Are you a ESL teacher? Currently? In the past?

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ikiru

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WAYYYY off topic. I'm Thinking about a career change from my current research position, and I'm leaning towards education. One of the requirements of the school that I'm considering is experience teaching youth. I have a dearth of this type of experience. I've done a bit of ESL teaching of adults in the past, though I'd be reluctant to use any of the employers as a reference as they were all quite sketchy(excluding some work I did with recent immigrants probono, that is a solid ref).


SOOOOOO, I'm thinking of making a leap towards my goal by getting that experience as an overseas ESL teacher. This forum seems to have a wealth of experience, so I thought I'd ask around.

Do you like your job? Where do you teach? Do you like your location? Any advice on a job search, or schools?

I have a preference for Latin America, because I love spanish and speak it, but I understand that it is quite difficult to find work there. I'm more concerned with a good work environment and place to live than making a bunch of money. China seems interesting in terms of history and cultural significance, but I'm concerned with the quality of the schools...
 
I've never worked there teaching ESL but Mexico City, is where it's at. If you don't mind going all over town there's a lot of english teaching work, and quite well paying if you're qualified (as it seems you are). I lived there for a year and a half and I loved it. I met a lot of people who taught english, a lot of them really liked it but there one complaint was the transportation between classes. It's a big city.
Anyway that's my two cents, when I lived I had a lot of fun, and met a lot of very enthusiastic photographers, whom I'm still in contact with. (I still live in Mexico- Xalapa, Veracruz) Good luck,

John
 
I have been teaching English in Taiwan for ~6 years now (I came here 8 years ago as a software engineer). About 2 years ago I opened my own ELT school in Taipei. My students age range from pre-K to 6th grade.

I love it...so much more fun then writing client/server in Powerbuilder or VB. But it takes a *ton* of energy, too. And in the process I'va also learned how to speak conversational mandarin. 🙂
 
This is of interest to me also, as I've been contemplating this too, for a tentative move to France (looking waaay ahead). My girlfriend is an Educator, and teaches French, and has taught ESL (as I have) in the past.

I know that in Mexico there are English-teaching institutions that give preference to (and sometimes will accept nothing but) American citizens (mainly for the accent and conversation/immersion). I know this because I went to Interlingua over a decade ago, and I asked, and although I had a Cambridge First Certificate in English, and I could demonstrate my 100% lack of accent (as in, I spoke with an American accent), they flatly refused me because I wasn't a born American citizen.

So, just a heads-up on some places: call ahead.
 
I'm teaching in Korea and it's a good deal ($$), but you gotta have a DEGREE/ TRANSCRIPT from a Univ. in the UK, AUS, Canada, So. Africa, NZ, USA. The culture is a little quirky and conservative, but the kids are mostly polite and reserved. See Dave's ESL Club on the 'net.

However, beware of the many crooks in the ESL business here.
 
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Thanks for the responses so far! For the record I do have a BA from a Canadian uni and I'm a native speaker. Too bad to hear about your experiences Gabriel, I know I've met people who speak english better than native speakers!

Mexico does seem interesting, but it seems like it is difficult to get a good job without a teaching cert. (which is something I plan to attain in the future but do not current hold). I've heard great things about Mexico city.

Both Korea and Taiwan are on the radar. Any advice on particular schools and cities from you folks?
 
A tad bit more advice on Korea--stay away from small town schools. They are pretty much BAD news--too dishonest. Since all the (mostly) Canadians w/ fake degrees were kicked out last year, it's a teacher's market here. Korea is really safe and enjoys a cheap cost of living.
 
I teach English here in China as a second language. Every single place here is slimy, they cheat, lie, break every law there is, and totally rip off their students. The money on the other hand is freaky good.

Avoid the school called Owen like small pox. Don't go to these independent English school business things. Best to get hooked up with a high school or university. The place im at has like 7 foreign teachers and only 1-2 of them have the proper work visa's, the problems are numerous usually because the way things are done here is moronic if you are used to a western way of doing things. The also recently did an add campaign with all the teachers faces on it and some people who dont belong to our school just to make it seem better, needless to say the police are all over us right now, yesterday they came to my school poking around asking questions. If I didnt need the money I would leave today but im a college student here and have to pay tuition and rent and eat and stuff....
 
