Job Discussion Forums

[onwithsean]

Hello --

I recently became a TEFL certified teacher. I studied at the Boston Academy of English (an ACCET accredited academy). I'm considering teaching at a school in Vietnam.

Do you have experience teaching in Vietnam?

What advice would you give an American who's never been to Vietnam?

What is the political climate like in Central Vietnam?

What red flags should I look out for?

Should I be concerned about my safety in Central Vietnam?

[Prof.Gringo]

[toiyeuthitmeo]

Hi,

Your TEFL certificate comes with limitations here, as in Vietnam the Cambridge ESOL CELTA is king. There are at least a few large schools who may not even give you an interview without it. Sorry for the downer, but true. These bigger schools can be nice because they'll insert you into a large social scene, they often have good environments and support for new teachers, and they often hour full-time contracts (e.g. not having to scramble around town to two or three different jobs just to make 20-30 hours teaching each week). Think long and hard about biting the bullet and just getting the CELTA.

Most of us on this forum are current teachers in Vietnam, I reckon, and more than a few of us have 2, 3, 4, or more years experience teaching in Vietnam. There's *some* good advice here.

Advice for you: Get the CELTA, do it here in Vietnam. Will give you such a step up on the job market and will also give you a month to live here and really get an idea if it's a place you can stay for a year or more. Get all your documents sorted and apostilled before you depart America. Come here with enough money to live for at least 3 months, and get a ticket back home. Minimum $3000 plus airfare. Many scoff at this notion and indeed you can "make it" showing up with a few bucks and a great attitude, but why take that risk? Don't get your heart set on working in "Central Vietnam" as you've mentioned. There's some work in Danang but it's not plentiful nor greatly paid. The real work's in Saigon and to some extent Hanoi. Don't bring tons of stuff with you; you can really find most everything you need in the cities, and it's cheaper here. Exceptions might be things like large-sized clothes and shoes, certain medications, certain electronics...

The political climate, if you really want to know, is one of disinterest and ignorance, on the part of your average citizen. They can't really effect any change, and are not made privy to much of the law-making processes, so they really don't care, at all. Ask most students of high school age or higher to name any members of the Politburo, the Secretariat, the Central Committee, etc, and you'll get blank stares. Politics mainly affects expats in terms of tax rates, and immigration and labor codes, and we're powerless over any of those political whims, so again, apathy rules. The government has extremely strict control over media and speech-- you as a teacher would be cautioned not to get involved in any type of criticism of the State or the Party whilst here, and certainly not get anywhere near such issues in the classroom.

Look out for dodgy schools or recruitment firms. If you are male, be careful with your "dating" life-- your perceived wealth (you will be expected to be rich by many no matter what the truth is) and Western citizenship can draw a lot of questionable attention. Watch out for hotels that have used banned pesticides-- a few tourists died from such poisoning in Nha Trang a year or two ago, as have a dozen or so others across SE Asia in last several years. Watch out for people demanding payment (rent for example) in dollars-- it's illegal and a massive hassle to deal with. Be very careful about paying rent "3 months in advance" or such claims, which is sometimes a key sign that your land lord is going to jack you for the deposit in the end (and of course, you have no recompense when that happens). Know your prices and currency or learn them quickly after arriving-- rip-off attempts are a never-ending annoyance and can range from slightly harmless to serious thievery.

The biggest threats to expat safety in Vietnam (I will not address Central Vietnam specifically because I fail to understand the fixation with it) are

-The cheap price of bad vice and host of associated consequences. Smoking too much, drinking too much, eating too much, going out too much, these are all affordable temptations that have sucked more than a few teachers into the depths of failure.

-Motorbike accidents. Most of us do end up driving one, and eventually, you get in a wreck. Wear a helmet, don't drive drunk, don't drive like an idiot, and hopefully your eventual wreck will be limited to cuts and bruises.

