Teaching English Overseas.

[Maximillion]

WC's thread prompted this post.

Teaching English overseas is a very easy way to travel and to earn some money, at the same time you learn the culture.

Opportunities exist World Wide, Europe, Asia, Latin America etc for people who want to take a year or two and visit a Foreign Country and have details of Accomodation etc looked after.

Age is not a factor, I know several retired people who are doing this, contracts range up from 6 months to years.

Note of caution, some Ex Pats fall in love with the country they teach in and do not return.

ESL Course generally requires a University Degree and takes anywhere from 1 to 2 weeks to complete.

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

just lightly studying this so far. i haven't seen where one gets paid but i have found "volunteer vacations" where for minimal fees plus airfare you get to work for your vacation.

for instance here's one for 8 weeks @ $3,195 plus flights http://tinyurl.com/ozgea (just posting for info, i have no affiliation)

Teaching English in rural China
With 519 schools, over 100,000 students and less than 50 English teachers you will be in hot demand as a volunteer English teacher in Shangzhou County. Not only will you be helping teenage students to improve their English but you will also be helping to train the teachers! Based only 120km from the buzzing city of Xi’an, in your spare time you will be able to explore the numerous sites including The Terracotta Warriors; Chinese Gardens; and historic Muslim Quarter – to name but a few!

The project fee now covers:
• TEFL course
• accommodation
• insurance & airport pickup

Activities Teaching students, training English teachers, involvement in other aspects of school activities as required.
Working Hours Monday to Friday 8:00am to 5:00pm
Resources Resources are adequate, but volunteers will need to be creative or bring certain things from home.
Accommodation Shared hotel accommodation
Food 3 meals per day provided

something like that would be adequate for me but do you happen to have an example of a program that pays to teach overseas?

 

[Maximillion]

My Son has been teaching in China for 8 years, the first year an arranged programme with the University of Beijing, since then Free Lance, lots of jobs.

The people who teach the courses should be able to give you names, plus in our Toronto papers there are always jobs advertised.

My Son makes $50 to $60 an hour freelancing, I think he pays a straight 20% Tax?

He does not work a 40 hour week, his choice, and he has done extensive travel into the countries around China as well as throughout China.

He does not live in an Ex Pat community, he lives with the Chinese, rents are much cheaper.

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

interesting, will study further. also sounds very good for some of my friends on more limited budgets who might best be able to travel that way in their future. will give them something else to look forward to. thanx for sharing.

 

[shiny]

I have looked into "supporting" DH for a couple of years by doing this and found a neat looking program in Thailand. I'm going to attempt to attach the link.

http://teflteachthai.com/ClassStartupDates.html

 

[justin]

I've looked into this before and in general it looks like you can make a small amount of money plus get free room/board in most countries. I'd say Maximillion's $50-$60/hr range is very far on the high side, unless you are extremely good at what you do and can find a job paying you that. The developed countries pay more than developing countries.

You aren't going to get rich doing it (unless you're Maximillion's son), but you get the travel experience and cultural immersion.

 

[yelnad]

Also keep in mind that teaching ESL/TEFL/TESOL takes a very special kind of person. Many many people return home early from these programs because they just can't take it - especially in Asian countries. If you have never done it before, you might want to do it though a program or even for a short term commitment before you head our free lance.

 

[Maximillion]

yelnad is right, it takes a special person, you are living in Third World conditions and you are the minority.

You will be subject to some Racism, and you deal with it, you can't complain to a lawyer or some one in Government.

I could not handle it, but he does not mind trying differant foods, plus speaking the language helps.

justin, my Son only deals with Corporations and is doing Language training for Senior executives and other professionals.

He now lives in Shen zhen but takes a train into Hk where most of his work is done.

Asia is one opportunity, Southern Europe, Latin America, other areas also hire English Language Teachers(Dubai would be neat, not sure about them though?)

 

[justin]

Max,

I meant to put in my first post that executive training can earn you big bucks, especially if you are the independent contractor instead of an employee of a school or something. That's what I assumed your son was doing (the executive training).

But to get to that point, you'll need skills and experience. For someone just starting, the pay scale will be much lower unless you start a business teaching english instead of just working at a school or something.

 

[MJ]

ESL Course generally requires a University Degree and takes anywhere from 1 to 2 weeks to complete.

we college dropouts never have any luck.

 

[Maximillion]

justin, you are right , it takes a few years and contacts, otherwhise you are going for the experiance.

vagabond, you ain't dead yet, finish that degree.

 

[GTM]

Teaching English overseas is a very easy way to travel and to earn some money, at the same time you learn the culture.

Isn't it necessary to know the language of the country they are teaching in?
How extensive does the knowledge need to be.

