Teaching English overseas

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Hi everyone! I wanted to share my experience with you about my time of teaching English in China. I have done this for several years and I really enjoyed it. My brother tried to talk me into going to China for many years before I finally got fed up with struggling to survive in a depressed economy. Getting started was easy. I have a bachelor's degree and a passport. Those are the most important things. It is helpful to have a certificate for TESL or CELTA or similar, but it is not mandatory. I don't have that and I have taught for over two years. The first thing you need to do is to check the ESL websites to find jobs. I don't know about other countries, but there are hundreds of jobs listed in China every day. Some of the positions are for language schools. I have been advised to stay away from those as they tend to not be as good. I have talked to some people who have worked for these kinds of institutions and the hours are often long for the pay you get. Then there are the positions for public schools. Since these are government institutions, the conditions will sometimes be better, but I don't know that I would want to work for these schools because I have trouble with kids. There are also kindergartens. The kids usually attend these schools for three years (the equivalent of preschool in the US). They usually pay better, but I think it is because it is hard to fill the positions. I don't have the energy to work with this age group so I don't even consider it. I think the best positions are those with universities. I have taught at three different universities in China. The first year, I was being paid by the hour and I always tried to increase my hours so I could make more money. I was teaching non-English majors so the students were not very good as a rule. Some really cared about learning English, but most just did the bare minimum so that they could pass the test they needed to pass in order to graduate. The second year, I taught English majors and it was far more rewarding. I had one first year oral class and three third year writing classes. The students had the goal of being able to speak and/or write English well. Students wanted to learn more about my culture and they really wanted to communicate. This year I had seven classes of first year students, four writing classes and three oral classes. These students were really enthusiastic about learning and they often tried to make things easy on me. I like the fact that working with university students they can help me with some of the difficulties that I experience because I don't speak Chinese. I had students help me make purchases at times and they were always willing to help me if I needed someone to translate. Of course it didn't help when I needed serious medical attention, but with minor illnesses they were great. If you have a four-year degree or higher and need a job, this would be a good option. You can experience a new culture and get paid for doing it. Most schools (at least in China) provide housing and some will also help with other expenses. If this is something you might want to consider, let me know and I can give you more information. Thanks for listening!