Job Discussion Forums

[Gordon]

What do you think are some of the myths about teaching overseas? Many of our friends and family have no clue as to what we actually do and what it is like.

Teaching overseas is glamorous

Get rich. (Just take a look at what we drive or don't and compare it to our students. )

It is easy, anyone can do it, just speak English.

[Glenski]

Myth 4: Employers pay airfare and housing.

Myth 5: (taken from myth 1) "Teaching" doesn't mean preparing lessons or using textbooks or giving grades. It's only chatting.

[JZer]

[PAULH]

If you are a western-looking native speaker with a passport from an English speaking country you can get hired to teach English in Japan (and many other countries) even if you dont qualify for a work visa.

[denise]

It`s just something we do until we can get our heads screwed on right and get back home to look for a "real" job.

d

[Spinoza]

That it's lousy pay, lousy apartments, lousy conditions. It sure as hell isn't for me. My favorite myth I suppose has to be that, whilst your salary might be a king's ransom in the country you're teaching in, it's peanuts in Developed World standards.

[Will.]

See the world..

...from inside a concrete block of flats on a housing estate on the edge of the industrial zone...

Gain experience...

teach the same level all year.

Meet new and 'interesting' people

like the other teachers...........

develop your understanding of other cultures

come here and get ripped off.


no, these are really just myths ....aren't they?

[YanquiQuilme�o]

Will, that was hilarious! Thanks for posting ...

[Boy Wonder]

Myths

a) That teachers enrich their understanding of other cultures......what!! From the inside of the local Irish bar surrounded by other TEFL teachers !!!

b) That working abroad allows you to travel around the country you work in and neighbouring countries...what!!! On a 6 day week and a crappy European TEFL salary!!!!

c) That TEFL has embraced the notion of teamwork and TEFL teachers share lesson plans and materials.....what!!....some would think they were Iranian secret agents in possession of Nuclear warhead blueprints.

d) That your contract will be honoured.....what!!....when it's written in local language or by employers itching to remove teachers one month away from securing their bonus!!

e) That having a TEFL means you know how to teach...what....an abridged and rushed through teaching cert covering everything on the surface but absolutely nothing in depth means you are now a teacher!!

f) That some teachers get better with experience and age.....what....55 year old men taking over my exam classes and performing egocentric, self centred monologues about their own life and the Manchester Tramway system!! Don't make me laugh!!

g) That your accommodation and costs of same will be any resemblance to what you were told over the phone....what....some of the lies I have been told would do credit to the most blatant, lying politicians of the last 50 years!!

That's all for now folks..I have classes to teach and a professional job to get on with!!!!

[Glenski]

[Will.]

how's this for good advertising

All our teachers TEFL are certified

or is that certifiable?

[Justin Trullinger]

All OUR teachers are certified and certifiable. Good fun, though.

I'm tired of the "you only have to speak English" myth. A lot of "teachers" seem to have bought that one...

Justin

[sidjameson]

1. That it's a job that is only suitable for graduates.

2. That somebody without a university education can call themself a teacher.

Yep I know. I can't help myself, I always think that TEFL is a sort of half way house between being a professional and being a bum

[sidjameson]

1. That it's a job that is only suitable for graduates.

2. That somebody without a university education can call themself a teacher.

Yep I know. I can't help myself, I always think that TEFL is a sort of half way house between being a professional and being a bum

[denise]