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...students in china (both Chinese and foreigners) from the beginning all the way though master degree students are NOT allowed to work by law. Makes perfect sense doesn't it, masters student, about 25-29 years old, not allowed to work while going for his degree. The assumption that people dont need money to live here is really dumb. When I tried to push for some sort of special leniency to allow me to work a little while going to school since I support myself and what not I was turned down without even getting to state my case so most of us work in a non official capacity. Right now with the police snooping about I may have to lay low for a few months, who knows how im going to pay my tuition next year...oh well, if push comes to shove I will put up as much of my camera stuff as I can on the chopping block, which really hurts because im working on my photography degree...shiest....
 
...That said living in china is fantastic, as long as you stay away from the politics, stay away from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzen or any other larger east coast cities where the cost of living is sky high. Best to come inland. Chongqing where I am, Chengdu, Kunming, etc are better choices if you are most interested in the history and culture. The East coast cities are westernized so much that it feels like Los Angles in some places and the life style is very fast and many people find it stressful. Like in the city im in is really good, its laid back, comfortable, cheap, and interesting especially if you like to take the odd photograph.

Something to think about:

Rent for a hole in shanghai: 3500 rmb

Rent for a fantastic apartment in Chongqing in a good location: 1000 yuan (give or take, mine is 550 yuan for a nice two bedroom place with backyard and what not)


Email me if you want some tips for Chinese living, job hunting, whatever.
 
Sorry for all the posts, the forum wont let me post messages longer when whats up there or I would put it all into one post.

ps. if you are "white" then you will have a much easier time finding a job here in china, Chinese people don't much care for black people, a real pity but just the way it is here...a friend of mine who is from Ghana tried very hard to get a job and cant, guess why? Chinese people have this mentality that white people are "superior" to them while at the same time maintaining that the Chinese are the superior race to all others. Typical arrogance that you have to deal with here.
 
I was in the ESL Edutainment business in Japan for ten years. In the 80's to counter dodgy English schools, the Japanese government fixed the minimum full-time salary to Y250,000 per month. Guess what it is today?

The best places to work are the universities or in a government program like Jet. The private schools are a mixed bag, but there are not any good schools, just good teachers - and some bad teachers as well. Each private school has its "system." Some are more flexible than others.

I had a great experience. I loved the work, but it is not a life-time career.
 
Thanks for all the great responses guys.

It is interesting to hear you steer away form the major eastern centers avotius, I've heard from other sources to avoid the smaller places! But like all things in life I imagine it depends on your perspective.
 
The cost of living is too high in Japan to make/ save any money--too bad because it would be my 1st choice. Korea is pretty prejuiced too toward people of Afican descent--a result of one people/ culture/ one language, etc. I suppose.
 
You can do it on your own from home with a few flyers around the town. Cafes and phone booths and ATM's are good places to leave flyers. I do 'boutique' English and go for the top end so I leave flyers only in the top end locations, and sit around there to chat.

I work an hour or two a day and make enough to pay the monthly rent and food bill.

Do out a deal with a bookstore. Mine sends me books cash on delivery at 20% discount.

When you take out your flyers (three or more times every day) take a camera too.

Be prepared to write letters and essays and stuff. I don't charge for really short letters, but usually get a free meal if it was for a restaurant owner ,or a month's supply of vegetables if I write a letter about a faulty tractor for a farmer.

I also edit universtity level written work and have learned a lot about the tourism industry and also virtual reality working on presentations for professors. Once I wrote a letter of condolence to a member of the British royal family, and another time a letter of complaint to an Italian construction machinery company.

Be versatile. I teach lawyers, dentists, accountants, business people and little kids. If you can choose your location look out for a good size city with no established English school, but with a busy commercial presence and a university.
 
Jon's ideas are great except in Korea you can't get a Visa w/o a school sponsor and there is NO place w/o an English academy. They are like gas stations in the USA--one on every corner.
 
