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krfleetwood
Joined: 06 Jul 2011
Posts: 5
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 Posted: Fri Jul 08, 2011 12:57 am Post subject: International schools? |
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Hi everyone! I've just decided that I would like to live and teach in another country, and I'm just beginning the process. I've been amazed at how much information is out there, but it's a little overwhelming at the same time.
Here's my deal:
I'm 32, live in Atlanta, Ga, and I've been teaching 1st grade (6&7 year olds) for 6 years. I have a masters degree in education. I would like to teach in another country (Argentina, Indonesia, and Thailand are on my radar for now). I think I would like to continue teaching young children, but I would be open to other things as well, such as teaching English to adults.
Here are my questions:
Are International Schools the best way for me to go?
Do people who do a TEFL course do that because they don't have a teaching degree, or is that something I should look into as well?
When people talk about doing a TEFL course in the country where they would like to work/live, and then getting a job after, are they ending up at local schools usually?
Any info on any of these topics would be great. Thanks!!!! |
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tttompatz
Joined: 06 Mar 2010
Posts: 1951
Location: Talibon, Bohol, Philippines
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| Posted: Fri Jul 08, 2011 1:13 am Post subject: Re: International schools? |
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| krfleetwood wrote: |
Hi everyone! I've just decided that I would like to live and teach in another country, and I'm just beginning the process. I've been amazed at how much information is out there, but it's a little overwhelming at the same time.
Here's my deal:
I'm 32, live in Atlanta, Ga, and I've been teaching 1st grade (6&7 year olds) for 6 years. I have a masters degree in education. I would like to teach in another country (Argentina, Indonesia, and Thailand are on my radar for now). I think I would like to continue teaching young children, but I would be open to other things as well, such as teaching English to adults.
Here are my questions:
Are International Schools the best way for me to go?
Do people who do a TEFL course do that because they don't have a teaching degree, or is that something I should look into as well?
When people talk about doing a TEFL course in the country where they would like to work/live, and then getting a job after, are they ending up at local schools usually?
Any info on any of these topics would be great. Thanks!!!! |
You are talking about 2 different career paths:
i) If you want to teach ESL then a TEFL course of some kind would be good (but not absolutely necessary). Get a few books or grab an on-line course to brush up on the details since you already have 6 years in the trenches.
ii) If you want to teach in English then international schools are the way to go.
If you are looking at international schools then places like:
http://www.ibo.org/ and
http://www.tes.co.uk/ (look for their international job listings OUTSIDE of Europe)
as well as job fairs are places to look.
If you want to get into EFL (at least in SE Asia) then places like:
Dave's ESL Cafe http://www.eslcafe.com/joblist/ or
MOD EDIT
would be places to look.
Again, look for teaching jobs (k-12) rather than EFL jobs (pay is about double). There are lots of opportunities for k-6 teachers all over Asia.
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krfleetwood
Joined: 06 Jul 2011
Posts: 5
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| Posted: Fri Jul 08, 2011 1:41 am Post subject: |
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Thanks for your quick reply!
So, you confirmed what I was thinking- those are 2 different career paths. I'm not necessarily sure I want to go the route of International schools. To clarify- the EFL jobs would pay about double? Also, if I want to go that route, where would I be teaching? Still in schools? |
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AGoodStory
Joined: 26 Feb 2010
Posts: 738
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| Posted: Fri Jul 08, 2011 2:17 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| To clarify- the EFL jobs would pay about double? |
Other way around!  |
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BadBeagleBad
Joined: 23 Aug 2010
Posts: 1186
Location: 24.18105,-103.25185
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| Posted: Fri Jul 08, 2011 3:20 am Post subject: |
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| krfleetwood wrote: |
Thanks for your quick reply!
So, you confirmed what I was thinking- those are 2 different career paths. I'm not necessarily sure I want to go the route of International schools. To clarify- the EFL jobs would pay about double? Also, if I want to go that route, where would I be teaching? Still in schools? |
No, the international schools pay a lot more, and are usually more stable than ESL schools. Also, having done both myself, let me tell you they are very different methods of teaching. You might be able to get a job with the credentials you have now, in fact, you very likely can. But as to whether you can DO the job once you have it, and well, without further training is a whole other thing. |
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denise
Joined: 23 Apr 2003
Posts: 3419
Location: finally home-ish
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| Posted: Fri Jul 08, 2011 3:22 am Post subject: |
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| krfleetwood wrote: |
Thanks for your quick reply!
So, you confirmed what I was thinking- those are 2 different career paths. I'm not necessarily sure I want to go the route of International schools. To clarify- the EFL jobs would pay about double? Also, if I want to go that route, where would I be teaching? Still in schools? |
If you go the EFL route, then in many countries you would likely end up teaching anywhere but schools... language academies, doing in-house or on-site (where you travel to companies' worksites) classes; universities; businesses; and maybe some school work.
Generally, though, aside from top-tier university jobs in the higher-paying countries, international schools really are some of the best in terms of salary, benefits, etc.
d |
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krfleetwood
Joined: 06 Jul 2011
Posts: 5
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| Posted: Fri Jul 08, 2011 4:15 am Post subject: |
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Thanks everyone for the info so far!!
BadBeagleBad- What do you mean when you say:
But as to whether you can DO the job once you have it, and well, without further training is a whole other thing.
