Have you ever thought about teaching English in a foreign country?
By daeckardt
@daeckardt (6237)
United States
October 20, 2009 11:20pm CST
This is especially aimed at native English speakers or anyone who has a good command of the English language. If you have a four year college degree, you could get a job teaching English in non-English-speaking countries. There is a lot of demand for this kind of thing. If you have no training, not to worry. There are courses available, both online and in-person, to teach you everything you need to know to be successful. If you ever wanted to travel the world and get paid to do it (without joining the military), this would be a good way to go. If you want more information, pm me and I can get you set up. I have done this kind of work before and really enjoyed it even though I had no training at the time. I wish I could have had the training before going to China. If you have any questions, just ask. I am limited in what I can tell you here, but I can tell you about a course where you can either get a diploma or a certificate (60-120 hours of training). What do you think about that as a possibility in your life?
2 responses
@dreamjapan (409)
• Japan
31 Oct 09
I have been teaching English in Japan for about 18 years now. I started to support our family, make a bit extra for trips back to my home (husband is Japanese that is why I'm in Japan). Unfortually husbands family business went down hill and then my husbands health got bad so teaching English is to support our family. I love teaching, especailly to the kids who seem to soak up the lanuage like a sponge but it is hard work. I am constantly looking for fresh ideas and new ways to teach. Also a lot of the teaching is also entertaining. If anybody wants to go into this field then make sure you have a personality for it being friendly and out going really helps (I am very shy, so my teaching personality is different to the real me), also make sure you have the energy for it. Depending on the classes, the ages that you teach (which can be anywhere from 3 years old to grandparents), the amount of students in a class and the number of classes a day can be a real drain.
The other thing to think about is personal safety. In one way my situation is different to most young people looking for an adventure before settling down. I came to Japan as a married woman ready to settle down. Most of the young teachers I meet here are excited to learn as much as possible about Japan even to the point of forgetting some basic safety rules. A few years ago a young British woman was murdered in Japan, she was working for an English conversation school which had strict rules about not taking on private students, she didn't follow these rules and went to somebodies apartment and was killed.
But the adventure is out there, if you do an internet search for teaching Englidh as foreign lanuage there are loads of information, some companies train you and then place you in schools through out the world.
Good luck to anybody who does this, it is challenging and life changing.
1 person likes this
@daeckardt (6237)
• United States
31 Oct 09
I remember hearing about that incident. It made me question whether I really wanted to take on private students. If the school arranged the student, I felt much more comfortable with the situation. I only taught in China for two years, but I hope to do that again (whether it be in China or somewhere else). Thanks for the response.
@raynejasper (2322)
• Philippines
21 Oct 09
..really.. that is great.. can you PM me please.. I really am interested.. There are lots of Filipinos already in China teaching English subjects.. I also wanted to apply for a teaching job abroad.. thank you..
1 person likes this
@daeckardt (6237)
• United States
22 Oct 09
Thanks for your interest. I am pm'ing the info to you. Have a great day!!!
