Job Discussion Forums

[cocosilk]

i'd like to say hello as i'm new to the forum and the whole esl thing in general. i have a degree but no teaching cert and no teaching experience, but after everything that's happened here in england in the past year or so, i've decided that esl in asia is the best way forward for me at this point. plus it's something i've always wanted to do. after reading various posts on this forum, i've concluded that vietnam would suit me best.

i have a few questions which i'm sure have been asked many times over and ask that you bear with me for asking one more time as there seems to be conflicting advice on various posts.

1. i'm a mixed race/black british female, considered attractive and fun by most, well travelled and love culture......... will i have a prolem getting a job in HCMC on account of my colour?.

2. i'm planning on simply arriving in vietnam and enrolling on the CELTA OR TESOL course in jan....... which is better and any recommendations on where to enrol.

3. is it possible to get a job say in a language mill and or doing private conversational english in dec before the course starts in jan...... or should i just arrive in jan instead.

4. what are the essential documents i need before leaving the uk?...... there seems to be many differences of opinions.

i'm sorry for the 1001 questions, but your input is greatly appreciated.

[FriendlyUser]

HI,

I try to answer.

1. i'm a mixed race/black british female, considered attractive and fun by most, well travelled and love culture......... will i have a prolem getting a job in HCMC on account of my colour?.

Your colour could in some cases make a school prefere another canditade. Having said that, there usually isn't another candidate. Furthermore, I'm not a native speaker, I don't have a degree but when I got here last year I found a job - actually 3 to choose of - in a week. So don't worry at all.

2. i'm planning on simply arriving in vietnam and enrolling on the CELTA OR TESOL course in jan....... which is better and any recommendations on where to enrol.

I'd do the CELTA. The school named ILA seems offers such training and has one of the highest average rates (in the word?). I did my CELTA abroad.

3. is it possible to get a job say in a language mill and or doing private conversational english in dec before the course starts in jan...... or should i just arrive in jan instead.

Yes, but that's the hardest point. One usually gets privates after he knows people. Hard doesn't mean impossible. You might as well start teaching as normal teacher without experience. There's a lack in teachers not in students here.

4. what are the essential documents i need before leaving the uk?...... there seems to be many differences of opinions.

There are actually two separate worlds: on one there are the things you are supposed by law to bring, on the other the things you really need.
There are good post in this forum explaining in detail the legal requirements.

around 80-90% percent of the teachers work on a tourist visa. so the only thing you'd really need are you passport,
Although, I had a police record from back home, my birth certificate and my driver license plus an international driver license (most expats ride motorbikes without a driver license, but you can have your license translated and apply for a local one. I recommend that because no insurance - even possibly the one back home - won't pay anything in case of an accident)

Apply for a six months (perhaps a multiple entry) business visa, so you're one step closer to legality.

Good luck

Chris