Job Discussion Forums

[AdamtheJohnson]

I'm trying to (still) narrow down a list of countries where I would want to teach ESL for a period of six months to a year. This would be a "starter" country, since it would be my first time doing it.

The list isnt narrowed down alot but here it is. If I could find some generalized pros/cons of each country in the areas of money, lifestyle, ease of transition/classrooms, etc. Im most concerned with environment, adventure and lifestyle though.

Korea
China
India
Thailand
Vietnam
Laos (?)
Japan (possibly)

I'm leaning towards Vietnam or China. But maybe you guys could help out. Maybe if I keep asking the same question in different ways I'll have the information I need.

[santi84]

What are your qualifications? I don't think anyone can answer your questions until that is clear.

Money, lifestyle, classrooms, adventure - all those things depend on whether or not you can make enough money or even get any time off from work.

Someone with an MA in Applied Linguistics or a BEd and a couple years teaching experience in their home country will receive different answers than someone who hasn't graduated college.

So who are you?

[AdamtheJohnson]

[santi84]

Thanks.

Note, we aren't allowed to discuss South Korea on this forum, but if you require money to spend on lifestyle/adventure, that is probably the best place for you to make money with your qualifications. *See the Korea forum for more!

Sorry, I don't have much information on the other countries. Vietnam and Thailand are places I would choose in regards to lifestyle, environment, and adventure, but the money wouldn't really support it.

I teach Korean, Chinese (well, Taiwanese mostly), and Japanese students in Canada, so I can't really offer much more. Sorry!

[Glenski]

I doubt the vast majority have ever lived and worked in all those places, so you're going to have to take what you get for responses.

As for Japan:

Pros
You are qualified for a work visa. Unlike Korea, Japan lets you keep it even after you quit or otherwise lose your job, until the visa expires.
Non-teaching degrees are common for teachers.
Most big cities have bilingual (J-E) signs around them.
It's a generally clean and very safe country to live in.

Cons
At the moment, the biggest one is the flooded market.
Falling salaries.
Some employers (not most) are disreputable.
Despite the J-E signs in bigger cities, most locals will have a hard time communicating to you in English.
The business of eikaiwa (conversation school) is just that -- a business -- so most students don't really come to study seriously.
Renting an apartment on your own will usually be very expensive with security deposits (key money).

[spiral78]

CELTA cert (of some sort)

CELTA is a very specific cert. There are some generics, but the correct acronym would be TESL, TEFL, or TESOL cert if you are going for a generic.

It makes some difference - most employers recognise one of the big 3 worldwide (CELTA, Trinity, or SIT) but generic/other certs are less recognised.

[AdamtheJohnson]

Thanks. My bad.

Ill narrow it down further, and even rank them. Tell me if I should reconsider or if im flat out wrong.

1) China. Above average wages and still needs TEFLers?
2) Vietnam. Beautiful country.
3) India. Culturally interesting and cost of living is super, super low.
4) Taiwan. Has a lot of positives.

I think if I wanted to go to Thailand, Laos, Tibet and Japan it would be as a tourist.

[AdamtheJohnson]

Its kind of a stupid topic really, because if I want to make TEFLing my career, I will likely do them all.

My whole point is which should I start out with. Which is likely to be a good experience for a first timer?

[runthegauntlet]

You'll probably have to extend your time line a bit. Doubt you'll find much legal work for less than a year unless you show up in country and find a place willing to pay that. But maybe you could do it.

Korea was my first gig and I'm still here. I walked in, got handed a set of books, a syllabus with the pages I was supposed to go over with the students, and boom, that was it. Pretty easy way to get started in my opinion. Money's good. Lifestyle, eh, what you make of it.

I was looking at China, Taiwan, or Korea for my first gig because there was so much info. from others that have done it. I ended up choosing Korea because of the free housing and plane tickets

As an aside, have you thought about Indonesia?