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Asking for advice

 
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ladyvenom



Joined: 08 Jun 2003
Posts: 2
Location: Calgary, Canada

PostPosted: Wed Jun 11, 2003 10:06 pm    Post subject: Asking for advice Reply with quote

Hello! I am looking into begining a career in this field, and before I do so, I want to reasearch it thouroughly and make sure that it is right for me, and vise versa. I have a couple of questions, and this sounds like the best place to ask them Smile
First of all, what are the most common mistakes made by "newbies" in this field? How would I be able to avoid them?
I am a 19 year old female, and would be going overseas on my own. In which countries have you had the best experience?
Any general advice for me? I would REALLY appreciate as much feedback as I could possibly get on this. Thank you so much.
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naturegirl321



Joined: 04 May 2003
Posts: 9041
Location: home sweet home

PostPosted: Thu Jun 12, 2003 1:43 am    Post subject: Here's a bit Reply with quote

your questions a bit broad.

Research about the country and the place where you want to go.

Read the contract carefully. If it's says free board ask if electircity and utlities are included.

Make sure that contract states a minimum number of hours that you teach.

Read the post and the job journal they will help a lot.

Feel free to PM me with other questions.
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andrea



Joined: 19 Apr 2003
Posts: 24

PostPosted: Thu Jun 12, 2003 3:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

if you're only 19, i'm kind of doubting that you have a bachelor's degree...(though i could be wrong...) many (most) countries require one to have a bachelor's degree in order to get a work permit. though i hear that there are countries that don't. something to look into. Cool
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Roger



Joined: 19 Jan 2003
Posts: 9138

PostPosted: Thu Jun 12, 2003 3:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yes, Dave's is probably the best forum to ask your questions, but the one you put before is is, well, I daren't say.
- You are going to miss Mom!
- You are going to miss your boyfriend!
- The boyfriends you make here will take you for a ride!
- In my neck of the woods, you will have to learn how to eat food
without fork, spoon and knife!
- maybe the locally-made sanitary things won't agree with you!
- The weather!
- The local language!
- ...../
- ........
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Irish



Joined: 13 Jan 2003
Posts: 371

PostPosted: Thu Jun 12, 2003 4:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Judging by previous posts complaining about their job situations, I think the major newbie mistake is lack of research. Good for you for trying to avoid that one. However, I agree with the others who said that you need to be a little more specific if you want more meaningful answers.

Quote:
In which countries have you had the best experience?


One problem here is even if people tell which countries they loved, you won't know why they loved it. Maybe you should begin by asking yourself what you want/need from a place to enjoy it. Some people love China, for example, but that doesn't necessarily mean that China is for you.

Why go overseas now? Why not do volunteer work in your local area where you can do some teaching and tutoring? True, it's not exactly the same but it's a good experience and can give you a feel for what teaching is like. Meanwhile, you can finish up the BA. By the time your degree is done, many more doors will be open to you.
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Sherri



Joined: 23 Jan 2003
Posts: 749
Location: The Big Island, Hawaii

PostPosted: Thu Jun 12, 2003 7:47 am    Post subject: Re: Asking for advice Reply with quote

ladyvenom wrote:

Any general advice for me? I would REALLY appreciate as much feedback as I could possibly get on this. Thank you so much.


The best advice and feedback I can give you is...

--first, when you post here, please give us more information to go on! The more relevant info you supply the better advice people here can give. We need to know your nationality--as visa advice depends on this. In your case because of your age I am assuming that you don't have a degree. But since many countries require a degree to issue a work visa, not to mention the hiring requirements of schools you should outline your plans for an education before you begin teaching.

--next do as much reading and research as you can. You can learn a lot just by reading the posts already here. Also check out the teacher training board on Daves. You can learn a lot about the qualifications you will need.

--after all that, you need to start narrowing your search. What age group do you want to teach? (this will determine the qualifications you will need) In what kind of setting do you want to teach (private language school, state schools, universities, international schools?)

As others have already correctly said, it is impossible to say what countries are "good" until we know more about you!
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Wolf



Joined: 10 May 2003
Posts: 1245
Location: Middle Earth

PostPosted: Thu Jun 12, 2003 12:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Welcome to the profession - and the forum.

Do you have a CELTA certificate or anything? Most contries will be a bit picky about hiring someone with only a high school diploma. I have a 19 year old friend with only her high school who teaches in Guangdong, China.

But be careful - and your options are limited. Most places in Japan are out. If you're Canadain/New Zealander/ Austrialian you could get a working holiday visa and try NOVA (don't laugh I knew 20 year old guys and gals with nothing but GEDs teaching there.) But you'll never get anything better.

There is still work in some places in China (private companies in my city will hire non English speakers provided they obviously look foreign. Once again,these are not the best jobs. Nor is rural China the gentlest first experience an EFL teacher could have.

You can't get a legal teaching visa in South Korea without an undergraduate degree (can be in anything though.) Some people squirm around that, but I wouldn't recommend it.

The Middle East sounds right out. Scot47, where art thou?

I'm all for giving it a whirl first. That's what I did, but I already had a degree. I would recommend at the very least getting a CELTA.

If you want to make this your career you'll probably need a university degree (and try to take a relavant one - Linguistics, teaching, etc.)

If you have $$$ you could try studying a foreign language abroad. But that takes $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$. Even here in China.

That's all the help I can give. The more you tell us about where you want to go - "Abroad" is a reasonably big place - what sort of qualifications you have, etc, people could help you more.
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