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Best teaching experience?

 
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InterestedInESL



Joined: 27 May 2012
Posts: 1

PostPosted: Sat Nov 19, 2016 9:40 pm    Post subject: Best teaching experience? Reply with quote

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!
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spiral78



Joined: 05 Apr 2004
Posts: 11534
Location: On a Short Leash

PostPosted: Sat Nov 19, 2016 11:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

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.
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joe30



Joined: 07 Jul 2016
Posts: 112

PostPosted: Sun Nov 20, 2016 1:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

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.
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suphanburi



Joined: 20 Mar 2014
Posts: 916

PostPosted: Sun Nov 20, 2016 2:04 am    Post subject: Re: Best teaching experience? Reply with quote

InterestedInESL wrote:
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!


Unrelated BA, no TEFL and no experience:
Buxibans in Taiwan (but you need to pay your way in and get settled).
Eikaiwa jobs in Japan (but you need to pay your way in and get settled).
Korea (they pay for the airfare and get you an apartment).

They all pay about US$2000 / month.

Add a 120 hour TEFL cert (whether CELTA or generic) and you can add:
China, Korea public schools, Vietnam (with a proper visa and permits) and still earn $2k-3k per month. All of these will supply housing, airfare or airfare allowance and minimal setup costs.

Somewhat less stressful you can earn about $1000 / month in Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar. These jobs come with NO benefits. You pay for everything including visas, airfare, permits, housing, deposits, etc.

The costs of your visa and setup will vary depending on YOUR nationality and where you are flying in from.

These situations are DIFFERENT from what an experienced teacher or certified teacher would experience.

As to students being engaged.... that is what the teacher is for.
If YOU are unable to engage your students ... your tenure will be short.
Hint: lesson planning and prep are more than a 5 minute search on google and 5 minutes at the copy machine if you want engaged students.

.
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nomad soul



Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world

PostPosted: Sun Nov 20, 2016 2:19 am    Post subject: Re: Best teaching experience? Reply with quote

joe30 wrote:
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...

The OP was asking about teaching experiences in which "students are especially engaged in the learning process." I doubt he/she is motivated by the above. Razz

InterestedInESL wrote:
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.

If you're American and salary isn't an issue, look into the Peace Corps. Generally, some of the poorest countries offer the best teaching experience in terms of dedicated students.

What countries/regions are you interested in?
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MotherF



Joined: 07 Jun 2010
Posts: 1450
Location: 17�48'N 97�46'W

PostPosted: Wed Nov 23, 2016 2:40 pm    Post subject: Re: Best teaching experience? Reply with quote

nomad soul wrote:

If you're American and salary isn't an issue, look into the Peace Corps. Generally, some of the poorest countries offer the best teaching experience in terms of dedicated students.

What countries/regions are you interested in?


I second this. You will get training, and most likely have a rewarding experience. If you find you want more--this will give you access to better jobs at the end of your stint. You can even get credit towards an MA in the field afterwards.
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twowheel



Joined: 03 Jul 2015
Posts: 753

PostPosted: Thu Nov 24, 2016 9:39 am    Post subject: Re: Best teaching experience? Reply with quote

MotherF wrote:
nomad soul wrote:

If you're American and salary isn't an issue, look into the Peace Corps. Generally, some of the poorest countries offer the best teaching experience in terms of dedicated students.

What countries/regions are you interested in?


I second this. You will get training, and most likely have a rewarding experience. If you find you want more--this will give you access to better jobs at the end of your stint. You can even get credit towards an MA in the field afterwards.


I third this.

Have a look:

www.peacecorps.gov

twowheel
Peace Corps Volunteer, China, 2000-2003
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mitsui



Joined: 10 Jun 2007
Posts: 1562
Location: Kawasaki

PostPosted: Fri Nov 25, 2016 3:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

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.
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JZer



Joined: 16 Jan 2005
Posts: 3898
Location: Pittsburgh

PostPosted: Sat Nov 26, 2016 11:38 am    Post subject: Re: Best teaching experience? Reply with quote

InterestedInESL wrote:
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!


I know that you were asking about teaching abroad. However, if you want to teach engaged ESL students, your best bet is to teach immigrants learning English in the United States. The majority of them really want to learn English because their livelihood depends on it.

For the most part, teaching English in Asia is teaching students who are required to teach English and will never use it. Unless you are highly qualified and are teaching a prep-course for students that will move to an English speaking country, I doubt that you will find many truly engaged students in Asia.

Finally, I agree with the other posters, the Peace Corps is a great idea if you do not have any debt.
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OhBudPowellWhereArtThou



Joined: 02 Jun 2015
Posts: 1168
Location: Since 2003

PostPosted: Sun Nov 27, 2016 11:17 pm    Post subject: Re: Best teaching experience? Reply with quote

JZer wrote:
I doubt that you will find many truly engaged students in Asia.



Universities and colleges that have English language programs, generally, will attract engaged students.

Vocational colleges and Universities that have two separate campuses may, in fact, attract less engaged students. At two universities where I taught, students on the older campus were not very motivated. The students on the new campuses were quite motivated. (They were on a totally different curricula, and there was a measurable difference in ability). The vocational colleges may offer English as an elective for those who intend to move on to overseas institutions, my experience is that the likelihood that many actually will go to school overseas.

To say that one will find few truly motivated and engaged students in Asia is a bit of an overreach.
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Knedliki



Joined: 08 May 2015
Posts: 160

PostPosted: Mon Nov 28, 2016 9:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

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 Very Happy
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