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c_cook
Joined: 27 Jan 2005
Posts: 3
Location: Colorado Springs, CO
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 Posted: Sat Jan 29, 2005 6:58 pm Post subject: Questions about Teaching Abroad |
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I am a senior at Colorado College in Colorado Springs, CO. I am graduating in May with a bachelor's degree in English and a minor in Spanish. I am in process of trying to figure out the best place to teach English abroad next year. I would love any advice one could give to me.
Right now, my top three countries are Poland, the Czech Republic, and Japan. I have been to most of the places in Western Europe and would like to experience something new for a couple of years. These are the countries that interest and intrigue me the most. If anyone is currently teaching in one of these places I would love to talk with you about your experience.
Some general questions I have:
What is the process one must go through to teach abroad?
What is the pay like?
Are there any programs that will help pay off student loans?
What is the culture shock like?
Are the students responsive to an American teacher?
I have many more questions but this should should do for now......
I am open to any advice,
Thanks,
Callie |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Sat Jan 29, 2005 11:06 pm Post subject: |
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I answered your first two questions in the Japan forum. As for the others...
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| Are there any programs that will help pay off student loans? |
No.
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| What is the culture shock like? |
Despite the fact that you have experience in many countries in Europe, Japan is quite different. I would suspect your culture shock to be less than someone who has never traveled abroad, but you will still feel it here. How much? Depends on you. Obviously, the best way to minimize it is to learn about the country and what foreigners face before you come. Some people eat ice cream every day until they gain 20 pounds, some want to leave the country 6 hours after they land, some immerse themselves so much that they wear kimonos around town.
Just imagine a few things...
1. Practically everyone will look Asian. That means in large crowds you will see a sea of black or dark brown hair everywhere.
2. Although everyone gets 6 years of English in junior and senior HS, they find it difficult to talk. Even world-famous words like McDonalds come out with odd pronunciations.
3. You will not be able to sound out signs, billboards, menus, supermarket items, etc. like you can do with other languages that are similar to English.
4. Your apartment will likely be very tiny with low ceilings. It will probably be heated by a kerosene space heater that you should not leave on during the day when you are gone (earthquake damage), so you will come home to a cold place in winter.
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| Are the students responsive to an American teacher? |
Depends on what you mean by responsive, and what sort of students you have (kiddies, teens, adults). Many Japanese think that any foreign face is an American. Many have stereotypes of Americans derived from movies and music videos and the occasional news report. Western teaching methods don't usually work in classrooms. Example: Asking for volunteers for an activity or to a question ends up in total silence. |
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denise
Joined: 23 Apr 2003
Posts: 3419
Location: finally home-ish
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| Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2005 1:42 am Post subject: |
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I spent two years in the Czech Republic and am currently in Japan. Overall, I'd say in terms of the culture, people, and lifestyle, I preferred the Czech Republic, but in terms of salary/being able to pay off loans, Japan is a bit better. Glenski is right--schools won't help you pay off your loans. Salaries in Japan are usually high enough, though, for you to be able to send money back every month and still enjoy a decent lifestyle. You can't do that in the CR. Sure, you can have the lifestyle (hooooooo boy, what a place to live if you are into, well, just about anything--nature, art, theater, pubs, sports, etc.). You can live quite comfortably there and go out a few times a week, but you won't be able to save anything. I think at the end of two years, I had about $500 to bring back home with me.
In terms of students--the CR has more geographic/economic ties to England than to the States, but that doesn't mean that Americans are treated differently in the classroom. The students themselves, from what I recall, tended to be far more aware of the world, more eager to share their opinions, etc., than Japanese students. I remember a lot of my Czech students having really dry senses of humor, which made for some good times.
One thing to keep in mind--now that the CR is part of the European Union, it might be harder to work legally as an American. This issue has come up a few times in the CR forum, with different people saying different things. You may want to do some research to see how feasible it would be and how long it would take to do all of the paperwork.
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