Job Discussion Forums

PAULH · Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Posts: 4672 Location: Western Japan

If you are teaching at a big chain language school like NOVA in Japan you will be physically at work 8 hours a day but teach up to 8 forty-five minute lessons with a 15 minute break to do paperwork change files, have a cigarette, toilet etc. Most teachers are rushing between lessons to get the files they need and are generally frazzled during the breaks. 8 lessons comes to about 6 hours a day and the "breaks" are still part of your work time as you may have demo lessons, level tests, filling out student sheets. Its not really a break at all but a breather between classes and 15 minutes(or about 2 hours of work time) goes quickly. This time is not counted in the 20 hour a week calculation. You basically work non-stop all day but the school only counts those hours for accounting purposes and you will still be teaching six or eight back to back classes a day.

It is unlikely a school will keep you in the office 8 hours with nothing to do as they still have to pay you during that time and one should spend no more than 30 minutes to an hour preparing for a lesson. You will likely get several lessons spread over the day with various things going on in between.

I work full time at a university where I teach 10 90-minute classes a week (I teach 13 in all) with on average 3 classes a day (one day a week with no class) , the rest of the time is for paperwork and administration, doing marking and grades, making tests etc but keep in mind teaching a large class of thirty or forty students is emotionally and physically draining, and its not always easy to leap into something else, or teach several large classes in a row. One needs time to unwind and focus on the next activity. You may also have homework to mark as well.

Rather than think so much of how many hours you work you need to think about what you actually do in those hours as well as the other non-teaching tasks you are asked to perform.

AsiaTraveller · Posted: Fri Apr 29, 2005 10:12 pm Post subject:

Let me get this straight: With a B.A. and (eventually) M.A. in history, you do NOT want to teach history overseas? For what reasons?

Any American international school in any foreign country will have U.S. history courses and will need qualified U.S. history teachers. And all international schools will have world history courses. Are you not prepared to teach those?

Same for your "lady friend". Teaching music at an international school is a great gig.

And American international schools frequently pay domestic U.S. salaries even though you're abroad. Why sweat it out and earn poor money teaching English in a private language academy when you can earn close to your present salary by teaching your specialty?

DonofPaw · Joined: 18 Apr 2005 Posts: 7

Sorry Asia I might not have been as clear as I could have been. I do plan on doing the international teaching thing for the very reasons you stated. With the lady friend she won't have a teaching degree she's doing performance stuff. I'm guessing that since she won't be certified to teach she could get subbing work or work as a teachers aid. If worse comes to worse she could do some part time work in an English school to keep motivated.

I'm just a little scared that finding an international teaching job will be tough for a history guy, in the states we have a glut of them right now, I'm quite happy to have my job.

In a perfect world we would live at the same standard of living as TEFL teacher and save the difference/ pay our student loans/ travel a bit on the cheap. Neither of us is into partying we're both rather conservative in that area. The most we would probably do is hit the local pub occasionaly, occasional movies, and occasional dinner out (not having to be a 5 star place) Plus cheap travel, (I love hostels)

Thanks again for all this sage advice,
Don

AsiaTraveller · Posted: Sat Apr 30, 2005 5:57 pm Post subject:

Hey, thanks for the clarification. Good luck!

Chan · Joined: 26 Jul 2004 Posts: 22

There are many jobs for history teachers in international schools. I was at an international job fair in February and believe me, there were jobs. My best friend (who also went to the job fair) teaches history and she had so many opportunities to interview with schools that she had to turn a lot of them down.

Most international schools hire in January and February, so you may have more trouble finding something now if you want to go for the 2005-2006 school year. However, there are some job fairs in June, if you�re interested.

Even though most schools are done with hiring for next school year, there are some that are still hiring at the moment. If you are interested in teaching in an international school, you should join one (or both) of the sites that specialize in international school teaching. Among other things, these websites post jobs on a daily basis. The fee for the two that I�m thinking of cost about 40 USD per year. They�re invaluable, if you ask me.

tjg_marantz · Joined: 01 Apr 2005 Posts: 19

tedkarma · Posted: Sun May 01, 2005 8:03 pm Post subject:

The most reputable and far-reaching - in terms of credible job opportunities is International Schools Services - ISS - at http://www.iss.edu/

From their website:
Application/File Establishment Fee: US $160 The nonrefundable application fee must accompany the completed application. Applications not accepted will incur a fee of only US$50 to cover clerical processing of the application and a professional review of submitted documents.

This is one area in which trying to save a couple bucks is not wise. Go with the best - get it done right.

Good luck!

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

PAULH · Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Posts: 4672 Location: Western Japan

Chan · Joined: 26 Jul 2004 Posts: 22

I was referring to Joy Jobs - http://www.joyjobs.com/ and The International Educator - http://tieonline.com/.

Joy Jobs has a great list of international schools, but you have to be a member to access it. I really like this site and have been using it for about five years.

In addition to job postings, TIE has an online newspaper that you can read once you join. You can also look at past issue that date back to 1999, I think. One site said that it�s ��probably one of the most important news and job information resources available for teachers already abroad, and those who want to go.�

As tedkarma mentioned, you can sign up with ISS. It's definitely far-reaching but so is Search Associates. I don�t know if I agree that it�s the most reputable. I�m not saying it�s not, but I have known a lot of people that have had more problems with them than any of the others (Search Associates, UNI, COIS, ECIS). I�ve often found that many international school educators have a love-hate relationship with it. ISS also has a list of international schools. It�s not the best in my opinion, but it�s free to access it. Their big job fair was back in February, but they have another one this summer.