 

[yelnad]

Some places prefer that you don't speak the language...that way you are forcing your students into an immersion experience.

But in some places (like Japan) it's really hard to get along without knowing the language.

 

[bpp]

I know some people who make their livings as English teachers, and from what I gather it, like all teaching, is very hard work. Many people start figuring heck, I'm a native speaker, how hard could it be? But the early burn-out rate is very high, and the pay doesn't get good unless you develop a specialized niche, as has been mentioned. And psychologically, I think that making a living by being the designated outsider has got to take its toll.

That said, for a short-term gig, it could be fun and provide some beer money. For long-term purposes, you should think about it at least as seriously as any other career change.

Bpp

 

[Maximillion]

i know many young people who have/are teacdhing in Japan, Korea, China, and Spain, and none spoke the language when they took on their assignments.

One young man in particular, my Son's best friend is Japanese /English, had real qualms about teaching in Korea, was a REAL PARTY ANIMAL, has stayed for three years, loves it, he's the one who is about to travel around the world.

It is not for everyone, no job is, but you do meet a lot of Ex- Pats, especially the 25 to 30 year olds, they have a real social net work.

Food and Beer for 4 people, night out on the town, total, $30, in China, in right places(not Swissotel).

A young person, just out of school, not sure fo what to do, great experiance, foreign , so it looks good on resume, Mummy and Daddy not around, you are forced to grow up(My Son is very adept at bribing/paying tickets, to Chinese Police).


The alternative is your very own cubicle and 30 years of boredom, reading ER threads and watching your broad mind and narrow waist change places.

 

[Eagle43]

My daughter taught English in Brazil, Germany and Spain.  She had to attend a course in Mexico and be certified.  Initially, she did not know the local language; although she did learn it later. And there was one course she was teaching where she was forbidden to speak anything but English.

Here's a link.

 

[bpp]

The alternative is your very own cubicle and 30 years of boredom, reading ER threads and watching your broad mind and narrow waist change places.

Nice turn of phrase. In the interest of broad-mindedness, there are of course other alternatives.

I think that it makes a difference whether one prefers to be somewhere as a tourist or as an immigrant. If the latter, then being in a job where one is making a living out of being a Foreigner is probably going to make it difficult to reach a comfortable state. Not that one approach is better or worse than the other; it all depends on one's temperament. But it is a factor to consider.

Bpp

 

[Maximillion]

Eagle, nice link, sure looks lke they make things easy.

Did your daughter return to the States, settle down etc, or is she still travelling?

Our son's actions still confuse us, he did phenomenal in his undergrad, was supposed to go to law school or pursue Grad studies, tutored a Chinese Engineering student while at School, next thing we know, at 22, he is off to China.

Came back after 1 year, but had met a Chinese Girl over there, was in lust, so returned.

Now, they parted after 5 years, but he still shows no signs of settling down.

 

[Nords]

Ping FlowGirl

FlowGirl, don't you see a lot of people out your way bartering or getting paid for conversational English?

Many American military families who've been stationed in Japan get a chance to socialize or even pick up extra cash by joining conversational groups. Their English gives everyone a chance to practice idiom (and accents) while they learn Japanese or earn some minor $$. Nothing formal-- just sit around chatting for an hour or two.

Other military families, especially blond-haired surfer stereotypes, pick up extra $$ for modeling or TV commercials.

One family spent almost 15 years at Yokosuka (taking unbelievably crappy military billets to stay there). When they retired they had one 20-something son teaching English full-time nearby and a teen son at a university in Tokyo. Both had essentially been raised in Japan and were fully fluent. Mom & Dad went back to America childless...

 

[haha]

iThe alternative is your very own cubicle and 30 years of boredom, reading ER threads and watching your broad mind and narrow waist change places.

Hey man, everybody on this forum is just as svelte as they were the day they turned 21.

Ha

 

[MJ]

vagabond, you ain't dead yet, finish that degree.

i'm just your ordinary, lazy, ignorant, slut.

 

[MJ]

Food and Beer for 4 people, night out on the town, total, $30, in China, in right places(not Swissotel).

I would have thought $30 would do at least 7 to 10 people unless they're requesting western food and beer.

 

[Maximillion]

vagabond, if I had said $20 , someone would accuse me of fabrication.

I sometimes smile when younger people complain of their lot in life, they have the world open to them, and this time they can go without a uniform and a rifle.

 

[Zipper]

Howard, sorry to hear your son and female companion parted ways.

 

[Maximillion]

HIi Zipper, they are still good friends, but she got an offer to go to India to work for a Bank.

I see London got rated as one of 10 best cities to live in by CARP.