Do you mean teaching English at these schools? or just teaching in general? You say you've taught at both- what makes the international schools challenging?
Thanks for your insight![/quote] |
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krfleetwood
Joined: 06 Jul 2011
Posts: 5
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| Posted: Fri Jul 08, 2011 4:16 am Post subject: |
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Thanks everyone for the info so far!!
BadBeagleBad- What do you mean when you say:
But as to whether you can DO the job once you have it, and well, without further training is a whole other thing.
Do you mean teaching English at these schools? or just teaching in general? You say you've taught at both- what makes the international schools challenging?
Thanks for your insight! |
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tttompatz
Joined: 06 Mar 2010
Posts: 1951
Location: Talibon, Bohol, Philippines
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| Posted: Fri Jul 08, 2011 4:24 am Post subject: |
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| krfleetwood wrote: |
Thanks for your quick reply!
So, you confirmed what I was thinking- those are 2 different career paths. I'm not necessarily sure I want to go the route of International schools. To clarify- the EFL jobs would pay about double? Also, if I want to go that route, where would I be teaching? Still in schools? |
Sorry, after re-reading my post it was worded poorly.
Decent international schools in Asia pay double (or more depending on the country in question) what you will earn teaching ESL.
As a country specific example (Thailand since that was in your list of preferred countries):
i) most fresh off the plane recruits earn about 32k THB/month with no benefits for about 20 classes per week teaching ESL in government schools. They will earn about 40k THB/mo. in the better language academies and teach about 30 classes per week.
Qualified subject matter or home room teachers will start at 50-60k THB/month (plus benefits) in the majority of real international schools and top out at about 120k THB/mo. I presently earn about 75k THB/mo + benefits, live very comfortably (family of 3) and save (on average) about US$20k per year.
| krfleetwood wrote: |
Thanks everyone for the info so far!!
BadBeagleBad- What do you mean when you say:
But as to whether you can DO the job once you have it, and well, without further training is a whole other thing.
Do you mean teaching English at these schools? or just teaching in general? You say you've taught at both- what makes the international schools challenging?
Thanks for your insight! |
I am pretty sure he means teaching ESL as compared to teaching English language arts (or any other subjects in English).
If you plan to move to ESL/EFL/TESOL then get a cheap TEFL/TESOL course or some serious reading to catch up on the theory and practice. If you plan to move into international schools and teach IN ENGLISH then you are good to go.
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krfleetwood
Joined: 06 Jul 2011
Posts: 5
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| Posted: Fri Jul 08, 2011 4:38 am Post subject: |
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| tttompatz- Thank you! Sounds like international schools are definitely the more stable way to go. I've been doing research on those already and it looks like there are some really awesome schools out there. Is that what you do? What do you teach? How much teaching experience did you have before going to Thailand? Also, do you know if schools generally look for people to make more than a year commitment? |
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BadBeagleBad
Joined: 23 Aug 2010
Posts: 1186
Location: 24.18105,-103.25185
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| Posted: Fri Jul 08, 2011 5:23 am Post subject: |
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| krfleetwood wrote: |
Thanks everyone for the info so far!!
BadBeagleBad- What do you mean when you say:
But as to whether you can DO the job once you have it, and well, without further training is a whole other thing.! |
[/quote]
You said you were currently teaching children, so I am assuming content. Teaching ESL is more often older students, or adults, and it is not the same at all as teaching in an elementary classroom. It requires different skills and having taught in an elementary classroom doesn�t really prepare you to teach ESL. You have the qualifications to get either kind of job in many planes, but you don�t have the experience or training to really know how to do the job, that�s what I meant. |
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tttompatz
Joined: 06 Mar 2010
Posts: 1951
Location: Talibon, Bohol, Philippines
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| Posted: Fri Jul 08, 2011 5:26 am Post subject: |
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| krfleetwood wrote: |
| tttompatz- Thank you! Sounds like international schools are definitely the more stable way to go. I've been doing research on those already and it looks like there are some really awesome schools out there. Is that what you do? What do you teach? How much teaching experience did you have before going to Thailand? Also, do you know if schools generally look for people to make more than a year commitment? |
I work in a bilingual school. I teach in the primary department. This year I am teaching a combination of math (6 periods) and English (12 periods). I do not have homeroom duties.
I have about 16 years in the classroom.
We usually hire people with 2-10 years of classroom experience and home country teaching certifications (all departments/grades K-12) and not just elementary).
We don't have a big staff turnover and we typically hope that staff will stay for at least 2 years (but many stay much longer).
Barring anyone getting hit by a bus we won't be looking for new staff until next March for mid May start of term. With a staff of about 100 we usually only recruit about 5-6 new teachers per year.
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smurfetta
Joined: 14 Nov 2010
Posts: 38
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scintillatestar
Joined: 19 Oct 2009
Posts: 74
Location: New York, NY
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| Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2011 12:40 am Post subject: |
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International schools do look for ESL teachers. For this, I assume you'd need to have state certification in ESL or English. I don't think many people have state ESL certification, excepting endorsements. ISS came to my grad school recently and said that ESL experience is really important. In general, ESL certification is K-12 and English is 7-12. I see quite a few posts seeking elementary ESL teachers, probably because it's harder to find people with those qualifications.
Therefore, it might benefit you to get a cert. It may be geared towards older students, but many of the methodologies are the same. |
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