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    Looking Into Teaching English Abroad, Need Help

    I have hit a brick wall.

    Nowhere is hiring and even if they were, I took an objective look at my life and realize this is not at all what I want. I don't want to wake up every day and go to some warehouse to work a job that I'm too smart for but can't prove it, work my ass off for some corporate master, come home tired and too drained to do the things that I love because I've spent all my energy trying not to explode with rage all over everything in sight. I have no BA/BS to prove I'm not a bonehead either.

    4 years of school is not really what I'm looking for. I've tried twice and quit both times. It's not the way I learn, it's just a prison, and my ADD doesn't help when it comes to homework, studying, and altogether succeeding at school.

    I just need direction and this is a direction I feel would be good. I'm a good and passionate teacher and I love to travel to new places and experience new things. I CAN'T keep circling this drain, I'll fucking kill innocent things.

    I know I need a TEFL/TESOL, and that the CELTA is a tough one that would be best for a candidate who has already worked through a TEFL/TESOL course. I think a one year program is really what I'm looking for.

    If anyone knows someone I could get ahold of, or has any insights, or is willing to help me research, I'd be eternally grateful.
    No one tells the wind which way to blow.

    #2
    Re: Looking Into Teaching English Abroad, Need Help

    I don't know how much this will help, Bjorn, but about 20 years ago (long time... ) I used to work with a woman who had spent a few years teaching English in Thailand.

    The only qualification she needed was being able to speak English.

    She loved it there, and had a great time.

    Check for jobs in Asia...

    Good luck!
    Every moment of a life is a horrible tragedy, a slapstick comedy, dark nihilism, golden illumination, or nothing at all; depending on how we write the story we tell ourselves.

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      #3
      Re: Looking Into Teaching English Abroad, Need Help

      I know a gal that taught English in Korea for a few years and made pretty good money doing it, too. One of my former customers moved to China to teach English there. It's certainly something to look into.
      �Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted. And experience is often the most valuable thing you have to offer.�
      ― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture
      Sneak Attack
      Avatar picture by the wonderful and talented TJSGrimm.

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        #4
        Re: Looking Into Teaching English Abroad, Need Help

        Originally posted by Juniper View Post
        I know a gal that taught English in Korea for a few years and made pretty good money doing it, too. One of my former customers moved to China to teach English there. It's certainly something to look into.
        Did they have degrees?
        No one tells the wind which way to blow.

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          #5
          Re: Looking Into Teaching English Abroad, Need Help

          Originally posted by Bjorn View Post
          Did they have degrees?
          The girl that lived in Korea for a few years does. She's a teacher and even taught in a couple of American charter schools in the area here. The former customer, I'm sure (but not positive) doesn't. His wife is Chinese so that may have had a lot to do with it.
          �Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted. And experience is often the most valuable thing you have to offer.�
          ― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture
          Sneak Attack
          Avatar picture by the wonderful and talented TJSGrimm.

          Comment


            #6
            Re: Looking Into Teaching English Abroad, Need Help

            What about...crap, what was her PF name? She's on my FB, just had a baby...lives in Canada with an American hubby...they were English teachers in Japan for a year?
            Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of HistoryPagan Devotionals, because the wind and the rain is our Bible
            sigpic

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              #7
              Re: Looking Into Teaching English Abroad, Need Help

              Originally posted by thalassa View Post
              What about...crap, what was her PF name? She's on my FB, just had a baby...lives in Canada with an American hubby...they were English teachers in Japan for a year?
              I know who you're talking about. Booberry (Not Picaboo)? Also, I don't think she's been back here since before the crash, so I can't go digging around for her name.
              �Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted. And experience is often the most valuable thing you have to offer.�
              ― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture
              Sneak Attack
              Avatar picture by the wonderful and talented TJSGrimm.

