Job Discussion Forums

[stevenabroad]

Hi

Im just curious which country in Asia is the easiest for a new teacher to break into who has no experience from the classroom perspective assuming any country is accessible.

Any thoughts would be appreciated as I'm trying to make a decision on which country to teach in but would like as easy a transition as possible and time to build my skills before I get in over my head with overly demanding classes which would benefit both me and the students

Thanks alot...........Steven

[Guest]

Well, while I was in Vietnam in July and August last year I was offered several "teaching conversational English positions" but havin no degree, no experience and no qualifications I did not take the plunge.

I found it easier for a newcomer to come here to China where I have been teaching now for 5 months and I have promised to stay at this School for at least 2 years. It was very easy here - no books or anything to teach by but I was left alone to make up my own lessons and after a couple of months I found it came naturally to me.

Needless to say I think CHINA is the best Country for a newcomer because you do not need the qualifications etc. that you do in some other Asian countries.

[Wolf]

Do you have an undergraduate degree now?

If so, you can get working permission for South Korea, China, and Japan fairly easily.

The state of the private sector of EFL teaching is such that lack of experience will not prevent you from getting a job. Private companies tend to have smaller classes. Some have their own preferred teaching method. Note, however, that some private langauge schools in Asia are famous for workplace difficulties.

For the public shcools, some of the easiest places to start off would be Japan's JET program and Chinese universities. Class sizes are larger, but no prior teaching experience is necessary.

Use the search funtion on this site, and look at others, to get a feel of what you might be comfortable with.

Also, if you're serious about teaching, you might want to consider a TESL certificate of some sort, just to help you learn a bit about the classroom.

[schwa]

Korea can be a good start-up country. Find yourself a decent private academy (you must inquire of present workers beforehand is it okay) & you'll have smaller classes of innocent recipients. Not a bad chance to develop your abilities. It is work though, not altogether easy.

[Roger]

Although I can smell a trap here...

If someone asks where "teaching is easy?", that person makes a certain statement about himself or herself...
Now you have already been given the replies you craved; let me add a warning: if a job is "easy" it means you will easily get bored doing it! Chinese classrooms are ioll-organised affairs, so a lot depends on you alone; you can plan too far ahead or too much, and you can plan too little; in any case you have to stand some pressure. And teaching 100 kids aged 14 to 15 is not for the queasy. Receiving "suggestions" and orders from people totally outside the teaching profession is not likely to give a big boost to your sense of self-worth; coupled with the disillusionment that inevitably sets in when you discover that everybody passes exams, even the majority of slackers, you will have to be more flexible than is good for your ethics.
Last autumn, a veteran English teacher I met had a nervous breakdown after 3 or 4 days of teaching at a primary school.
It's not necessarily the kids' fault - the adults - parents and colleagues - are your worst adversaries!

[khmerhit]

Try Cambodia.