Job Discussion Forums

tmai · Joined: 02 Oct 2010 Posts: 8 Location: us

Howdy, board. I've been looking at some places around the web for information on teaching abroad and I thought this place would be helpful. I am hoping to get help on how to begin the whole process of getting a position overseas, from the first step (where to look/sign up/send info) to actually getting my butt to where I want to go (Viet Nam).

I have 3 friends who were/are teaching English abroad (Korea) and have got some information from them already, but I'm still trying to gather more resources. Let's see how far I can go from here.

**Caution - it seems like a lot of information I'm putting out there, but I figured I'd just throw it all out there in hopes of covering every bit of info necessary to determine where to go from here.

Here's some info about me: I am 25 years old and am a year removed from graduating with a BA in Ethnic Studies from a university. In that year, I've been working at one of my former colleges doing research, writing, planning, and organizing, mainly dealing with under-served/under-privileged/disadvantaged youth (incoming, first-year South East Asians/Filipinos/Pacific Islanders.) My projects have been completed and I am looking to move on to another challenge/adventure in my life. Most of my work/intern/volunteer experience is actually working with high-school/college-aged students, from lesson planning to teaching to mentoring.

I am looking to teach abroad in Viet Nam for a few reasons, in no particular order:

1) I have no obligations/attachments in my life right now (work/relationship/family-wise). With finishing up work just a few weeks again, I am exploring my options and traveling to teach is looking like a very realistic possibility.
2) I do not plan on going back to graduate school any time soon. I am too burnt out to be heading back into a classroom to be absorbing crazy theories/writing hundreds of pages. I would rather be the one up front empowering/imparting/disseminating the information to those willing to listen to me, hah. I prefer to get real-world knowledge and experience before devoting the next 2-10 years of my life to getting another piece of paper with my name on it.
3) I am looking for new a new challenge. I want to test myself and see if I've got what it takes to adapt to new environments.
4) ^With that said, I am looking to connect to my roots. Being an American-born Vietnamese, I want to be able to identify with my history and gain a better understanding of the culture and the people and build a better relationship with myself and my parents/family.
5) And of course, I look forward to providing my skills/experience/help to teach the students there and hopefully give back/volunteer where it is needed.

So, that's why I'm looking for a position abroad. I guess I just want to know where do I begin? How do I actually start the process?

Do I apply on certain websites? Do I send my information/resume somewhere? Are there reputable organizations someone can recommend?

I have no certifications, but 1 of my friends who took a position in S.Korea signed up for a year and got her TEFL/TESOL certification on the job. Is that how things usually work or do most people get the certification (in class vs. online?) prior to accepting a position?

1 friend started her journey at footprintsrecruiting.com. Does anybody have experience with them? What other recruiters are out there?

I guess these are just some of the initial questions I have. Once I start progressing through the steps I'll get more into questions about housing/salary/preparing before shipping out/etc etc.

Soooo, that's all I have for now. Any help would be greatly appreciated. If there is more information needed, please just let me know! Thanks.

northway1 · Joined: 02 Oct 2010 Posts: 8

Captain Willard · Joined: 11 Sep 2010 Posts: 251

You will anger the gods!

deadlift · Joined: 08 Jun 2010 Posts: 267

northway1 · Joined: 02 Oct 2010 Posts: 8

Captain Willard · Joined: 11 Sep 2010 Posts: 251

toiyeuthitmeo · Joined: 21 May 2010 Posts: 213

Some practical tips--

1) Make sure you have some savings to survive a couple months with no income. In most cities in Vietnam, $1000-$1500 / month should cover everything.

2) Come here. Make sure you have all the docs you will need, see the thread on what you need to bring to work here, but in short, fully verified police check, actual original degree document, actual TEFL certification document.

3) Get a CELTA, it seems to be the certification of choice in VN. Get your CELTA in Vietnam. Apollo and ILA offer the course. You can find out more about them online. Both schools apparently try to help with job placement although the merits of this service have been a topic of debate on this board. The CELTA is a full time, one month deal, and is a lot of work. Just get it over with. Use what little free time you have during the course to job hunt. Unfortunately, you will probably have some trouble getting interviews and such prior to obtaining the CELTA. Also, message me or use this board to check with current teachers on any discounts or referral bonuses for CELTA course (someone might be willing to give you a bit of a kick back).

4) Get to know some employed teachers, such as, uh, yours truly. Send me a private message, I can suggest some schools. In addition, a few of the schools in Vietnam offer nice referral bonuses, so it can be in current teachers' good interest to help get you hired.

5) Do some research into the whole "person of Vietnamese/Asian decent teaching in Vietnam" issue. It has come up a lot on this board. I don't think it's as big a problem as people sometimes make it out to be, but the general fear is that language schools like white/western faces in front of their classes because that's what the customers want, and that you might have a harder time getting hired because of this. However, I know of a handful of teachers of Asian decent who are employed, so it's not all doom and gloom on this front.

tmai · Joined: 02 Oct 2010 Posts: 8 Location: us

So, does that mean I have to pay for airfare and all that other jazz to get over to VN? And I pretty much have to be self-sufficient for the first month or two before actually locking down a job? There's no way of starting the process here in the states and having them arrange everything for me to get over there?

Prof.Gringo · Posted: Tue Oct 05, 2010 12:11 am Post subject:

tonyjones01 · Joined: 20 Aug 2010 Posts: 67

northway1 · Joined: 02 Oct 2010 Posts: 8

tmai · Joined: 02 Oct 2010 Posts: 8 Location: us

I'm With Stupid · Joined: 03 Sep 2010 Posts: 432

Yeah, a lot of companies will fly you over and "train you up." But it's not usually training that's worth anything outside of that company. The best you can usually get is for a school to offer to contribute to the cost of your CELTA (although when I did mine, there were some people from Saudi whose school was paying in full). Vietnam's a bit different in that you need a CELTA or equivalent to get a work permit. ILA will pay half of your course fees back if you sign a 12 month contract with them within 3 months of the end of the course though. And Apollo are good because they're part of International House, which means you can transfer to any other IH school in the world, and still get contract renewal bonuses. And I believe you can do other courses (CELTYL, etc) at any other centre in the world and still get your staff discount.

tmai · Joined: 02 Oct 2010 Posts: 8 Location: us

So for the programs in VN, a CELTA certification is the norm? Not TEFL/TESOL or any others?

So what I'm getting is, it's very unlikely for me to being the process of getting a position while here in the states - is that about right? I pretty much have to just head right on over to VN and settle in and start looking around for a company to hire me and go through training for a few weeks/months and then sign a 12month contract at a school?

What's the time frame/initial cost (flight, housing, training, etc) look like from actually leaving the states up until signing a contract?

northway1 · Joined: 02 Oct 2010 Posts: 8