              Comment


                #8
                Re: Looking Into Teaching English Abroad, Need Help

                Originally posted by thalassa View Post
                What about...crap, what was her PF name? She's on my FB, just had a baby...lives in Canada with an American hubby...they were English teachers in Japan for a year?
                Was that Kijani?
                No one tells the wind which way to blow.

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                  #9
                  Re: Looking Into Teaching English Abroad, Need Help

                  Originally posted by Bjorn View Post
                  Was that Kijani?
                  No, Kijani's still around and lives in the US.
                  �Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted. And experience is often the most valuable thing you have to offer.�
                  ― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture
                  Sneak Attack
                  Avatar picture by the wonderful and talented TJSGrimm.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Re: Looking Into Teaching English Abroad, Need Help

                    My brother in law was going to go teach English in Costa Rica and all he needed was a teaching degree... I think, when you're teaching young children (under ten) they can pick up the language pretty intuitively, so you don't necessarily need to speak the same language as them. Not absolutely sure about this, but I know a lot of the study abroad programs they had at my college where you taught English abroad didn't require you to be able to speak the native language. It would also depend on where you were planning to teach. Rural, third-world type programs would probably require a lot less in terms of education that at an actual school in a city type thing.
                    We are what we are. Nothing more, nothing less. There is good and evil among every kind of people. It's the evil among us who rule now. -Anne Bishop, Daughter of the Blood

                    I wondered if he could ever understand that it was a blessing, not a sin, to be graced with more than one love.
                    It could be complicated; of course it could be complicated. And it opened one up to the possibility of more pain and loss.
                    Still, it was a blessing I would never relinquish. Love, genuine love, was always a cause for joy.
                    -Jacqueline Carey, Naamah's Curse

                    Service to your fellows is the root of peace.

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                      #11
                      Re: Looking Into Teaching English Abroad, Need Help

                      Depending on what you need to know, I might be able to help with some things. I've taught English in Japan, and have some experience of (attempting to) set myself up as a freelancer in Germany. I did teaching on a voluntary basis before going out to Germany too, just so I had more recent experience. I have a TEFL, and a natural interest in teaching methods and language acquisition. I actually designed a self-study method last year based around the TEFL teaching style, that a few people have sampled and told me it's pretty effective. So.. yeah, I might be able to help with some things. It really varies massively between countries though, as everywhere has their own laws and legistlation. I think East Asia is the easiest place to get work, as you usually don't need a TEFL (and to be honest, although I have one, I was often told in Germany that they're hardly worth the paper they're written on). You DO however, at least for Japan, require a degree or similar level qualification, in order to get the visa to work there. I don't think the same is true of all East Asian countries though.

                      Like I say, maybe I could help, maybe not... I'd probably be more use to you when you actually have a job.. I LOVE helping people come up with fun lesson ideas and still have a fair few books kicking around.
                      夕方に急なにわか雨は「夕立」と呼ばれるなら、なぜ朝ににわか雨は「朝立ち」と呼ばれないの? ^^If a sudden rain shower in the evening is referred to as an 'evening stand', then why isn't a shower in the morning called 'morning stand'?

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                        #12
                        Re: Looking Into Teaching English Abroad, Need Help

                        I-to-I tefl

                        Google that. It's the online program I'm in (that I swear to god I'll never finish at this rate) but it is affordable, and seems good.


                        Mostly art.

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                          #13
                          Re: Looking Into Teaching English Abroad, Need Help

                          Originally posted by Jembru View Post
                          Depending on what you need to know, I might be able to help with some things. I've taught English in Japan, and have some experience of (attempting to) set myself up as a freelancer in Germany. I did teaching on a voluntary basis before going out to Germany too, just so I had more recent experience. I have a TEFL, and a natural interest in teaching methods and language acquisition. I actually designed a self-study method last year based around the TEFL teaching style, that a few people have sampled and told me it's pretty effective. So.. yeah, I might be able to help with some things. It really varies massively between countries though, as everywhere has their own laws and legistlation. I think East Asia is the easiest place to get work, as you usually don't need a TEFL (and to be honest, although I have one, I was often told in Germany that they're hardly worth the paper they're written on). You DO however, at least for Japan, require a degree or similar level qualification, in order to get the visa to work there. I don't think the same is true of all East Asian countries though.

