Teaching English Abroad

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I thought it would be really cool to teach English in Asia, either in Thailand or in Vietnam. There aren't a lot of jobs that have proven successful for me, but it turns out that I'm quite good at lecturing and teaching people. My roommate, although she's very supportive of most of the things I do, brought up that my social functioning might prove to be a problem in Asian countries. I thought that maybe it would be less of a problem than she did, since I would have to specifically study and practice the social customs before I go, unlike in America, where I'm just expected to know them.

What do you guys think?

most teaching english abroad jobs require a bachelor's degree. if you're qualified, i'd say you'll have no more problems there than here. have you thought about japan?

I have one, yes. In Film Studies. I've heard that Japan's cost of living is considerably higher and that English jobs there are a lot less common than they used to be for several reasons.

I'm not sure if I should shoot for getting certified through an agency (more security, costs quite a bit) or going at it alone somehow.

Actually you very well could have more problems. Be very careful with TESL abroad programs for two reasons:

1. Many of these programs grossly underpay their teachers, refuse to pay for reasonable expenses you incur, and/or reserve the right to summarily dismiss you, sometimes before you even begin work. So, investigate them thoroughly and get a contract that is valid for foreign employment.

2. If you get certified by the school, in all probability, you will pay for the certification and it may only be valid for the country in which you're teaching, Better to be certified in the U.S. (or whatever country you live in), so that you can continue to teach when you get back home if you like. It's a much better investment and will only require taking a few more classes.

It sounds like you have experience with this. Any organizations you might suggest?

We have some friends (one of whom is working on a Masters in Astronomy) acquire an english teaching post in Vietnam about a year and a half ago. Unfortunately it didn't work out for them. They didn't get the hours they were promised. There were issues with accommodation. After having spent all they had to get there, they had to assess their chances while there of working enough to cover expected expenses, then decided to come home. They had to get themselves into debt in order to buy return tickets.

So be as sure as you can. Different countries have different regulations and protections (or none at all). Not saying Vietnam in particular, but we get used to our own ways, and I expect it would be too easy to drop your guard anywhere else.

I've heard that South Korea is one of the better places. Good money and lots of english teaching positions. Could be worth looking into.

South Korea is heavily advertised. I'm just far more interested in Thai and Vietnamese culture. China was also offered as an option by several of the organizations I looked at, but the political climate there is somewhat intimidating.

I wish I could help you with that part, but I only have this information from when I was in college (over six years ago now) and was planning to teach English in Asia upon graduation. Those two pieces of info came from both my professors and some grad student friends who had comwe back from foreign teaching work and had some bad experiences.

I think it is a really good idea! TOEFL and IELTS certification are usually the way to go - both fairly easy to accomplish if you save up and already use English as your first language.

What most people generally don't realise is that Japan is pretty much the only first world country in Asia - Vietnam and Thailand are both third world, so yes, there will be some issues, but it is generally up to you to make the most of the situation. Yes, the cost of living in Japan is much higher - I'm pretty sure they have the highest cost of living in the world at the moment, but I stand to be corrected since I'm not going to look it up

In terms of cultural differences, I think that's a pretty unfounded concern because people won't expect you to act like a local - they will expect you to act like a foreigner. Also, the fact that you're going in with an attitude of wanting to learn the culture upfront is great. You'll probably find it a highly rewarding experience - particularly if you're interested in learning the language. All part of the adventure. I would suggest giving it a good effort for a year and seeing how you find it - after all, if you find that it is not what you expected, you can always come back and work on planning your next adventure!

Yeah, I'm expecting both Vietnam and Thailand to be far less developed. That's actually part of the appeal, honestly. I'm excited about the prospect of self-growth through experience.

I'm considering trying to offset the costs by fundraising through Kickstarter or WePay or something similar. It's really not feasible for me to save up or pay for it out of pocket, since one of the reasons I want to try it is that I'm really unhappy with my current lifestyle of subsistence/survival rather than actually living, if you know what I mean.

Thank you for your encouragement.

Singapore? Hong Kong and Macau (OK, not countries, but SARs of the PRC)? South Korea?

Well, and the PRC is getting pretty developed in urban areas too. My best friend travels to China on occasion for school (she's going to a specialized school for blending Eastern and Western medicine and speaks Chinese near-fluently).

Hence the term "pretty much" Actually I have never been to Singapore, but I think South Korea has a bit more of a way to go before I would call it first world - that's just my opinion though! Saying that of Hong Kong is like calling South Africa first world on the basis of life in northern Johannesburg or the beachfronts in Cape Town. It is an awesome city though!

Still, @DeviantBeauty, I wish you the best of luck - I'm sure you'll find what you're looking for. Have you investigated the amount of money required at all? On that note, where in the world do you live?

I live in Philadelphia. I looked into a couple of programs. One asked about $3000 for certification and job placement, not including plane fare to the destination and my visa. I have to get a more advanced passport (I have a passport card, a relatively new thing since 9/11 in the US for traveling to Mexico and Canada). So I'd be looking at probably around $6000. There has to be a cheaper way!

Holy cow - that's pretty steep! That would indeed take a lot of saving!! Well, in the meantime keep looking - the certification seems unavoidable (although who knows, maybe they are in such great need of teachers that they will accept you without it?), but I do hope you can find a better method of job placement and get lucky with flights. If I hear of anything during my travels all over the internet, I'll let you know - and I do hope there is a cheaper way for you.

Incidentally, I'm planning on studying overseas next year myself, but in Germany (or another European country where German would be an advantage) and I'm busy saving up for that myself - although there are no tuition fees, some universities ask that you have 7000 Euro on hand to prove that you can survive in the country. Either that or someone in the country has to prove that they can pay for you... ah... if only, right?

Unfortunately, like so many Aspies, I'm not great at traditional employment. Right now, I'm sort of trying to freelance doing a bunch of things, with mixed success. So saving isn't really...feasible. Fundraising will probably be a thing that happens.