Job Discussion Forums

[durks]

Sorry about this but I have a few general questions. If anyone would be kind enough to answer any, that would be most appreciated....


A, How much money did you all take with you to survive when you first arrived??

B, If you were a new 1st time teacher abroad would you register with an agency to find work or try to find something yourselves?

C, Are most of the vacancies advertised on ESL Cafe mainly agency positions

D, Taiwan Vs Korea (In terms of money and quality of life, healthcare etc)

E, Can I have fun, I looked at some pictures of NOVA offices today and was thinking it looked pretty much like over here, everyone in a shirt and tie looking pretty miserable to say the least! Not the best advertisement!!!

F, Will I have to work 24/7 or will I have time to take In my new surroundings

G, Do I need to take visual aids for my lessons or are they readily available in most places?

H, How much of the English language do I actually know, I mean I was born in the UK but have never taught English. How deep will I have to go?

I, Do I bring a laptop, Or can I get one easy/cheap in Taiwan/Korea wherever I end up?

J, How many of you feel that your skills gained being a EFL teacher will aid you in a career outside teaching should you decide to return to your homeland? Im sorry to ask but I just noticed a discussion earlier today that stated that most EFL teachers generally go back to their homeland with no real career potential... Surely this isnt right is it?? I feel that there are many transferrable skills that may be generated from teaching that could be utilised in many working situations back home. Isnt there??




So many questions, I could go on forever!!

D

[mlomker]

People go to Thailand and Korea for the money, not for relaxation, although there may be a few 18 hour jobs there most are full time (25-30 hours).

TEFL cert programs will cover most of what you need to know for the job. Usually that means the CELTA. To teach English you need to know a fair bit, yes. I'm relearning how to diagram a sentence.

Money needed depends upon country. Most jobs pay at the end of the month and only once per month, so you'll need to float yourself for a month even if you have a job lined up (it's usually best to find a job after arrival, but depends on the country).

If you have a laptop then bring it.

Teachers are expected to look like teachers--yup, it's a job and you will probably need to not dress like a bum!

Teaching overseas is generally worthless on your resume...teachers back home are snobs and will consider your 3rd world experience substandard and everyone else will think you were taking a holiday from real work (sounds like you are from the tie comment).

[Glenski]

A. Depends on the country.

B. No.

C. If you mean middlemen, I would suspect no, but I only deal with Japan.

D. This might help some. http://seamonkey.ed.asu.edu/~jonb/

E. Too vague. What is "fun"? Fun in your job? Fun outside of school? What sort of fun? For some generally honest appraisals of NOVA itself, look here. http://markcity.blogspot.com/teaching.htm
http://vocaro.com/trevor/japan/nova/level_up.html
http://www.grassrootdesign.com/articles/nova.asp

F. Depends on the country. Full-time jobs are probably the same length everywhere. That is, figure on working 6-8 hours a day, five days a week. Whether you work day or night shift may depend on the country or employer, as would whether you get 2 consecutive days off for your weekend. You might also have to work a month or 2 for less than FT pay under "training" schedules.

G. Case by case. I would recommend bringing in some personal items (family and friends' photos, for example) and perhaps some realia just to have something more up to date than what your employer may have.

H. If you teach a conversation English class, you might just have to review what people have already learned, or you might be giving their very first English lessons. Conversation English classes tend to focus more on applying the language instead of learning hardcore grammar, but who knows where you will end up in a year or two? You might need to know a fair amount if you "graduate" to a high school teaching job, for example. Plus, some employers require a fairly stiff English exam of their applicants.

I. Don't know. I'd suggest bringing one just because you'd be familiar with it. See what people on the Taiwan and Korea forums say.

J. "How many of you feel that your skills gained being a EFL teacher will aid you in a career outside teaching should you decide to return to your homeland?" Let me pose this another way. How would carpentry skills help you in a field outside carpentry? Probably darned little. Unless you return home and try to sell yourself using your homeland's buzzwords, you are probably not going to use the skills you learn in any other trade. What I mean is, some people come to Japan, for example, and put on their resumes all the corporate buzzwords that sell themselves back home, but it falls flat here for various reasons. What are you going to write when you return home?

"Learned substantial people skills"?
"Dealt entirely with public speaking environment"?
"Learned how to troubleshoot problem situations on the spot"?
"Explained difficult subjects in simplistic terms"?
These might sound impressive to some western employer who is looking for a general office position, or they might not. If I were that employer, I'd grill such a person intensively to see just how he felt teaching conversational English helps him be a better person in a sales & marketing team, or an accounting position, or on a newspaper staff, etc.

What did you plan to do when you returned?

[PAULH]