                          Like I say, maybe I could help, maybe not... I'd probably be more use to you when you actually have a job.. I LOVE helping people come up with fun lesson ideas and still have a fair few books kicking around.
                          Would it be ok to run a few website and programs by you to get your opinion on them? How did you get started? I want to teach in Thailand.
                          No one tells the wind which way to blow.

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                            #14
                            Re: Looking Into Teaching English Abroad, Need Help

                            Oooo I'm late coming in here, but I can be helpful!

                            I know lots and lots of people who teach English in Germany. One also taught in South Korea. PM me and I'll see who I can put you in contact with edit: Though, I see now that Jem posted on here and she's probably more helpful because she has the same experience and she's right here

                            I've never taught (I'm not a great teacher), but I have known lots of people who have. From what I understand, TOEFL is great for Asia. In Europe, you will probably need CELTA, especially in places like Germany and Switzerland where people learn more English. People say you can't find English teaching jobs in Europe anymore, but this is absolutely NOT true. Even though people in a lot of countries have a decent level of English, they always want to get better. If you can deal with kids, there are also tons of jobs going into private schools to give English lessons, because everyone wants their kids to learn English.

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                              #15
                              Re: Looking Into Teaching English Abroad, Need Help

                              The only problem with teaching in Europe, is that most teachers are freelance (and this has quite devastating financial implications.. tax, insurance.. it's all pretty punishing for freelancers), and while there IS work, they're a tough crowd as they usually know grammar rules better than your average native speaker, and getting work is often based on reputation; you need to start from the ground up and be an outstanding teacher, before you get the better jobs. There's no guarantee of a regular income and no guarantee how long you'll need to build up enough work (although I can tell you it's considerably longer than 4 months ^^). You really need to know your stuff, which is why a CELTA probably would be best (but more costly).

                              Thailand.. legally, I don't think you need any qualifications other than speaking English natively to teach there, although some individual schools may have their own requirements. If you've never taught, I do recommend that you get some kind of tuition on teaching and classroom management, online or other, just so you have an idea how to plan a class, as not all schools give you proper training. If your school doesn't insist you have a qualification, I'd say save your money and just get a decent book. In fact, honestly, Teaching English as a foreign language for Dummy's isn't a bad book at all. It covers a lot more than the TEFL course I took did.

                              You should definitely start reading up on English grammar and try to cultivate a genuine passion for linguistics. Teaching isn't easy, it can be mentally draining, especially if you're expected to do all the lesson planning yourself. If you have a genuine interest in the material you're teaching though, your enthusiasm will really carry you through and help you to love your job. The best thing about teaching English, is that you're usually teaching adults who choose to be there, so as long as you are engaging and enthusiastic, your students usually will be too! (kids are a different matter.. those lessons can have their own rewards, but I still have flashbacks of teaching the cram-school teens in Japan ^^)

                              Oh one last thing: do not believe schools that say, 'we will fund your return flight on completion of 12/18/24 months'. Many of these countries don't have employment laws to protect you, so they'll make this promise to entice you, then often fire you for something really stupid, or entirely fabricated, just weeks before the end of your contract, to dodge this cost. So always, always, ensure you have enough money for a return flight.

                              Anyway, yes.. you can send some links my way and I'll take a look. I'm actually really excited for you and really hope this works out (there's no reason why it shouldn't).
                              夕方に急なにわか雨は「夕立」と呼ばれるなら、なぜ朝ににわか雨は「朝立ち」と呼ばれないの? ^^If a sudden rain shower in the evening is referred to as an 'evening stand', then why isn't a shower in the morning called 'morning stand'?

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