the courses are great, its only really a glimpse of life in a classroom. Your first week on the job will probably include more teaching hours than your entire course. It does take some getting used to!

Id certainly suggest considering China, I like it a lot, and there is certainly some 'culture' to experience. Yes, many jobs have a low salary, and it can be a turn off when you see the salary converted back to your home currency, but cost of living can often make a low looking salary go quite a long way.

[kurtz]

I'd advise teaching in a well known, foreign owned language institute with a Western Director of Studies. The class sizes are small(ish) and you'd have a good support network and materials.

I've worked in Korea and Vietnam. Korea is OK but IMHO it tends to get dull very quickly (some love it and I respect their opinions) but there are many dodgy mum and pop type schools which don't have a lot of materials and the contracts tend to be on the wrong side of slave labour.

There are some big chain type schools in Vietnam that do have a lot of materials and a good support network. I'd only take a job in a big school that offers a work visa. You must realize teaching young learners is pretty much a given though, you can teach adults but the majority of teaching here seems to be children.

Working in a different culture can be very tough, especially when language and cultural issues rear their ugly heads. The money isn't great, but if you do some extra work on the side you can have quite a nice life and save pretty good money. You're surrounded by fantastic places to travel to in SE Asia.

Considering that you want to teach first and travel second is a good attitude to have, many in this game like it the other way around and don't seem to put in too much effort.

Overall, I'd do some research into what culture you'd like to immerse yourself in, if you don't like a Confucian mindset, that might strike a few places off your list. Also, lurk around the boards on this website to give an indication of what kind of money you can save and what sort of lifestyle you can have, bearing in mind that it's not always the happiest people posting - plenty of burnt out types never wishing that they'd got into this game in the first place. Remember, your skills set from teaching abroad doesn't usually lend itself to employment back home unless it's in an ESL context.

Best of luck.

[Glenski]

If you really want to make a career out of EFL/ESL, consider what degree you have and what you will need to move up. A BA in world history will not cut it beyond most entry level jobs, I think.

It will be enough to get your feet wet in many/most places, but after that, what do you want to do? Work in an international school? University? Business English agency? Your own school? Etc.?

As for where you should go initially, what types of cultures appeal (or do NOT appeal) to you? Is there a climate you cannot tolerate? How good are you at foreign languages (using or not using the Roman alphabet)?

[VietCanada]

I would suggest getting a B.Ed. or masters degree if you want to make a career out of teaching. A couple years experience teaching in the US as well would allow you to work at international schools all over the world AFAIK.

Perhaps you could earn your masters online while teaching somewhere that interests you. You must have interests being a history major. There must be some places with a rich history on display or places where history is being made? Not war zones of course IMHO.

If not use the dart throwing approach, once you've started the future may well present itself to you. Consider your first year a learning experience because it will be.

[sharter]

Very keen now. Probably a washed up drunk in a decade.

[AGoodStory]

[sharter]

OK something constructive. I've been doing this for 16 years and have taught in 7 different countries. In Europe you will struggle to make a living wage and as an American have visa hassle. You won't get into the Middle East with little experience. That leaves Asia and or South America. Korea would probably do for you.

TEFLERs tend to drink a lot.

[Isla Guapa]

[sharter]

Yep-Mexico is indeed in the north but has a very southern way of doing stuff.

Just a word of warning for any newbs considering Central/Eastern Europe; it's very expensive there now. It costs more than America for everything, so don't be fooled by the 'good local' salary crud. I'm in the Middle East right now but was in Poland and Germany 2 weeks ago. I was shocked to see the cheaper flats in Berlin.

[AGoodStory]

Thanks for the cost of living info, Sharter.

[EFLeducator]

[EFLeducator]

[Isla Guapa]