Teaching English Abroad

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Yep - am freelancing as well - and in a similar way, I have also met with mixed success throughout the course of the past two years. Fundraising is a good option and I'm sure you'll make the most of it

Don't bother with Switzerland - although the official language of the country is (Standard) "German", Swiss people don't actually speak Standard German outside of formal contexts, and in newspapers, on news programmes and in some political debates and when talking to non-Swiss - the biggest language in Switzerland as actually spoken by the Swiss people is actually Swiss German (a form of Alemannic German), which is very different to the point that mutual intelligibility with Standard German is difficult.

There is Liechtenstein and Austria as well, but they speak Alemannic rather than Standard German and again, Standard German is pretty much a second language in the country.

Thanks, this is great inside information! I'd better start researching the differences and hopefully unearth a few Swiss Germans living here who can help me, if possible. It is so interesting learning all these different aspects of life around the world... I'm sure we all make assumptions about other countries and continents, and I'm glad a lot of my assumptions are being challenged and proven wrong so that I get to learn something!

This is what Swiss German sounds like:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Prew3Zi-qIQ[/youtube]

(Germans usually can't understand Swiss German - that's why the German finance minister is silent.)

As I said - Germans who go to Switzerland thinking they speak the same language have a very rough time of it from many Swiss (as Swiss German is nearly a separate language). It will probably help you if you know Standard German already, but Swiss German is really a separate language that shares few similarities with Standard German, so you'd have to learn the Swiss variant in addition to regular German. Bear in mind that the dialects of Swiss German even vary within Switzerland, and not all Swiss German dialects can be understood by every Swiss German speaker in Switzerland (particular forms of the Swiss German dialect pose problems). Also, from what I've seen on Switzerland, it's very nice and beautiful but also very expensive (to such a point that many people do their shopping in neighbouring countries!). If you want to know more about die Schweiz, see Englishforum.ch.

Can you speak French? Swiss French is very similar to ordinary French. Or Swiss Italian, which is nearly identical to Italian. TBH, if you wanted somewhere to live I'd suggest Malta, but everyone there can speak English anyway (English is the second official language of Malta). I've been twice and I love it there.

You'll probably have an easier time in Austria, but again, the real language of Austria is an Alemannic dialect, not Standard German.

Really, if I was you, I'd try Germany - that said, these days more and more younger people understand English anyway.

Sorry, I'm not Swiss, never been to Switzerland - though would love to go!

Ha ha - that was fun! In order not to derail the main topic of this post, I'm going to reply via PM - but thanks for that!

I taught in Korea for one year (EPIK program). It was decent and I probably would have enjoyed myself if I tried to learn the language more (I could only speak survival and while I can read hungal characters phonetically, my vocab was limited to food). Depending on how you go at it, living abroad could be more satisfying than your home country.

Now, I lived in Japan for a year, and I could speak and read Japanese at a intermediate-high level at the time I was there. I knew I was out of place, yet I felt I was in the right place BECAUSE I was the odd one out. When you do odd stuff in Japan and Korea, it's because you are FOREIGNER. Not because you don't know the social rules of society. One day I hope to return to the land of the rising sun...

I taught in China for a year and, while I have no regrets, if I had to do it over again I would do things differently. First, I would get officially certified and apply to international schools...Experience is considered transferable internationally. The general reputation of ESL in Asia as a whole seems to have a somewhat bad reputation. At my middle school, I was basically considered a teaching aid, whose courses didn't carry official academic weight. I met with most classes once a week, there was no curriculum, and Chinese teachers could pull my class away without much notice for "cram" sessions. You're mainly over there to facilitate speaking, and it sounds like that's the case in the rest of China. International schools are essentially run like Western schools, so credentials and practical experience count.

Things to consider before going to China; Last minute changes are a way of life for anyone in a Chinese school, and that includes Chinese teachers. Some Chinese teachers will be happy to talk to you and others may give off negative vibes. (how would you feel if someone who was less "qualified" than you was making more money?) You will have an easier time finding a school if you are white and born in a native English speaking country. Those of African descent will have a difficult time due to their negative portrayal in the media. Surprisingly, those of Asian descent born in English speaking countries will also be discriminated against because they don't measure up to expected stereotypes of what an English speaker should look like. Making friends shouldn't be too much of a problem, but you want to watch out for people with ulterior motives. A lot of people were trying to get me to tutor their kids for free, buttering me up with offers to eat in their home. The reality is that you can get $15 to $20 per hour, and that is the expected norm.

Sanitation is an issue...Western chains like McDonalds and Pizza Hut are popular with the rising middle class, in part, because they are considered to be some of the cleanest restaurants around. I was in other places that had roaches, one of which was a popular "upper-scale" restaurant. Of course, some places will be better than others...A friend told me to only go to places that were crowded during dinner. It's a good way to avoid the runs. You also share food with others from the same plate, but this was never really something that bothered me.

The political climate isn't really a big deal. Western media capitalizes on most of the negatives. If you're over there, you likely won't have too many problems. I felt fairly safe there. Of course, you still need to keep your wits about you when it comes to pickpockets, walking down dark allies, etc. However, you take precautions anywhere.

Culture shock is more than likely unavoidable no matter where you go...China's no exception. After awhile you kind of become numb to certain things and gradually more accepting. I made some very good friends, and I consider my experience in the classroom to have been meaningful, even if I only taught "token" classes. You can learn a lot about yourself, and it can give you more direction in life if you didn't already have any.

The best site to check out information on teaching in China is here: http://middlekingdomlife.com/guide/ It helped me out a lot when I was over there.

Good luck to you in your decision, wherever you choose to go and whatever you decide to do.

This is certainly true - people are more forgiving of any social awkwardness you may have, and pass it off as being due to the fact that you are a foreigner, or assume it's because you don't know the language well. However it doesn't solve the problem of isolation and it's still difficult to socialise and make new friends, and people still treat you differently, allbeit for different reasons.

I taught English as a foreign language for a number of years and found it tough. Firstly, I had problems with class management and discipline. Kids will always test their boundaries and to maintain discipline you to respond to problems quickly and decisively, which I was never able to do, they knew it and took advantage. Another problem was engaging the students. I tended to lecture and do too much talking, my voice is a bit toneless and they got bored, which led to discipline problems. Trying to keep the students needs good communication skills, enthusiasm and a lot of energy, and after 6 hours of teaching I was totally exhausted. Also keeping myself organised was a real challenge. I was asked to do yearly and semester planning, which I found very difficult. It was easy to plan a single lesson, but a whole semester is a different matter... I felt overwhelmed, stressed and unable to cope. Another thing I couldn't cope with was being observed while teaching. Also, a school staffroom is just like a big office, including all the politics that goes with it. Staffroom politics is completely over my head and I was always the last to catch on to what was going on.

If you are going abroad to teach because you have a special interest in the language and culture of the country you want to teach in, don't expect them to necessarily be helpful and appreciative of your learning it. If you are working in a school, you are likely their showcase native teacher of English, there to attract clients, and they will expect you to play the part. That means that, rather than encourage you, they may well frown at your enthusiasm to speak their langauge because you don't fit the model of the role they want you to play. I didn't understand this until much, much later, and one of the reasons I got chucked out of my job, apart from the above mentioned problems, was because I was enthusiastically talking to the other members of staff (but not to the students!) in their native language, when there was an unwritten rule that said that if you are a native English teacher you should only speak English.

My experiences are just the experiences of one individual person, and I believe a person on the spectrum can become a successful teacher with the right training and they development of coping strategies for the various problems related to ASD they may encounter.

Teaching abroad has become a rite of passage for many students looking to do something innovative and distinct during their college experience