Job Discussion Forums

[InterestedInESL]

Hi everyone,

I'm wondering if some countries/cultures might offer a better teaching experience than others for teaching English abroad. What I mean is: I think it'd be cool to teach somewhere where students are especially engaged in the learning process.

Any tips? If it's not country/culture-specific, then are there certain teaching placements -- e.g., colleges vs. public schools, etc. -- that might offer this kind of experience more than others?

For what it's worth, I'm a native English speaker with a Bachelor's degree (in Psychology), but I'm not ESL certified.

Thanks a lot!

[spiral78]

Currently, you're limited to places that offer jobs that don't require any related qualifications. The days when any native speaker with a vanilla BA was considered for 'better' positions are long over....

The term 'placements' is also a misnomer - there are VERY few (if any!) services that will negotiate on behalf of a candidate from abroad.

Where are you interested in going? With a US passport (I'm assuming; please correct me if I'm wrong) and an unrelated degree + zero, your options are pretty limited geographically.

[joe30]

I had a good experience in Thailand and I know you don't need a CELTA or a related BA there to teach. It was mainly due to life outside of the classroom being great however since it's an awesome country. Pay is awful if you work full time, if you go to Thailand I recommend just doing part time language centre work on the weekends. 600 baht an hour*12 hours per weekend*4.3 weeks a month = just under 31k baht a month. This is only about 5k less than you'd get working full time 5 days a week, and the smaller amount of money is clearly worth having an extra 3 days a week to yourself.

31k baht a month is obviously still a poor salary by international standards, but with 5 days off every week you'll have a nice relaxed life at least, and you'll still be able to go out to the nightclubs occasionally, or hit the movies etc. You won't be able to go drinking and whoring in Pattaya or Phuket, but if you're just looking for a laid back lifestyle, get a steady girlfriend etc...you could do worse for sure.

[suphanburi]

[nomad soul]

[MotherF]

[twowheel]

[mitsui]

Morocco.
Since the students had studied Spanish and/or French previously, learning English was not that hard for them.
Also, getting students to talk was not an issue.
If anything they sometimes talk too much and you have to stop them to teach something else. They are friendly.

Downside was the pay. Didn't make much money but I worked hard and walked a lot so I was quite fit there.

In Japan, it is the opposite as they can be very passive. In fact I must give a speaking test in January and some students speak too much Japanese in class or sleep.

[JZer]

[OhBudPowellWhereArtThou]

[Knedliki]

One of the best experiences was a middle school in China. 45-50 well-behaved, motivated students in each class. Hardly any classroom management problems.
They were partly motivated by fear of their form teacher though