Job Discussion Forums

[lessthanjars]

Does anyone have any recommendations for a good point for a newbie to start in Central/South America?

I'm not planning on leaving soon, trying to save as much cash as possible for now and intend to take the CELTA overseas.

Factors I'm taking into advice are the amount of work, how someone new to Spanish would find the language spoken in that country and the security issue.

Any advice would help.

Thanks

[MELEE]

This is not what you want to hear, but, I'd recommend you start in Korea, Japan, or Taiwan. The schools there give so much more support to new teachers, both in life (furnished apartments, lots of help with doctors, or other such things, basically treat you like a helpless child ) and in the classroom (often as far as pre designed lesson plans). Many will even hire you with no CELTA and train you to teach in the style they want to you teach in. Its a very good way to see if this is the kind of thing you want to do.

If you must start in South America, I'm going to go against what a lot of the others will tell you and say start in Chile. I studied there as an undergrad, and highly recommend it as a place to learn Spanish. After a year in Chile, all other Spanish was a piece of cake. (But it's worth noting, I was not teaching English there and spend all waking hours learning Spanish.)

[nineisone]

From one newbie to another, I can say that the previous poster is probably correct in Asia being a great avenue. I have teaching experience, an intermediate level of spanish and experience traveling in Latin America which will hopefully help in my adjustment to Peru, my hoped for destination. But Asia would seem to be a safe alternative as many of the schools and agencies cater to you and you can make good money to subsidize further traveling/teaching ventures. Or you can do like me and try out S. America for 6 mos. or so and see if how you like a specific area and then commit to teach in Asia to get your certification, experience, and monetary backlog.

For your concerns of safety and also acclimation to a Latin American culture, I would recommend Costa Rica. My visits there always gave me the feeling of Latin American Lite. It can be a bit on the expensive side.

But all things considered, take the time to study up on the various nations and regions and if something strikes your fancy, go for it. It is the nature of human beings to seek new experiences and playing it safe is not always the most enlightening route.

Good Luck