Job Discussion Forums

[sjc]

I am considering buying the current book to assist myself in seeing what the situation is for teaching in various countries, however there was something on the Internet that came up and indicated that the book was full of blacklisted schools????

Now I'm wondering if this book is not a good resource and if there is a better reference book to get to help me decide what countries are viable for someone without a university degree -who intends to take a teaching english course and has some teaching experience (volunteer) and as a reference to contact schools to apply for teaching.

I will appreciate your advice on this topic. Thank you.

sjc

[AjarnIam]

[fluffyhamster]

I got the Second edition way back in the mid 1990s. It was a good sort of book for the pre-internet age, but most of the information it contains (work regs, conditions, main employers etc in various countries) can nowadays be gleaned from sites like this or the net generally (and as you've discovered, there is now no monopoly on information so opinions may differ as to what is good versus apparently bad), and I suppose I'd prefer to take an apparent front-line grunt or two's experiences over what Griffith selects and filters from afar anyday.

[denise]

I agree with the other responses. I used that book in the late '90s, but you can find everything you need online, plus current firsthand accounts of teaching and living conditions.

d

[Sadebugo]

[iweber]

I got the latest edition (9 I believe) and totally find it worth it. I am a total newbie but it gave me some great ideas on where I wanted to go and what I needed. I think I found it on amazon.com for like $12. I'm sure the internet has more updated services but there it's also unregulated so you sometimes don't know who you're getting your info from. Just a thought, I really enjoyed looking through the book.

[fluffyhamster]

Hi again SJC. I thought I should reply again here because I've realized (from re-reading your OP) that you don't have a degree (i.e. I got a bit distracted by the "blacklisted schools" bit), and I think that that fact (the lack of the degree) is/should/will be a far bigger factor in everything than worrying about if a school is good or bad (I mean, you first have to get a foot in the door, be able to enter and start legally working in a country first!).

The best indication of the book's worth then would IMHO be to see how it answers questions about visa regulations (in country A say) as they relate to you specifically.

For example, you could see what Griffith has to say about Japan: does she implicitly or explicitly assume that her readers are mainly all graduates and thus able to apply for work visas (relatedly, does she indicate that nowadays one doesn't absolutely need to go to an overseas embassy or consulate (with posted-received COE) to get a work visa entered into one's passport, but can apply for and get permission to work within Japan itself (not that a tourist should ever be advised to say 'Looking for work' whilst entering Japan as their purpose for visiting, as Immigration could take that to mean 'I intend to work illegally rather than bother applying for legal permission to work, should I find any'!)), or does she also mention, for non-graduates, the 3 years' similar-work-experience route or Working Holiday Visa options (both mentioned by Glenski on your other thread last year, not that either possibility is available to you, given your age and "limited" ELT experience [45; 125 hours teaching kids in Nepal]).

Or see what she says about China, which as you've realized seems to have a bit more "wriggle room" sometimes (but equally, when somebody there finally decides upon something one way or the other, that may well be the end of it if they are the top dog in the local food chain). I just know (with the benefit of hindsight) that I eventually got somewhat burnt, albeit after 18 reasonably good months, from the same old same old L to Z visa promise way back in '97-'98 (not that I'm sure if even the L visa could apply to non-grads), but the net wasn't available to me back then (and in its infancy anyhow) so info was quite scant, hence I took a risk (though not a particularly calculated/well thought-out one! But ultimately I don't think that anything that Griffith etc could say, or indeed said, would've made me myself any less inclined to go for it than not...but then, I didn't have the worry of not having a degree ).

Anyway, not trying to get you in particular too down or anything (I'll try to find some threads that offer some hope! ), but rather just pointing out what anyone should be looking for in order to judge whether Griffith's book, or indeed any book like this, is as up-to-date and helpful as possible to the largest number of people!

[naturegirl321]

I got her "gap year for grown up" book at my library for 50 cents. It was good, but I wouldn't have bought it full price.

Your best bet is to go to the librbary, check it out and copy the stuff that intersts you.