-Motorbike theft. If you take normal precautions like parking inside your house at night, parking it only at attended / ticketed places when about, you can largely avoid theft. But if you leave it unsecured anywhere, good chance it'll be gone.

-Lone females at night have been robbed of phones, purses, etc. Very rare for men to be accosted.

-House break-ins are not uncommon, and often expat residences are "marked" for this. If you make it easy for people to know that you have nice things inside (which will be assumed no matter what if they know you're an expat), and make it easy for them to get in, they will. Living in a security-staffed place can help this. Fences, careful locking, locked/latched windows, etc, as well as discretion, can help you.

-Violent confrontations with locals are very, very rare. But if you find yourself in or escalating towards violence with a local, almost regardless of the scenario, be aware that you will be seen as in the wrong by almost any passerby, who may even join in on restraining or beating you, and the use of blades or clubs is quite possible. This is even if you're trying to stop a motorbike driver who's just hit a child and is trying to flee.

-Food poisoning. Happens to us all, especially at the beginning. I say don't fear it and take the chance with street food, but being very fastidious about where and what you eat could be of help.

-Dengue fever. Though I've not heard of a friend or associate getting it in the past year or so, it does happen often enough. Generally quite survivable with no after-effects, but a real painful illness for the week or more it takes to beat it. Hard to hide from this one as it kind of depends on your unique immune system, but avoidance of mosquito bites should be of some help.

[skarper]

Excellent summary of the situation at present.

Politics is very much a background issue for us (and most locals) who just get on with life and don't pay any attention to it. TBH I don't think it's much worse than the slow death of democracy the UK and US have been suffering.

I feel less oppressed here than I did in South Korea oddly enough!

The OP seems hopelessly naive and should spend a few weeks perusing the older posts on here and visit other boards for other countries. No offence intended as we all start out naive. I sure did.

Non Celta Equiv certs are a scam and a waste of time, money and effort in the long run. This has been said over and over but folks tend to take the course which is convenient and cheap. Online courses are very popular but utterly useless.

I live in DaNang and love it - but beware trying to start out here as work is scarce, pay is lower and too many people are chasing it. Newbies should start in HCMC and only move to a smaller place like DaNand or Vung Tau when they have experience, savings and some savvy. Unfortunately HCMC is not at all nice being too hot, crowded, noisy, polluted and expensive. But I think you will always find work there.

I've met people in DaNang working 10-12 hours a week and losing money week in week out.

It would be a good idea to have a 'sticky' of 'basic newby questions' to avoid constantly repeating ourselves...

[Anh Dep]

People who are working just 10-12 hours a week and cant get by usually is down to the fact they eat at western style cafes, drink a bucket load of grog and go out a lot.I work on average just 12 - 14 hours a week, and survive in a city that is much more expensive then Da Nang.I know guys here who earn 30-40 million a month, and yet are still broke at the end of the month.

[1st Sgt Welsh]

[TRH]

I was curious and decided to look up the Boston Academy of English. I found that the school's primary mission is ESL teaching in Boston, a community that has generally high academic standards. The ESL curriculum seems oriented toward students who have plans to continue in academic settings in the US. I found that the TEFL certificate program is full-time four weeks and includes classroom time with the school's regular student body. Unlike the CELTA, one must have completed a Bachelor�s degree or have extensive prior experience to be admitted. By contrast, Apollo's materials say that applicants must "have a standard of education equivalent to that for entry into higher education" which to me says high school graduates. Like the CELTA, the Boston school is accredited by an outside agency. The problem is not the quality of the OP�s training. It is the probable inability of those who do the hiring in Vietnam to recognize it.

[I'm With Stupid]

I know people who work for both Apollo and ILA (the two schools that do the CELTA, and therefore presumably the ones most likely to favour it) who've been hired with an equivalent TESOL certificate. The key is making sure it's an actual equivalent, not some online course with no practical component. It seems the OP would be fine.

[onwithsean]

This post is chock full of excellent information. Thank you everyone for your replies to my questions!