Bill58 said:
The cost of living is too high in Japan to make/ save any money--too bad because it would be my 1st choice. Korea is pretty prejuiced too toward people of Afican descent--a result of one people/ culture/ one language, etc. I suppose.
Click to expand...

Koreans are prejudiced against anybody not Korean. They do indeed believe in "one blood." They particularly don't like the Japanese due to the annexation by Japan until the end of WWII, and current duspute over a small island that means nothing to either except "face." At the same time, they respect them for what they perceive as their successes. Mercurial folk to be sure. Yet, individual Koreans can be as good or bad as anyone else.

And they have a very interesting history, sitting where they do. There is a tomb with caucasian featured stone "guards." They once had a courtesy contingent of Persian guards there with the royal court. They were the first to use iron clad ships, much to the surprise of the Japanese fleet which lost to them. They adpted Confucianism more strongly probably than the Chinese. A lot of them still practice animism, worship of spirits in

Bill58, are you in Seoul? Did you know that along the Han there are ancient village remains with surface collections of pottery, but being used as village farms? Just north of Camp Casey there are sites of very ancient habitations which were found when a soldier identified some very old stone tools. Now other sites in both Koreans have been identified. Fascinating place really.

Sorry for the long post, but it is a facinating place. I know a person locally who recently returned from ESL teaching there. He enjoyed it and is thinking about leaving his teaching job at a junior college to return. My wife and I have thought about it too. Probably never will though.
 
Yeah--the funny thing (among many) is that the "one blood" stuff is just B.S. they were invaded (and colonized by Japan from 1910-1945) so many times over history, that it's impossible.

Their mercurial economic success after The Korean War (1953) was due to American investment in many cheap- labor factories, not any genius on their part. Now that investment has gone to China and the economy is flatter than a pancake.

The worst things are that: they believe anything they are told by the gov't, tradition, and media; they have practically no penchant for quality; they have zero sense of national or community cohesiveness/ loyalty (only family counts); they are the only people who still practice confucianism at home and in the OFFICE (the oldest--not the most competant gets promoted, no teamwork, etc.); their government is crooked as a dog's hind leg; and their whole education system is a joke (for example, practically 100% of the wealthy send their kids out abroad for a real education). All of these things seriously stymie their competitiveness in a modern world. I doubt they have a bright future.
 
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On Taiwan: Stick to Taipei...it's Chinese culture, yes (Avotius made some comments on this already) but (no matter what a mainlander may tell you) it's NOT China. It's culture is more modern, along the lines of H.K. The cost of living isn't cheap, but reasonable. Salaries are enough to get a decent apartment and save some, plus you can always earn a little extra by teaching "family classes" (classes arranged in someones home for a small group) or private lessons.

One of the things I like about Taiwan is that it was never an entrenched European colony (it was a "loose" Spanish colony for ~20 years, I think...but the Spanish were more focused on the Philippines). Plus when the Communists took over the PRC the vast majority of cultural objects that could be saved were smuggled here, meaning the National Museum of Taiwan actually has more Chinese antiquity in its halls then any museum in the Mainland. Finally, all the cultural and religious practicioners that felt threatened immigrated here, leading to some other interesting facts...like Taipei city has the highest density of Buddhist temples in Sino-Asia.

Taiwan was a colony of Japan for about half-a-century, but they had a policy of non-interference with the aboriginal and Hakka cultures. There isn't the same level of animosity here that exists in Korea or China.

Oh yeah, and it's a democracy with the same personal freedoms that you have in Canada. 🙂
 
Are you a ESL teacher? Currently? In the past?

My daughter, who got a bachelor's degree with a specialty in linquistics from the University of Oregon about 25 years ago, taught English as a Second Language to grade-school students in Madrid for about a year or more...

She got her job through the university and some organization I believe was called TESOL...


http://www.tesol.org/s_tesol/index.asp


There also used to be a company that advertised regularly in The New York Times for people looking for work as English teachers in Japan...There must be similar ads on the Internet today for people to teach English abroad...
 
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