Teaching English Overseas

[Cain]

So I have one semester left at university, and was looking to go travel for a while afterwards...and since I don't have a lot of money saved from this summer, I was thinking about teaching english as I have heard some good stories from it.

I was wondering if any of you have had any experiences with a company that sets these up, and things I should know... I was hoping to do it in Japan, though things can change. Was looking to do it for about 6 months max, then jet to europe for the summer at some point.

Any experiences/names/stories would be awesome!

[Sample00]

Originally Posted by Cain

So I have one semester left at university, and was looking to go travel for a while afterwards...and since I don't have a lot of money saved from this summer, I was thinking about teaching english as I have heard some good stories from it.

I was wondering if any of you have had any experiences with a company that sets these up, and things I should know... I was hoping to do it in Japan, though things can change. Was looking to do it for about 6 months max, then jet to europe for the summer at some point.

Any experiences/names/stories would be awesome!

commitments are typically for a year at a time. I just had a teacher friend leave for Kuwait for a two year commitment. there is an actually agency that does it and I will find out for you what the name of it is and get it to you if you like.

not positive but I believe you may require your teaching certification.

[return to the red]

Originally Posted by Sample00

not positive but I believe you may require your teaching certification.

My wife taught English in Korea for a year and doesn't have any sort of teaching certification at all. I think they prefer if the people do have a University Degree though.

In one year she made enough to pay off her student loans (just over 10k) and come back home with some significant money, she wasn't exactly a partier though.

She says it was a very rewarding experience. I don't think you can get 6 month terms either.

[Rubber Ducky]

I taught in Japan for 5.5 years (through two tours of duty). I loved every minute of it.

But Sample is right - the company I was with had a one year commitment. After finishing one year, you could quit at any time. But to get your end-contract-bonus, you had to give 4 months notice.

Anyhow, if you want more information, PM me. I would totally recommend it. As I said, I loved every minute of it. Changed my life.

[Flames09]

When I was in school I was offered (this was after high school) a chance to teach overseas and the requirements were..

1. You CANNOT know the language of the place you are going to, and once there you can only speak English with your students

2. Sign a contract ranging between 6months to 1year

3. Take a short (I believe it was something like 6 week) course.

[Cain]

Hmm, thanks for the replies. I did wonder if 6 months was too short, I'll have to research a bit more. I will PM some of the people that have posted in the next few days though if you don't mind, I'd love some of the insight and names, just have to wake up in 5 hours!

And I realized I'd probably have to take a course for some companies, I was hoping to sneak that in during my last 4 months of university.

I've heard the experience can be quite amazing, or quite poor depending on the company you go through though, so nice to hear that the ones posted thus far are all positive!

[SaskaBushFire]

I am curious, what other locations are there to teach at besides Asia? Nothing against Asia, its just I always hear of people going there and am wondering what the other English teaching hot spots may be. I think that teaching in Japan would be very cool.. but Korea or China I would probably want to stay clear of.

[RedHot25]

Originally Posted by Cain

I've heard the experience can be quite amazing, or quite poor depending on the company you go through though, so nice to hear that the ones posted thus far are all positive!

I've had a friend/former co-worker go and teach overseas a couple of years ago.

Your quote is CRUCIAL. There are a lot of good but also a lot of bad (as in really bad) companies to work for. Sorry I can't offer you any specifics, but really do your research. My friend, unfortunately, worked for a company that would refuse to pay at times, sanctioned teachers for no apparent reason, made things unbearable at times, etc. There are also a lot more horror stories from other people.

That said, like people have posted in here, good experiences are definately there. Just make sure you do your research, and talk to as many people that have done it/are doing it. I believe also there are websites talking about what schools/work settings overseas are good, what ones are bad, etc. Check them out - I would imagine you could find them via a search engine?

[JohnnyB]

I'm just back from a year teaching in Taiwan, and will be heading to mainland China for another 6-8 month teaching period shortly. You certainly can find teaching contracts for 6 month periods, but it will limit the range and quality of schools that you can teach at. Also, if you are really set on Japan, which is supposed to be a great place to teach, getting into a good teaching program there now often requires a two year term.
Japan and Korea seem to be the two countries that pay the best out there, followed by Taiwan, and then followed by Thailand and mainland China (pay in Beijing or Shanghai is pretty good, but dramatically lower elsewhere in China).

I wouldn't recommend using an agency. There are plenty of agencies out there which are basically set up to rip you off, and you can quite easily find a job out there by yourself. A good place to start digging up information on schools, job offers and teaching experiences in different countries is www.daveseslcafe.com .

Honestly, I would recommend starting to look for where you want to go, and looking for job offers early, so that you can really have a good pick of things before you get there, and have a little more of a feel for what the job market will be like. I also think that you should be open to the possibility of switching schools once you get there though, as when you're on the ground in the country is when you'll really see how many opportunities are out there and you will have the best first-hand info on what schools are good to work for.

If you've got the time, I would really look at doing a full year contract, cause I can pretty much garantee you that once you're living there 6 months will fly by and will not feel like enough. Asia is an amazing place, that you could spend a lifetime exploring, and you'll probably want a little time for travel outside of the country you're working in.

Anyways, if you want any info you can PM me. I have lots of friends teaching in a variety of countries around Asia.

[JohnnyB]

I also highly recommend Taiwan, as the people there are great, the culture is really cool, and you can have a great quality of life there as an ESL teacher.

[flamingchina]

I taught English for two years, one in rural western China, and one in a suburb of Taipei.
I would second the thought of not going with an agency. They just aren't needed.
As well, beware any of those short "Teach English" courses. They're useless. They claim that they will give you a job, but most of them are pretty ty.
The only courses worth it are CELTA and DELTA, and it's not recommended you take them until you have at least two years of experience.

One thing to note is, the startup costs can eat up a lot of your first couple of months salary. You have to buy bedding, house stuff, etc. the longer you stay, the more you save.

One suggestion I can make is, avoid kids aged 11-15 if at all possible.
Younger than that, they're usually pretty fun. Older than that, they're serious students, but that age range.... ugggh..

[TheCommodoreAfro]

If you're going to do Japan, and want to save money teaching, do the JET Programme (www.jetprogramme.org). You'd have time to get the application together, and you would leave next July. The contracts are for a year, but are (if you decide you like it) renewable, and the flexibility of working in an actual school allows you holidays in the spring, winter and (of course) summer. I would venture a guess and say that it's almost impossible to find teaching jobs for six months here, but if you can commit to a year, you won't regret it.